The Fury

Year of Release:  1978
Director:  Brian De Palma
Screenplay:  John Farris, based on the novel The Fury by John Farris
Starring: Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgrass, Charles Durning, Amy Irving, Andrew Stevens, Fiona Lewis
Running Time:  118 minutes
Genre:  Thriller, science-fiction, horror

In Israel, an assassination attempt against ex-US Government agent Peter Sandza (Douglas) fails, but his son Robin (Stevens) is taken.  Eleven months later, Peter resurfaces in Chicago searching for his son, who he knows has been targeted by an international conspiracy due to his powerful psychic abilities.  Meanwhile, teenager Gillian (Irving) who is struggling to come to terms with her own devastating powers, is the latest target for the conspiracy, and is also being hunted by Peter who recognizes her as his best chance for finding his son.

This mixes conspiracy action thriller with science-fiction and horror elements.  It's always enjoyable, with some very well-staged and exciting action scenes, and plenty of humour, but it changes tone in the second half, when the horror elements become more pronounced.  Brian De Palma is a brilliant stylist and this does fall victim to De Palma's habit of over indulging in tricks and style.  Kirk Douglas is charismatic and gives some vulnerability to his role, which makes up for some hammy moments.  John Cassavetes is suitably creepy as a hissable villain.  Amy Irving is affecting as the teenager trying to come to terms with her new reality.   This is not a great film, but it is enjoyable and never gets boring.

Amy Irving in The Fury

Paths of Glory

Year of Release:  1957
Director:  Stanley Kubrick
Screenplay:  Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson, based on the novel Paths of Glory by Humphrey Cobb
Starring:  Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Wayne Morris, Richard Anderson
Running Time:  88 minutes
Genre:  War

The film is set in France, 1916, during the First World War, and tells the story of Colonel Dax (Douglas), whose ambitious superior, General Mireau (Macready), orders him to send his men to take a well-defended German position, despite the fact that it is a suicide mission.  When the attack proves to be hopeless, many of the men refuse to continue, even when an enraged Mireau orders the artillery commander to open fire on his own men to force them out on the battlefield, which the commander refuses to do.  In an effort to save face, Mireau deflects the blame for the failure of the attack on to the men, and orders Dax to choose three men to be court-martialed for cowardice, to set an example.

This is one of the greatest war films ever made.  The generals sit in palatial chateaus drinking fine wines and  eating good food, calmly ordering the slaughter of thousands, while the soldiers are forced to live in squalid trenches and to lay down their lives on a whim.  There's a scene early in the film where Mireau tours a trench, making forced, rote banter with the soldiers and cruelly berating one soldier suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (or "Shell shock" as it was known at the time).  Mireau dismisses the existence of shell shock and says the man is a coward.  Kirk Douglas' Colonel Dax has a foot in each camp.  He lives and fights with the men in the trenches, but also visits the chateau and works directly with the generals.  The film also has elements of a courtroom drama, although it becomes apparent that the court-martial is just a show trial.  Visually the film is impressive, with the camera gliding in through the trenches in front of the soldiers, and every scene in the film perfectly composed.  Kubrick has a reputation for making cold, emotionless films, but this is anything but, it's powerful and devastating.
By the way, Susanne Christian, who plays the German singer at the end of the film, went on to marry Stanley Kubrick.     

Kirk Douglas and troops in Paths of Glory