All Quiet now

Rating: 9/10 (12 November 2011)

IMDb Top 250: 212
First of all: I saw the silent version on TCM. This threw me off, because I had anticipated a talking film, but once I learned there were several versions I shrugged it off and watched the film.
Remembrance Day (Canadian) is an important day to me, a history fanatic. I believe it's so important to not forget what previous generations have done for us. So All Quiet on the Western Front's message of peace seemed fitting to watch on this special day.
It is important to realize what the world was like when this was made. The Great War had ended only 12 years ago, and WWII had not occurred, and in 1930 it wasn't even really on anyone's horizon. 1929 was the start of the Great Depression, and when this film was made. It was also the time when silent films transitioned into talkies. This film was a big gamble- tough topic, big budget, large cast, and it all paid off.
'All Quiet' is a visual representation of Grade 10 History. Everything I learned about WWI is present in this film: propaganda at home, peer pressure, poor, unexpected conditions, trenches, mud, loss: but this was new to the people of 1930. So while a viewer now won't be so shocked, they would've been 80 years ago. But 'All Quiet' nails the visual aspect of life in the War.
We follow a group of German schoolboys, as they sign up and find out about the horror of war. Through the first half, they are a collective, but eventually the film focuses on Paul. Lew Ayres crafted a character that affected his life. We see a boy become a man, and then the shell of a man.
I found some sections to be a tad over-dramatic, like the hospital scene with the boots. It just went on and on, and it didn't help there was lots of dialogue and few cards of words.
But 'All Quiet' is best, and most heart-wrenching when everyone stops talking and we see battle. The first real fight we see, after days of shelling, is one of the most nauseating fights ever. And for its time, easily the most violent. The massive scale, the incredibly accurate battlefield, the sheer number of men- it's unbelievable. Seeing the machine gunner mowing down people in a single camera shot, seeing a man disappear with only his hands attached to wire- it's downright upsetting and one of the most epic battles ever. No amount of talk can emphasize a message like dramatic reenactments of trench warfare. And then, when the allies jump into the trenches, the guns go away, the bayonets go away- and the shovels come out. I hate to make this comparison, but Saving Private Ryan wouldn't be possible without this film to pave the way.
Some may be turned off by its age, but 'All Quiet' is one of the earliest essential films, and maybe the earliest essential war film. It absolutely deserves its accolades. The message, always relevant, and the ending, always shattering, create an amazing tragic drama that is a very important viewing. 8.5/10