Review of All Quiet On The Western Front

Introduction

This version of All Quiet On the Western Front is the 1979 remake (made for TV) of the original 1930 Lewis Milestone war classic, and is a moving portrayal of the lives of a group of young men who grow up to fight in the trenches of WW1. The film shows the German perspective rather than that of the US, and all dialogue is English, spoken by a good cast of English or American actors.

Directed by Delbert Mann, and based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, the film stars Richard (‘Jon-Boy Walton’) Thomas as young dreamer Paul Baumer, and who is also the film’s narrator. Other notable cast members include: Ernest Borgnine as Pvt. Stanislaus Katczinsky the heroic experienced front line soldier who looks after the new young arrivals to the front line; Ian Holm as the hated sadistic training officer Himmelstross who is finally sent to the front where he meets all the young soldiers he terrorised during his training drills; and Donald Pleasence as Kantorek the school teacher whose believe in the cause of the father land is later refuted by several of his pupils who have experienced to bloodshed of war for themselves. His propaganda is sickening to watch as he whips up these young men into a state of patriotic anger, and thus they join up immediately on graduating.

The film takes the viewer through the early lives of these men, from 17 year olds in class, to experienced soldier at age 19. The group gradually reduces in size as many of the friends are struck down, and the horror and futility of war is accurately portrayed.

The DVD forms part of Carlton’s Silver Collection, a range of classic movies on no-frills DVDs for less than a tenner.

Video

1.33:1 full frame video is provided, which has rather a lot of dust and scratches throughout, although generally I was quite impressed with the image clarity.

For a budget DVD range with no expensive digital remastering, colours are natural and the image is fairly sharp, but not stunning. Blacks are never washed out, and not much grain is evident.

Audio

Dolby Digital Mono only, but is surprisingly good! Plenty of bass is evident on all the loud war scenes and dialogue (of which there is a lot) is well defined.

Features

I’m sorry, but we’re all out at the moment… i.e. nowt!

The menus are animated, although nothing too spectacular, and are in the same format as many of the other Carlton releases, with snippets of the film playing silently in the background.

Conclusion

This is a powerful drama, and there are many action sequences throughout which for a 1979 ‘made for TV movie’ are very well done. You would not necessarily believe you are enjoying a TV production! Not having seen the 1930s original, I cannot comment on this, but it has been said that this 1979 version stands up on equal comparison with the original, unusual as remakes go. The film was a winner of a 1980 Golden Globe award in the USA, for Best Motion Picture made for TV.

This DVD version includes the full length 123 minute version of the film, as subsequent showings on the TV and some VHS releases have had almost 30 minutes of footage removed.

The film is regarded by many as one of those classic war films made during the 70s period when so many other war films were made, but this one will always stand out on its own merit and be remembered more than most. It can often be seen being shown in Saturday afternoon TV, and I was quite surprised to see that it was given a PG certificate, considering some of the very graphic scenes in the film.

The viewer is left with a real sense as to the tragedy and futility if trench warfare, and just why were so many nations finest young soldiers sent to their deaths in such a mass waste of human life. The conditions these men were expected to live under for several years, the constant mud and rain, the lack of food and battle against disease with rats eating the dead flesh of fallen comrades, are accurately brought home on screen.

The DVD is basic, and is really a carrier for the movie, rather than a stunning package. The video and audio are as you would expect – not marvellous, but the film itself is well worth the ten quid you would pay for this title alone.

Erich Maria Remarque states at the start of the film, "This story is neither an accusation nor a confession and least of all, an adventure, for death is not an adventure for those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war."

Enough said.