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Caden Cotard
13Jun11
A very good, if long adaptation of All Quiet. Unfortunately, it feels incredibly dated, especially in dialogue. What sounded true and realistic in Remarque's novel feels cliché and wrong in the film. The innovative battle scenes, however, make up for any dramatic shortcomings. They're extraordinary.
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
18Dec10
The battle scenes are so technically innovative and thrilling I had a hard time believing this film was made in 1930. They just pulse with so much cinematic energy. However a good chunk of the film feels stilted, stagy, and dated, and it's a shame because there are some truly powerful scenes contained here. However it's an important film, and along with M the first great sound film.
Julia Miville
7May10
All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) It is interesting to watch this film now with the first world war nearly a hundred years removed from today's society. It is also worth noting that film was made prior to world war two, so therefore not influence by issues brought up by the second war. As for the claims that this film has lost nothing to time is a bit of an over statement, although the message is still relevant, the overall style of the film dose date its self to the early 1930's. Over all the performances are good, but they are performed as if for a staged production and not for a film (for many working on the film this was the first sound film they had ever worked on). There are also many other ways that the film is dated. One is the way the actors are cheated to the camera, which was normal for the time, but now just makes some scenes look awkward. Slow fades and rough montages are also a common 1930s film technique that is used in this film. Rough montages are used repeatedly though out the film to show the emotional distress of the characters caused by their service to their country at such a young age. Although this film illustrates the principles of pacifism on their most basic levels, and the timing of its release makes it historically an important film to study, I personally feel that there are other films of the time that deliver a much more powerful experience.
