Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957)

8/10
Liked this one a lot. Two obvious things stood out - Kubrick's incredible eye for detail even in black and white, and Kirk Douglas' acting which was pitch-perfect. He had that right amount of seething, repressed anger that made you feel everything he was going through. Shouting "go to hell!" happens a zillion times in a zillion movies but when Douglas shouted it as part of his outburst towards the end of the film, it was damn near cathartic. The end of the movie, with the soldiers in the tavern, was unexpectedly poignant, a strange mix of something horrifying and tragic all at once.

Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle, 1957)

7/10
There are many likeable things in this movie, from the acting to the lovely noir photography to Miles Davis' score to the little twists the story takes, but overall I couldn't help but feeling a touch let down by the end product. Its ending is disappointingly conventional for the lead up. I wish the film had ended as the camera pulled away from the bistro coffee shop (I won't say any more so as not to spoil), that would have really knocked me out I think. It was good, but didn't blow me away.

I Am Waiting (Koreyoshi Kurahara, 1957)

6.5/10
First film in the recently-purchased Nikkatsu Noir boxset from Criterion's Eclipse series, this one from 1957 being one of the first hits for the studio. It centres around an ex-boxer searching for his brother and his relationship with a mysterious singer with a Yakuza-related past, and the inevitable ties between the two. The movie jumps through a lot of hoops to set up the predicted final showdown between the main character and the Yakuza boss and the payoff suffers because of it. Unfortunately, the movie reveals its simplicity the more the plot unwinds, but it's well directed, competently acted, and an interesting watch.