All Quiet on the Western Front

Rating:
Summary: A Great Idea: look at the war from the enemy's eyes
Review: This is the story of a German teenager, Paul, who is convinced by his teacher to join the army. It follows his trip through basic training up to the front lines of battle. I liked this movie a lot because it shows a graphic description of the war from the German point-of-view. One of the best scences of the film is when Paul is in a hole with a Frenchmen, and he takes care of him after he mortally wounds the soldier. Paul tries to understand why the war is being fought and why he has killed this man who has a family and friends just like him. This concept is hard for Paul to grasp. Paul survived the whole war until the end. The armistice hasn't come into effect yet and Paul is hit by a sniper while trying to reach for a butterfly. This last scene was very unexpected, and that is why it made this movie so good.

Rating:
Summary: Better than you think!
Review: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is a great World War I movie, however I enjoyed the 1979 color remake a lot better. The movie shows the point of view of a group of German school boys who are encouraged to enlist in the war. In the beginning, enlisting is viewed as the right and honorable thing to do, but that soon changes. I liked watching the boys transform from young school boys into hardened soldiers. Since the movie was made in 1930, the sound is not that great and hard to understand at points. This film is a good movie for studying World War I.

Rating:
Summary: Dated, despite what they say
Review: Though this movie was undoubtedly a shocker in its time, its depiction of young Germans in the trenches of the Great War is rather too dated to be effective for an audience watching it for enjoyment. I have no doubt that as a historical piece, it is unsurpassed, but so it is with "Mein Kampf," which almost no one would wish to read as leisure. The sound and picture, even on this version, are quite poor. (Earned a sopt on AFI's 100 best American movies list.)

Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: The best anti-war drama ever. The first of a genere that lasts until today. The stoy alone is very heartbreaking and powerful. The direction is better than almost any you see today, and even though it could be called "primitive", there's inventive usage of many cinematography techniques that we still see today. The story is about German students who are encouraged by a professor to "fight for the fatherland" during WWI. However, once they're fighting in the trenches and see their friends dropping like flies, they change their tune. See it and I gaurentee you'll be entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I saw this movie on the advice of a friend, and it was a wonderful inspiration. It's one of the most intense movie experiences I've ever had, despite the drastic evolution in film since it was made. It hurts me to know that someone opted to attempt (and I do say attempt) to remake this movie. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is the incarnate definition of a classic.

Rating:
Summary: A great film!
Review: This is the best account of war I have ever seen. The ahead-of-its-time direction puts you alongside the troops in the trenches. A must-see film!

Rating:
Summary: A profound statement
Review: I saw this movie four years ago and I was touched very deeply. I read the book when I was in college and I was moved even more! I have read read quite a few books in my day and very few have made me cry as hard as this one! The movie totally captures this profound feeling of loss and disillusionment felt by a lost generation of young men.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and moving -- one of the greatest anti-war dramas
Review: The realism and almost documentary approach of this film must have been shocking in its day, and its power still holds up today. It has all of the realism and raw grittiness of "Schindler's List." Warfare's shocking brutality is shown here sixty-eight years before "Saving Private Ryan." There is more intelligence and depth to the screenplay than any recent war movie that I can recall. Scenes will live with you long after the film is over. "Private Ryan" has three or four such powerful scenes -- this movie has just as many -- perhaps more. The characters are much better developed, thanks to a great novel by Erich Maria Remarque and Maxwell Anderson's writing. The ending is achingly sad and tragic.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid visuals make their point about the inhumanity of war!
Review: Director Lewis Milestone weaves a powerful tapestry of loss, defeat, and the meaninglessness of war in this, one of the great anti-war tracts on film. Unfortunately, it may not have the same grip and impact on today's audiences because much of the handling is dated (acting is very early-talkie style; individual scenes are occasionally rather maudlin; naivety is rampant); and the narrative is somewhat choppy. However, a considerable amount of the power is in the visuals, and these are just as impressive and striking today. Milestone's deployment of camera motion, choreography of the battle scenes, and the sharp, gritty look, as well as the well-spent budget create an emotional force that carries the picture with smashing success through many of it's rough spots. Indeed, the grammar of his film-making seems to contain an expressionism perfectly augmenting the story's spirit; and moments achieve a stunning texture that haunt the mind (take the opening scene in the classroom; or the final shot as the boys look right into our souls). Some have even compared its style to Eisenstein and Lang! Patience and understanding will reward the viewer with a deeply-felt appreciation of what it is like experiencing the ever-continuing suicide of the human race, and a high regard for one of the cinema's classics.

Rating:
Summary: A Profound film
Review: This film portrays the absolute destruction and inhumanity of war in a most profound way. It forces you to rethink all of your ideas of the glory of war, and the ultimate point of war. It does not pull any punches when showing the massive destruction caused by WWI, which I can see as being the absolutely vilest war ever fought. This film should be required viewing for all high school students looking at the human impact of war. A most profound film.