Watch 'the greatest World War I film ever' before leaving Amazon Prime Video

5 November 2024

We recently undertook an informal 'online poll' of WFA members to see which was considered the best WW1 film ever made. Of these, the 1957 classic 'Paths of Glory' came out in 4th place (behind 'They Shall Not Grow Old' and the 1930 version of 'All Quiet on the Western Front')

Staring Kirk Douglas, the film did not receive any Oscar nominations, this was thought to be due to its anti-military slant, with the film being banned from being seen in American military establishments. Due to criticism from the French veterans and the French Army, Paths of Glory didn’t show in France until 1975, some eighteen years after it was released.

It is currently available on Amazon Prime, but only for another week, after which it will be deleted from that service.

So, if you want to watch the film and have Amazon Prime, it's probably best to watch it very soon.

A number of brief clips of Paths of Glory can be seen on YouTube, one example 2'38" in length being here: Paths of Glory: A stroll through the trenches.

The official (3 minute long) MGM 'trailer' for the film is here: Official MGM trailer