All Quiet on the Western Front

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

One of the most powerful anti-war statements ever put on film, this gut-wrenching story concerns a group of friends who join the Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their fiery patriotism is quickly turned to horror and misery by the harsh realities of combat. Director Lewis Milestone pioneered the use of the sweeping crane shot to capture a ghastly battlefield panorama of death and mud, and the cast, led by Lew Ayres, is terrific. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but the finale, as Ayres stretches from his trench to catch a butterfly, is one of the most devastating sequences of the decade. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and for Milestone's direction -- and trivia buffs should note that the actors were coached by future luminary George Cukor, while Ayres became a conscientious objector in World War II. The Road Back (1937) followed, and the film was remade for television in 1979. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • Exclusive introduction by Turner Classic Movies host and film historian Robert Osborne
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Bonus features not rated, not all subtitled

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Director - 1929- (Lewis Milestone)
•     Won Best Picture - 1929-
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1929- (Arthur Edeson)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• Film Daily

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1930

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1989

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Picture - 1930

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1930

• Photoplay

•     Won Award - 1930

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 1980

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Lew Ayres - Paul Baumer
       Louis Wolheim - Katczinsky
       John Wray - Himmelstoss
       Raymond Griffith - Gerard Duval
       George "Slim" Summerville - Tjaden
       Russell Gleason - Muller
       Scott Kolk - Leer
       Walter Browne Rogers - Behm
       Ben Alexander - Kemmerick
       Owen Davis, Jr. - Peter
       Harold Goodwin - Detering
       G. Pat Collins - Lieutenant Bertinck
       Richard Alexander - Westhus
       Arnold Lucy - Professor Kantorek
       Edmund Breese - Herr Mayer
       Bill Irving - Ginger
       Marion Clayton - Miss Baumer
       Beryl Mercer - Mrs. Baumer
       Edwin Maxwell - Mr. Baumer
       Yola D'Avril - Suzanne
       Bertha Mann - Sister Libertine
       Joan Marsh - Poster Girl
       Charles "Heinie" Conklin - Hammacher

• Director:

  Lewis Milestone

• Producer:

  Carl Laemmle, Jr.

• Screenwriter:

  George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews, Lewis Milestone

• Book Author:

  Erich Maria Remarque

• Cinematographer:

  Arthur Edeson, Karl W. Freund

• Composer (Music Score):

  David Broekman

• Editor:

  Edgar Adams, Miton Carruth

• Art Director:

  Charles Hall, William R. Schmidt

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  C. Roy Hunter

• Special Effects:

  Frank H. Booth

• First Assistant Director:

  Nate Watt

REVIEW:

• All Quiet on the Western Front is an anti-war message film, unusual because it is told from the viewpoint of German soldiers fighting in World War I. The film has a stark, unrelenting look to its battleground sequences, and as such it represented an increased level of realism in Hollywood films. The film tends to look dated now, and the performances are sometimes very showy and theatrical. And, as can occur with message films, there is occasional descent into maudlin peachiness. However, at its best, All Quiet on the Western Front contains numerous striking and memorable moments -- none more so than the final scene of a doomed soldier's reaching for a butterfly. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi