All Quiet on the Western Front is about a group of German schoolboys, brainwashed by a nationalistic professor into enlisting during World War I. Within a brutally short space of time, they lose their idealism, their hope and their lives.

This is an anti-war movie, based on a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque. Not a happy story at all, so do not expect to be uplifted. Watching the film, one can't help think how little people have learned over the centuries, how we keep making the same mistakes over and over again. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is 72 years old, and the message still resonates with dreary truth. But unfortunately, as this country stands on the brink of yet another war, it still seems to be a message unheeded.

Some stark, harrowing scenes are burned into the memory of anyone who watches this bleak tale. A young recruit suddenly blinded by a mortar explosion. A soldier, trapped with his comrades in a bunker, driven mad by the continuous explosions around him. The protagonist, Paul Baumer (Lew Ayres), weeping bitterly as he begs forgiveness of a French soldier he has just killed. The final shot, which I will not disclose here, is the most powerful and perhaps most disturbing of all. I don't know whether a scene involving mustard gas would have complemented the screenplay; somehow, I think not.

The very title –All Quiet on the Western Front- is a powerful, haunting name, conjuring images of deserted, corpse-littered battlefields, and gaping holes from bombs that have long stopped smoking. No one left but the dead.

Even though the story is told from "the enemy's" viewpoint, All Quiet on the Western Front is a shocking, sobering tale. We are all human, all traumatized by the horrors of war. The film is in black and white, the picture is grainy at times, but the screenplay brings to life the bloody futility of a time long ago.

Although the acting is good, you lose a bit of realism with German soldiers being played mostly by American actors. Also, some of the dialogue is a bit maudlin. "Please, Lord," Baumer implores, kneeling by the bed of his mortally wounded friend. "Franz Kemmerich is only 19. Let him live." The only other criticism I have is regarding the length. Too bleak for an entire two hours and 11 minutes.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older