10 Underrated Movies By Great Directors

The First World War is hugely underrepresented on the big screen in comparison to the Second World War that followed it. This can be attributed not only to Hollywood's aversion to showcasing events with minimal American involvement, but also the fact that trench warfare is difficult to depict as anything less than barbaric.

Indeed many of the best films about the conflict are those that express a strong anti-war sentiment and abhor the pyrrhic nature of military leaders mindlessly sending wave after wave of young men to their certain death for little to no gain, such as the 1930 classic All Quiet On The Western Front. Another is Stanley Kubrick's Paths Of Glory, which is often forgotten given that it was made in the mid-50s before he truly hit his stride and began earning widespread recognition as a director with the likes of Spartacus and Dr. Strangelove a few years later.

Focusing on Dax (Kirk Douglas), a lawyer turned Colonel who takes it upon himself to defend a group of French soldiers court martialled for their 'cowardice' after refusing to take part in a suicidal charge, Paths Of Glory clocks in at less than ninety minutes.

In that time, however, it heaps scorn upon the career-minded Generals that were far more dangerous to everyday soldiers than their counterparts in the opposite trench but undefeatable in the grand scheme of things, as the ultimate futility of Dax's actions showcases only too well.