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Summary: Gripping Chilling Account of the Futility and Horror of War
Review: All Quiet on the Western Front is a gripping chilling account of the futility and horror of war. Telling it through the eyes of a German soldier (the enemy) was a master stroke of genius, as using an American solider might have been considered defeatist. While war is sometimes necessary, every chest-thumping politician who wants to start one should be made to see this move first.
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Summary: More Powerful with Every Viewing
Review: I have seen All Quiet on the Western Front a couple of times this past year (bless DVDs) and am amazed at how powerful it still through repeated viewings. It is a bleak movie, to be sure, although there are a number of moments of humour, but it still is compulsively watchable. The movie does not seem to have aged as badly as many other movies from the thirties and this is one movie that benefited greatly by being filmed before the Production Code crackdown a couple of years later. It would be decades before a Hollywood movie was as truly honest about war as this one. The performances are generally quite good, particularly considering the youth and inexperience of much of the cast notably the lead, Lew Ayres. The DVD does not come with many extras and there is no commentary, which is unfortunate, but the film itself is still a masterpiece and one of the finest war movies made.
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Summary: An impressive masterwork of pacifist art
Review: A powerful indictment of the tragedy of WWI, as seen through the experience of a German squadron, drawn from an elite German school. The bright-eyed enthusiasm and esprit de corps of the youthful recruits is relentlessly ground down under the weight of bombardments, starvation, grime, bloodshed and indifference. As the film's hero, Paul, declares in his famous speech at the film's end, dying for one's country isn't glorious -- "it's dirty and it's painful." Beautifully shot in black and white, this film slowly, mercilessly, artfully rachets up the tension, with battle scenes and psychological dramas that are literally and figuratively gut-wrenching. This celebrated film, made a decade after the end of the First World War, summed up the disillusioning pall the war cast upon its generation with much the same cathartic power as the movie "Platoon" would, more than half a century later. It's pretty strong stuff, surprisingly so for the time; an early talkie, it suffers soundwise in scenes with dialogue, but is crushingly powerful in its use of battlefield sound effects. Lew Ayres, who plays Paul, is both magnetic and intense, as his Leonardo Decaprio baby face hardens into an anger-filled John Wayne-ish mask. Although this film established many of the conventions of the war genre, it did so unsentimentally, thus escaping the cliched feel of its many imitators.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the book instead
Review: I didn't think this was particularly well done... in comparison with the book it can't hold a candle. I was surprised at the good quality of the film, for being so old. I didn't think that most of the actors looked right for the parts, particularly Kat. And the movie dragged on and on and on....I guess as I watched it I kept thinking of better ways this could have been filmed to coincide better with the powerful impact of the story. See it if you like, but I really can't recommend it...
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Summary: The definitive war (or anti-war) movie that started it all!
Review: Every time you see a good war movie, you can rest assured that one aspect or another of it was derived from this film. It ranks as one of the classics of all time, and is a stunning display of the horrors of war. The story is told from an interesting aspect--that of World War I Germany. It tells of a young group of school boys who, through the efforts of their over-zealous teacher and other 'patriots', are persuaded to enlist in the army. Once the group gets to the field however, they quickly learn that it is nothing like they imagined.
The film is very effective in showing that war is not a solution to any problem. The main character, Paul (played by Lew Ayres) is especially affected, as he watches his fellow classmates fall to the brutality of conflict. After he spends a night in a hole with a dying Frenchman (whose mortal wound was inflicted by Paul), he begins to realize that soldiers are just pawns, tools in an intense political campaign.
One of the most moving aspects of the film is to see the desensitization of Paul, and his subsequent alienation from those at home. When Paul is sent home because of an injury, he finds no peace, and, in a state of unrest, yearns to return to the front. He becomes disgusted with his former teacher, as well as a group of men in a bar, who promote the war and give their opinions of it's outcome, all the while talking of the immense 'sacrifices' they are called upon to make to support it. Paul, who sees their hypocrisy, yearns to be back among his comrades of the war.
This movie is a very effective stand against war. The message it gives is as potent now as it was over 70 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Woah.
Review: I know six thousand percent of all the reviews on AMAZON get 5 stars, but this one does deserve it. About a kajillion people have mentioned the plot so I wont talk about it. Now, I know the cinematography is jumpy, and the effects have aged, but this movie has the most realistic, intense battle scenes I have EVER seen. Saving Private Ryan was really intense and realistic, but it doesn't measure up......I don't know why. Maybe it's the grainy black and white picture, or something. It was just POWERFULL. Also, the rest of the movie is JUST as mooving. The scene with Paul and the Englishman in the shell hole is engrained in my mind forever. I dont know what to say. Just see the freakin movie. It's amazing.
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Summary: Dead is Dead.....
Review: I was just a young boy when I saw this. I was into playing 'war' with the boys in my neighborhood. I thought it was cool. After seeing this movie, and subsequantly reading Erick Maria Remarque's book, I realized there is no glorious death in war. There is only death. The acting may be stiff, but the message is increasinly chilling. I only wish our leaders could understand....
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Summary: Every bit as good as you've heard.
Review: This Oscar winning movie has aged beautifully. I originally bought it only to fill out my collection of Best Picture winning movies. I was not paying it the respect it deserves. Ayres is magnificent as the young infantry soldier off to fight gloriously for his country in WWI. Watch as he finds out war is not as romantic as he thought. While the theme is no longer very original (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, etc.), this is the original. And, in my opinion, the best. The ending is probably one of the greatest in film history.
Rating: 
Summary: All Quiet on the Western Front
Review: I remembered seeing this movie with my parents when I was a child. I always remembered Lew Ayres & the final moments of the movie - powerful, but it brought tears to my eyes. Compared to todays war movies, it is dated, but it is a must if you want to know what movies were like back in the 1930's. Lew Ayres portrays the young soldier with conviction, and you are taken back to the 1st WW and what many of our fathers/grandfathers went through. There are scratches, even on the DVD version, yet you know it's part of the 1930's so you don't mind. A great movie for anyones collection.
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Summary: THE HORROR OF WAR
Review: This 1930 film, based upon the novel by Erich Maria Remarque - which was directed by Lewis Milestone - made 22 year-old Lew Ayres a star and was responsible for George Cukor's screen career (it also gave director Milestone international recognition). A passionate portrayal of the horror of war, which for the first time depicted the "hun" as simply a simply a scared boy, this movie can be actually divided into four distinct parts. The first details the enlistment of the young recruits; the second, their arrival on the front; the third - the various incidents of war; and, finally, the hero Paul Baumer's return home and his hastened retreat back to the front and his death. The film is faithful to the Remarque novel and this was the first sound film to use a giant mobile crane which was most effective - particularly for filming the realistically staged battle sequences. It was actually 31 year-old Cukor who rehearsed the actors and established a neutrality ot their accents which is of inestimable value in putting across the production's emotional message. Louis Wolheim is splendid as the brusque yet sympathetic Katczinsky while Raymond Griffith is memorable as the French soldier killed by Baumer. ZaSu Pitts (!) was originally cast as Baumer's mother but preview audiences snickered at the very sight of her (her performance in GREED proved she was an excellent serious actress); unfortunately, the role was given to the whiney, saccharine Beryl Mercer. Initially released at 140 minutes.
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