I've seen the 1980 version with Donald Pleasance and Ernest Borgnine, and I really liked it. This is one movie I want to check out though.

I know you're supposed to take movies in context, but there are certainly movies released in the 1930s I've seen where the acting didn't invoke lots of laughter on my part. It's a great story, and a strong technical achievement for its time, but it is a word-for-word adaptation of the book and, again, I couldn't stop laughing during the war scenes when the soldiers were supposed to be scared.

C+

A


All Quiet on the Western Front is the first, truly great anti-war movie I have sen in a long long time. It's a very powerful picture that makes a statement without soving it down your thrown or getting too sentimental. I'm actually very surprised by how modern it looks and feels considering it was made in 1930. In fact, I'd say that it's among the three best war movies I have seen to date (the other two being Saving Private Ryan and Platoon). It might not have the visceral proximity of Ryan or the dehumanization of Platoon, but its basic message of no one benefiting from a war and about the effects a war has in particular on young and idealistic soldiers is conveyed pretty much perfectly.

It was an ingenious idea to show the whole thing from the viewpoint of the "enemy" - the Germans. While it is an American film, I think they way it conveys the euphoria over fighting for your country and protecting it that reigned back then is very effective and seems pretty real. As the illusion of partiotism and idealism deconstructs throughout the film, we're treated to some "beautiful" imagery and scenes. The futile ground troups attack with soliders of both sides being mowed down by machine guns is one of the most effective war scenes I have ever seen. It might not have the brutality and harshness of the Omaha Beach attack in Saving Private Ryan, but it shows how worthless each life is in a battle like this one and how it can pretty much end any second. Another wonderful scene is the company seating in a bunker, while bombs go off above their heads. You see the fear in the young faces of the soliders who certainly didn't imagine the whole thing to turn out the way it did.

My favorite character is probably Louis Wolheim's Kat who also has the movie's best speech about how it's always the leaders who benefit from a war and that it's them who should be fighting each other as the soliders themselves pretty much fight for nothing. Another great scene that comes to my mind is the one with Paul and the dying French soldier he has stabbed.

I think the one and only thing I did't like about the film is how theatralic and sometimes over-the-top the acting seemed, especially on behalf of the younger actors. I think it's rather typical of that time period for the actors to act this way, s if they were on a stage in a theatre, but it still stood out negatively to me a couple of times. That aside, it's as good a war movie can get. We haven't really been treated to many good WWI movies, anyway, so this one definitely seems the best there is at the moment. The ending, while abrupt, is also very fitting as this is the only way a movie with its path and statement can end. The final shot is beautiful. I think I could keep raving about the wonderful scenes and shots in this film on and on, but I just recommend to every single one of you to go out and rent/buy this flick. So far, along with The Grapes of Wrath and Roman Holiday, this is the only movie that I have given a straight A to during my catch-up period.

This is a war movie. There's no blood pumping action set pieces. Just poor, dirty fuckers waiting to die. AQOTWF is heartbreaking.

The movie is not as good as latter anti war films like Paths Of Glory but for what they did in 1930, its spectacular and they took the other side as well!!