sydney’s review published on Letterboxd:
I've seen almost all of Kubrick's films, and I think when stripped down to their simplest terms they seem to be about one thing: the vulnerability of men. That for all their posturing and machismo, every male has a fragile little boy in his heart. Why else would they go to such great lengths to prove otherwise? They've got the whole world to hold up on their shoulders, and his films are about the moments where the pressure overloads.
The skepticism on Kirk Douglas' face is so thick you could cut it with a knife, yet he continues on with strength and dignity. The suffering that cracks the soldier's faces is almost unbearable. The whole thing is filmed with an otherworldly beauty that stands out here because it's in black and white. The way he uses light, shadows, and camera angles is staggering. Almost every line of dialogue could be used as a nutshell to put the entire theme of the film in.
This may not be Kubrick's "best" film, but it is now my favorite by about a thousand miles. He's made some of the greatest war movies of all time but this one has a raw, unpolished tone that puts it above the others for me.
That last scene is like a sledgehammer to the heart.