Record

SK - Stanley Kubrick Archive

Repository	University Archives and Special Collections Centre
Reference Number	SK/8
Title	Paths of Glory
Description	Paths of Glory was based on a novel of the same name by the author Humphrey Cobb (published 1935). An anti-war film, the story is about three innocent French soldiers charged with cowardice by their superiors. The situation they face has been manipulated by the officers in order to make an example to the other soldiers. Kubrick and Harris had suggested whilst under contract to MGM that they should shoot the film but Dore Schary of MGM rejected it. Kubrick and Harris continued to work on the film in their spare time but were unable to get a studio interested without a big star. Kirk Douglas who was able to get United Artists onboard but the deal made with Douglas' agent included Douglas production company Bryna Productions being credited as the producer and Harris-Kubrick signing up for a 5 picture deal with Bryna. It was filmed in Germany at Bavaria Filmkunst Studios, Munich and on location at the German palace Schloss Schleissheim near the studio. The battle scenes were also filmed at a field within a 40 minute drive of the studio. Shooting took 64 days. The film gave Kubrick his first major recognition commercially and critically. The soundtrack was innovative due to an overlapping technique Kubrick used meaning the sound from some scenes starts before the corresponding image appears. One scene, where Colonel Dax marches through the soldiers' trench, shot in a single reverse tracking shot, is revered as a classic cinematic moment. Unreleased in France until 1974 when D'Estaing renounced censorship. It was eventually released in France in 1975 to 4 first run theatres. The series contains material relating to the original production of the film and its reception. It also includes material relating to the French release. Materials include: Development scripts, Production and Distribution documents, Financial Papers, Letters and material relating to reprinting for the French release and its reception. Where titles are in quote marks this denotes the original title from Kubrick's filing system. An example of each type of file used by Kubrick has been retained in a separate subseries.
Date	1957-1986
Creator	Harris-Kubrick Productions; 1955-1963; Production Company
Term	Film making
Related Material	Kirk Douglas Archive Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
Extent	21 Boxes and 44 Items (Oversized)
Level	Series