mcderms Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 Just watched ths movie on Sky today - absolute bl00dy genius! Does anyone have anymore information on the story behind the book behind the movie? I know the French did select men by ballot when a unit was felt to have failed but is 'Paths' based on a true story? Also can anyone recommend a good book on the war from the French perspective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 The Price of Glory by Alistair Horne is the equal to Middlebrook's First Day on the Somme as far as readability of Verdun is concerned. He does the difficult - making the grind of this French/German clash truly rivetting for the average military history reader who is coming from a British Army perspective. FACTION - Henri Barbusse ? I think ... 'Under Fire' ... V. difficult to get into if you are not a French military buff ... loses a lot in translation .. but some of the passages are really insghtful. Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fair Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 The film is based on the novel Paths of Glory written by Humphrey Cobb in 1935. Cobb was a CEF veteran, and based his story on the true story of the Corporals of Souain. Four corporals of 136eme RI were executed 'pour encourager les autres' in March 1915 following the failure of an attack against a hill near Souain in Champagne. I have visted the site of this action, and can see that it must have resembled that of the pimple in the film. I believe the impetus for Cobb to write his book came from newpaper reports that the four had been pardoned in 1934 following years of struggle led by Blanche Maupas, the widow of Corporal Maupas who was the senior of the four. In about 1996 Jaqueline Laisne wrote a book (in French) describing how the four were executed and fight for their pardons. There is more about them and their memorial in Normandy here. The film is IMHO the finest WW1 film, and I second Des in that Horne's Price of Glory is still the best book (in English) on the French Army in WW1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AmericanDoughboy Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 Charles, Humphrey Cobb based the fictional "ant-hill" after the bloodbath of Verdun of the assault on various forts which usually turned into disaster. -Doughboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KF Kelly Posted 22 August , 2004 Share Posted 22 August , 2004 Another book worth having a look at is Verdun by Jules Romains which is still in print. It is not really a history of the Verdun battle but a novel describing the experience of the war from the point of view of the French soldier and others. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 23 August , 2004 Share Posted 23 August , 2004 Does the current book "Paths of Glory" about the French army have any relation to the film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 23 August , 2004 Share Posted 23 August , 2004 Does the current book "Paths of Glory" about the French army have any relation to the film? No. A general history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wienand Drenth Posted 24 August , 2004 Share Posted 24 August , 2004 Does the current book "Paths of Glory" about the French army have any relation to the film? The book "the price of glocy" by Alistair Horne is dealing with the battle of Verdun. The book "paths of glory" by Humphrey Cobb is indeed related to the movie. I seem to recall this movie was forbidden in France for some time. Wienand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fair Posted 24 August , 2004 Share Posted 24 August , 2004 Does the current book "Paths of Glory" about the French army have any relation to the film? As Paul says - No. There is a thread on this book here: Paths of Glory by Anthony Clayton. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AmericanDoughboy Posted 25 August , 2004 Share Posted 25 August , 2004 Does the current book "Paths of Glory" about the French army have any relation to the film? The book "the price of glocy" by Alistair Horne is dealing with the battle of Verdun. The book "paths of glory" by Humphrey Cobb is indeed related to the movie. I seem to recall this movie was forbidden in France for some time. Wienand Wienand, The movie, "Paths of Glory", was indeed banned in France for over twenty years due to it's negative depection of the French army and mutinies of it's soldiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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