À l'Ouest, rien de nouveau

In the excellent 1930s original, war is seldom better summarised than by: 'It's dirty and painful to die for your country, when it comes to dying for your country it's better not to die at all. There are millions out there dying for their countries, and what good does it do?'.

It's a statement that applies just as well today, and complimented by this outstanding piece of film making too, which leaves us under no illusions of man's inhumanity to man. The performances are truly incredible, the technical achievement recreating scenes of war outstanding, and the messages as clear as any about the futility of armed combat and the inability of the human race to learn its lessons - even to this day. Not really a film to enjoy, but certainly a film to reflect on how far we haven't come since 1918, especially in a world that often seems so intent on pulling itself apart.

Just got off watching this Netflix version of the classic.

I vaguely remember the 1979 version with Ernest Borgnine (7/10) and I certainly remember watching the original 1930 film. Both powerful in their own ways. The 1930 film is the best of the three - with first class black & white photography, and all done in that particular way of German story telling. In 1930, the events were very recent - just 13 years previous. Every male over age 30 in German cinemas would have had direct experience. It must have been awful for those audiences to watch the apocalyptic battlefield scenes - still some of the most graphic and numbing ever filmed. My rating 8/10.

So how does this one from Netflix in 2022 stand up then? Well sadly, not that tall.

It's bleak, graphic, actually depressing. An assault on the senses. Sure - it really conveys the impression of the horrors and desperation of trench warfare. But that's all. Maybe that's all it's supposed to do? Maybe that's, as a matter of fact all there was: mayhem and horror? There's nothing to redeem it. Again - that's the point: there's nothing good or glorius about war. Only the opposite.

The men who went to war then, as now, are not all evil men bent on barbarism and terror. All Quiet on the Western Front (all versions) shows us that those who go to war are just normal people - people like you and me. Good people go to war. Normal people. They end up having to see terrible things, do terrible things, to kill or be killed. That's the stark reality. This film certainly shows us that, but there is no upside, no redemption. There are little glimpses of humanity in the friendships, but that's all.

Never expected a netflix movie to shake me to my core but this film kept me frozen in my seat even after a few minutes into the ending credits. It made me think about war and what it does to people. Just as the book had done. But this time due to the superb acting, marvelous cinematography and flawless direction that feeling will stay with me for a long time. They took a great desicion by using an all German cast which made it feel ever more real. And the way they made me feel connected to the charecters. I mourned each one of them and kept praying for the movie to be war soon ,so they could get a happy ending.

I'm really a Film Nerd and I've watched many famous and less famous war movies, too. Until this Evening, the beach-sequene and the final of Saving Private Ryan was one of the most intense experiences I've seen on the big screen.

But what Berger and his teams show here is still incredible & and the most horryfying depiction of war I've ever seen before.

The violence makes you feel sick, there were really some moments I thought I have to leave the cinema. Shooting, Explosions, blood, cold, wetness, Tanks, flamethrowers and inhuman suffering. Meaningless suffering.

Yes, theire are some flaws in the Story, but Overall it works out fine. Music, acting and production design are phenomenal!

But the violience, I still can't believe it. Go watch - afterwards you'll definetley be pacifist.

8/10.

This is not strictly-speaking an adaption of Erich Maria Remarque's classic. A few minor incidents from the novel are included, but Remarque's biggest contribution to this film is the title. Given the ending of the film (as opposed to the book) the title is somewhat misleading, but it's such a classic that the film-makers' decision is quite understandable.

This is a brutal and uncompromising study of the realities of war. The fact the the war depicted took place more than a hundred years ago doesn't make it any less relevant. It could be shown in Ukraine today, and soldiers on both sides would understand.

Nor is the film's anti-war message terribly new. It is, however, a message that needs to be repeated over and over again, until (maybe) enough people take it seriously.

The battle scenes are appallingly visceral - possibly the best of their type since the opening of Saving Private Ryan.

The history of any war is written by the winners, but that doesn't stop them being a tragedy for the poor grunts on the losing side as well.