Niente di nuovo sul fronte occidentale

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.

Germany, May 1917. 17-year-old Paul Baumer enthusiastically enlists in the German army and heads off to war. His head is filled with patriotism, honour, visions of heroism and the confidence that Germany will win the war. He soon learns that his impressions of war are far from the reality.

Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" was first published in 1929. It was quite revolutionary, depicting the horrific reality of war rather than the glamourous, sanitised version. In a sense it was the first anti-war novel. It was so unflinching in its portrayal of WW1 that the Nazi party regarded it as treasonous and had the book banned and stripped Remarque of his German citizenship, causing him to flee to Switzerland and ultimately the US.

In 1930 Hollywood made the book into a movie. It was superb, capturing well the horrors that Remarque depicted in his book. It deservedly won the Oscar for Best Picture (and Best Director) in 1930.

In 1979 it was adapted again, this time as a made-for-TV movie. Despite being directed by Delbert Mann and boasting a star-studded cast (Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Holm, Donald Pleasance) this version was far from being in the same league as the 1930 version and didn't do the book justice. It is quite tame and the performances are quite subdued.

This, the 2022 version, once again captures the essence of the book and is quite unflinching in its portrayal of war. Graphic scenes and realistic plot show the wastefulness and horror of war.

Not as good as the 1930 version though: the characters aren't as fully developed, limiting engagement, and the plot feels a bit padded. A few drawn out scenes could easily have been shorter without losing any detail. Some style-over-substance elements too as the director went overboard with the special effects he had at his disposal (the French counter-attack with tanks and flamethrowers is a good example). The droning sound didn't help either (clearly the director has watched Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk").

Oh dear. I still feel bad. But not because the film is bad. Because it shows how incredibly bad that time was. Especially for the young men who were forced to go to war. I'm from Osnabrück - the city where Erich Maria Remarque was born - and when they named the city in the film... my body is still shaking. The actors were amazing. I dont like german films so much, but this is different. The camera, the sound. Its perfect (except one role - otherwise it would be a 10 for me). I even didn't touch my snacks in the cinema. You really have to see this movie. Because it shows the cruel time in a way that perhaps no film has ever done before. However, if you want to spend a nice evening in a good mood, don't watch it. Because it really pulls you down. But it's all worth it. Thanks for this history lesson!

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.