Review of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) by Harry W — 28 Aug 2014

As I had to study All Quiet on the Western Front for literature in high school but was not all that pleased with the text, I figured that perhaps a film adaptation would highlight the themes better. And considering that this film adaptation was one of the first films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, there was a lot to suggest I would enjoy it.

And I did, because despite being a film from 1930, All Quiet on the Western Front still serves as a groundbreaking depiction of the horrors of war which tells it with the violent scale that it truly happened in. Although as the film lacks the same understanding as the novel as it cannot get into depth about the characters like the original text did, it transcends it using exceptional visual qualities and by revealing a lot of war themes with firm honesty in a time when anti-war films were not that common. All Quiet on the Western Front could potentially be the first anti-war film and arguably the first war epic.

All Quiet on the Western Front tackles the large scale of war by focusing on many soldiers as they are affected by the turmoil of the conflict and their loss of innocence. Although it isn't as deep, considering that the film really tries and that it is 84 years old, you can't complain. Director Lewis Milestone really sets the film up to be a climactic spectacle with magnificent set pieces which illumiate the harsh reality of the fight with no glamourization whatsoever. The scenes are shot not as if to be a film, but as if to honestly reveal just how a war is, and despite being an 84 year old visual depiction, the power of it is exceptional. It all looks incredible thanks to exceptional eye to detail from Lewis Milestone in establishing the production design and stunts of the film, as well as giving the characters the right costumes. It is all captured with fine cinematography and edited well with strongly intergrated sound effects, giving the film a strong atmosphere which is intense and striking. In terms of being a spectacle, All Quiet on the Western Front is easily able to illuminate the material in the novel by exploring it from a strong visual perspective, rendering it a memorable film experience.

As well as being a strong frilm from a technical perspective, All Quiet on the Western Front is strong in terms of storytelling. Like the source novel, All Quiet on the Western Front focuses less on a direct narrative involving the war and more simply on letting it unfold beyond the eyes of the characters and viewers. It does depict how the war directly impacts it's characters and damages their innocence. The depth doesn't exactly become prevalent until more into the second half of the film when the character focus becomes more deep, and from there the film does manage to pick up. For the majority of the film, it is about the spectacle which is incredible. Later on, it becomes about the depth of the protagonist Paul Baumer. This means that the film captures the full spirit of the novel, and although the original source material did not interest me, the film really did. Even though the film brought over the slow pace of the novel and the fact that the character forcus is rather scattered until the second half of the film, as well as the fact that it is a fairly long affair, All Quiet on the Western Front was still a very impressive film which maintained plenty of entertainment value as a nostalgic look back at World War I and the classical style of filmmaking. All Quiet on the Western Front works as both a depiction of WWI from an honest and non-bias perspective of the German soldiers which gets into the depth of its protagonist Paul Baumer after he experiences the war, and its raw strength makes it an excellent epic which reached a high level of quality, surprising for its time.

All Quiet on the Western Front is an example of a film adaptation which surpasses the quality of its source material. Although my opinion is likely to differ from a lot of people because I didn't enjoy reading the book that much and found that unlike the novel, the film just leapt off the screen. Lewis Milestone gave the novel exceptional handling and brought along a meaningful script in the process, so his Academy Award for directing the film is a very well deserved one. He gives the material the ideal treatment and therefore gives the actors the oppurtunity to do the same thing, so it is no surprise when the performances of All Quiet on the Western Front come out as being impressive.

The most important performance in All Quiet on the Western Front comes from Lew Ayres as the film surrounds his character, protagonist Paul Baumer. In All Quiet on the Western Front, he remains much of a nameless soldier for the majority of the first part of the film like the many other characters. Later on in the story, everything changes and it becomes about him dealing with the effects of the war. Lew Ayres does an execllent job in the part because he is so weel involved in the material both physically from emotionally, physically as a soldier and emotionally as a human being. He gets the part perfectly becuase in the first half of the film he interacts with the other characters really well which establishes a sense of camaraderie between the soldiers, and in the second half of the film he faces off with the turmoil of his character with dedicated ease and passionate determination. He really sinks his teeth into the material by getting into the mind of Lew Ayres as an individual and as a solider which has him finding the right balance, and so his performance is impressive.

So thanks to an excellent visual depiction of WWI up on an epic scale which is captured with magnificent technical qualities while the narrative also maintains relevance to the source material and strong acting, All Quiet on the Western Front remains a masterful war classic which transcends its slow pace and length without problem.