All Quiet on the Western Front

One of the best anti-war movies of all time. I was shaking and had heart racing the whole run-time.

One of the most memorable cinema-experiences I ever had. After the credits rolled, no one made a move for two minutes. Everyone sat quietly and thought about what they had seen. At one point early in the movie almost everyone had also stopped eating their popcorn.

Watch it in Cinema if you can. Watch it in german if you can. Watch it in german with subtitles if you must. Or wait for it's Netflix-Release. But watch "All Quiet on the Western Front" no matter what. And learn from it.

One of the most intense movies you'll ever see.

@csbarker - Hindsight is always 20/20, especially in the eyes of young men, looking for adventure, and wanting to prove themselves heroic, gorged on the propaganda of duty, honor, and the notion of fighting for the "Father or Mother-land". However, do not misunderstand my position. Pacifism cannot fly in the face of those who would bring havoc and ruin upon ourselves, our loved ones, and our cherished way of life, as "greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for a friend". (John 15:13) But, being volunteered for the Cuisinart of war at the behest of those "in the rear with the gear", or worse, politicians sitting fat and sassy in their ivory towers, while the blood and treasure of others is spilled in their behalf makes little sense either. After all, "suppose they gave a war...,and NOBODY came?"

All Quiet on the Western Front exposes the devastating insanity of "Modern" warfare, where new instruments of death such as the machine gun, tanks, flame throwers, poison gas and heavy artillery made old tactics like digging a trench and then going "over the top" straight into a hail of bullets to gain a few meters of ground a futile exercise. Nor was digging in and holding ground any better of an option, as eventually, tanks, poison gas, or even enemy tunnellers could eventually breach the held position and kill you anyway. Not to mention the mud, rats, diseases or, as shown, plain old starvation and deprivation, driving men to desperation and madness.

Yet, what was the individual soldier to do, when, refusing an order to run headlong into almost certain death, would result in summary execution. That is the conundrum these men faced. Yes, there are always those who are "professional solders" who would rather go out in a "blaze of glory" than negotiate the peace, but what of those who finally realized they've been hoodwinked, and just want to get back to the wife and kids, or just WANT the CHANCE to have a wife and kids?"

For me, the most poignant moments were those where for Paul, if only fleetingly, the fog of war briefly lifted, and, he regained his humanity, in the one instance, after hand to hand fighting and stabbing the French soldier, then apologizing and trying to save him, and then of course, when he was sent on the final charge, ending up fighting in the trench, and then, face to face with his fellow, yet enemy soldier, knowing the armistice is to take effect in a few minutes, he pauses, and his "warface" slowly relaxes, and they BOTH realize they no longer want to do this, sadly, all for naught.

And yet, 104 years later, it seems we STILL haven't learned.......

Worth definitely watching maybe even twice or three times!

Good. but...
so what, I have to worry about the soldiers of the army of the aggressor country? do you have to worry about soldiers who loot food from other people's houses? you can or you don't have to.

Score: 4.75* / 5* or 9.5 / 10

The 0.5 that is missing from the 10 is a mix of historical accuracy and personal taste, certain events at the end leave a slightly bitter taste as I would have liked the ending to be different but these are very personal little things, honestly the film could be a 10/10 without any problems.

Audiovisually the film is very good, it has very cinematic shots, which may seem obvious but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way as in war films sometimes they opt for more careless shots to evoke the chaos of war and combat.

I think that a big part of why it has the rating it has is that the film conveys the message it seeks to convey very well (and that the book on which it is based sought to convey), it is a clearly anti-war film since it is not the typical film where the soldier and his "patriotic fight for his country" are glorified, from the beginning it is made very clear that you are a statistic and that in war there is no glory, only blood and mud.

From here on, proceed with caution since I am speaking directly about scenes (Spoilers). Read only if you do not mind or if you have already seen the film.

The film portrays the horrors of war very well and in my opinion the fact that the film did not sin by portraying the soldiers as these super men who are not afraid of anything adds a lot, instead of that you can feel the fear and hysteria of the screams in certain scenes, you can feel the fear they had (Example the tank scene where Kropp did not stop screaming).

Also certain phrases seem to me that, although simple, have weight. Like the scene where they go to look for a group of missing soldiers and find them gassed to death in a room, they say something like "They are children" and "There will be no more Germans" in reference to the fact that at that point in the war the need and the losses were so great that anyone who could fight was sent to the front. In fact, our protagonist and his group of friends were barely of age, they went to the front months before the room scene took place. Another phrase that seems simple but with weight is that, during the peace negotiations, the Germans tell the French that they are asking for a lot and something like "We must reach a peace where the defeated feels satisfied, otherwise they will not be happy with this peace." We must remember that among the many reasons there were for a second war is that the peace agreement of the first was so humiliating and the social discontent so great that the Nazi party used that to its advantage to have the support of the people.

Last but not least, a detail that I found sublime is that at the end of the film they talk about what trench warfare was like, how the front did not advance and that the dynamic was to advance a few meters to lose them in a few days and then regain them. If you are geographically oriented, remember that in the scene of the battle against tanks, Kropp had placed the poster of the French woman in the trench and they began the charge, they take the French trench, the tanks arrive so it is time to retreat and then in the final scene where Paul dies charging towards a French trench, in his last moments of life you can see how the poster of the girl that Kropp had placed is, that is, they advanced, they retreated and in the last advance what they did was regain ground. Without realizing it, the entire film will have taken place in a relatively small geographical space as trench warfare is supposed to have been.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) is a harrowing and masterful adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel, earning a well-deserved 10/10 in my eyes. The film is a haunting portrayal of the First World War, and its ability to humanize its characters while vividly illustrating the horrors of conflict sets it apart as one of the most powerful war films of the modern era.

The character development is exceptional, particularly the arc of the protagonist, Paul Bäumer. His initial eagerness to join the fight is heartbreakingly dismantled as he experiences the brutality and senselessness of war firsthand. Watching his descent from youthful idealism to a hollowed-out survivor is devastating, but it’s also a crucial commentary on the psychological toll of war. This journey is beautifully captured through Felix Kammerer’s stunning performance, which brings depth and authenticity to Paul’s transformation.

Visually and narratively, the film does not shy away from the cruelty and darkness of war. The cinematography is both beautiful and horrifying, juxtaposing tranquil landscapes with the chaos and carnage of the battlefield. The score, with its jarring industrial tones, adds another layer of unease, pulling you deeper into the grim reality of trench warfare.

As a German production, All Quiet on the Western Front stands shoulder to shoulder with the legendary Das Boot. Its ability to balance an intimate, personal story with the larger atrocities of war is extraordinary. This is not just a war movie; it’s a poignant, unforgettable exploration of humanity, morality, and the devastating cost of violence. It’s the best German production I’ve seen in years and an absolute triumph of filmmaking.

War is humanity at its worst.

Normal, decent men are turned into murderers. And for what? The pride, ego and greed of the powerful. Family's torn apart, a lifetime of trauma, unimaginable suffering, mass torture and death, all for the stupid intangible feelings of a few.

Is there no other way for an intelligent society to settle it's disputes? Will we always race to hold the biggest stick, and eventually wield it? Will we always be under the tyranny of ambitious, power hungry, selfish men who treat people like pawns in their own little senseless games?

An absolutely brilliant masterpiece I watched it so many times

All Quiet on the Western Front is magnificent. The cinematography, the score, and the production design are all flawless. It's as brutal as you'd expect and a must-see war drama.

Like a concussion grenade, All Quiet on the Western Front is breathtaking.

Perfect acting, script, and music...sure why not? But all of that delivering a strong message wrapped in the best cinematography I've seen all year? Unbelievable.

My biggest cinematic regret of 2022 will be not having the chance to see All Quiet on the Western Front in IMAX.