Topic: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

[Antares]

All Quiet on the Western Front





Year: 1930
Film Studio: Universal Pictures
Genre: War, Classic, Drama
Length: 134 Min.

Director
Lewis Milestone (1895)

Writing
Erich Maria Remarque (1898)...Novel "Im Westen Nichts Neues"
Maxwell Anderson (1888)...Adaptation & Dialogue
George Abbott (1887)...Screenplay
Del Andrews (1894)...Adaptation
C. Gardner Sullivan (1884)...Supervising Story Chief

Producer
Carl Laemmle Jr. (1908)

Cinematographer
Arthur Edeson (1891)

Music


Stars
Louis Wolheim (1880) as Kat Katczinsky
Lew Ayres (1908) as Paul Bäumer
John Wray (1887) as Himmelstoß
Arnold Lucy (1865) as Professor Kantorek
Ben Alexander (1911) as Franz Kemmerich
Scott Kolk (1905) as Leer
Owen Davis Jr. (1907) as Peter
Walter Rogers (1906) as Behn

Review
The first blockbuster anti-war film of the sound era, this timeless classic still has relevance today. Though the acting is a little over the top (no pun intended), the extensive battle scenes bring about a realism that would not be seen in subsequent war films, until the release of Saving Private Ryan almost 65 years later.  Its message was driven home in a speech made by Paul Baumer (Lew Ayres) as he addresses the next wave of eager volunteers, at the school he had once attended. Before he allows them to become cannon fodder for the arrogant and egocentric generals who are waging this war of attrition, he tries to dissuade them by stating, "We live in the trenches and we fight. We try not to be killed - that's all!" Baumers message would fall on deaf ears not only with these students, but also with the viewing public, for in just 3 years an obscure ex-army corporal from Austria, would begin his ascent to the mantle of dictator of Germany. His mesmerizing orations on national pride and racial purity would galvanize the central European countries into a true axis of evil and sink the world into the abyss of a second world war.

It has been over 80 years since this film was made and we are still making the same mistake as the characters in this story. We have yet to learn that waging war is neither noble nor chivalrous. It is the death and maiming of men, women and children. Our politicians sow the seeds of patriotic fervor and reap the destruction of country and lost innocence.


Review Criterion
- The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.
- Not quite an immortal film, yet a masterpiece in its own right.
- Historically important film, considered a classic.
- An entertaining film that’s fun or engaging to watch.
– A good film that’s worth a Netflix venture.
- Borderline viewable.
– A bad film that may have a moment of interest.
– Insipid, trite and sophomoric, and that's its good points.
– A film so vacuous, it will suck 2 hours from the remainder of your life.
- A gangrenous and festering pustule in the chronicles of celluloid.