All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Runtime: 133 minutes

Directed by: Lewis Milestone

Starring: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, Ben Alexander, Scott Kolk, John Wray

From: Universal

This is a first time watch for me and now I regret not seeing this much sooner, as it's an excellent motion picture. I explain why below: 

I decided I needed a change of pace so I went with a classic that somehow I had never seen before. Considering my rating, I now wish I would have given this a spin much sooner. I've never read the novel by Erich Maria Remarque either, but it made for a hell of a movie.

The plot isn't too complicated: we follow a group of young German soldiers from the time they decide to enlist after hearing a rousing and idealistic speech to the dying days of World War I. As I am sure most are aware, this is still famous as an anti-war piece and while this does not demonize war, it certainly presents the rigors and difficulty of combat. Those soldiers go in all happy and inspired to serve the Fatherland; they quickly learn right from boot camp how arduous things will be; they have to see friends die, deal with brutal trench warfare, hear bombs and gunshots go off constantly when they try to sleep in a bunker, try to get healthy in an overwhelmed hospital, and even when they are on leave, people at home have no idea as to what the war is really like. It's a harsh uncompromising look at life in combat, yet you see that you can make new friends with your fellow soldiers. It's bound to happen when you are bivouaced in perilous situations for weeks and months at a time.

The movie is on the bleak side and because this is Pre-Code there are some rather harsh moments you see (the most unforgettable involves a pair of severed hands), yet I always loved watching this and was enwrapped throughout. The young men are all interesting but it's the older soldiers you see who are unforgettable... the wacky Tjaden, the gruff Westhus and especially the mentor figure Katczinsky; Kat is pretty awesome. In addition, the movie is directed quite well by director Lewis Milestone. There's plenty of action and all of it seen clearly and the camera pans around quite a bit as you see dozens of people killed; the action scenes are not dated or out of place in modern times. It was very nice for a 1930 picture, that is for sure.

This won the Academy Award for Best Picture that year; while I haven't seen the other films nominated (I hadn't even heard of some of them), I will guess that this was the right film to win. Even 86 years later its message is presented perfectly. To me this a must-see.