Review of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) by Barry N — 27 Jul 2011

Despite being made in 1930, this film has some of the best battle sequences ever put to film. But the scenes also go on for too long, and make you almost bored while watching it. And that basically describes this movie in a nutshell; well made, but overlong. The message the film is trying to get across is that war is a terrible thing. What I love most about this film is that it gets its point across, while not seeming in your face about it. Its message is clear, but it's also subtle. But there are some things I wasn't fond of. There are so many characters in the beginning that it's hard to follow them, their characteristics or anything. If they were more memorable I wouldn't complain that much, but they were very bland & dull. But once the majority of the characters had been killed off and made Paul the focus, the film settled down and got more interesting. Like I said, the battle scenes are very well shot and to this day still remain very impressive. I also thought the second scene in the classroom was very well done. We hear a teacher give a speech encouraging kids to join the army, while Paul walks by and noticed that it's the same speech that same teacher gave him years ago when he enlisted. I also felt it was a nice touch that the protagonists in this film are the Germans, which was a very bold move in 1930, but the film works so well at making them sympathetic that we empathize with them. While I wouldn't say that this film aged fantastically, it's still aged well. If war movies intrigue you, then this one is just begging to be watched.

8.3/10.