Paths of Glory Brutally Emphasizes the Anguish of Everyday Citizens In Times of War

War is a concept that Stanley Kubrick is fascinated and repulsed by. Through Kubrick's movies, one can tell he believes that war is an expansive effort that ends up benefiting nobody and usually destroying everything. Two of his most famous works as a filmmaker, Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket, differ heavily in tone but share a common thread of exploring this perspective by going to the ground-level of combat and examining how it impacts people on a profound level. His fascination with this topic is apparent in even one of his earliest works as a filmmaker, Paths of Glory. This 1957 feature was Kubrick's fourth directorial effort and it kicked off Kubrick's examination and condemnation of the concept of war with utterly fascinating results.

Katherine Hepburn Delivers Top-Shelf Work In The So-So Feature Morning Glory

Morning Glory is a film that covers a mighty familiar storyline. It’s a yarn about a girl from a small town who comes to New York City to fulfill her dreams of stardom, which was a well-worn cinematic narrative even in 1933 (its initial year of release). However, an extra layer of meta-importance is injected into the feature by way of it being an early star vehicle for Katharine Hepburn, who would receive her first Oscar nomination for Morning Glory. We’re not just watching a fictional character ascending to stardom in Morning Glory, we’re also watching Hepburn do the exact same thing.