Good Depiction Of The Insanity Of War

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2002)

I'm not in particular a fan of movies from the 1930's, finding them generally characterized by over-acting (undoubtedly because the actors were still adjusting from the over-dramatization required in the silent era) but I have always wanted to see this Academy Award winning best picture from 1930, and finally got the chance. I was impressed.
It has some of the problems I associate with movies of that era, but was still an enjoyable movie to watch. Lew Ayres was excellent as Paul, a young recruit into the German Army during World War I, who becomes more and more disillusioned as the War goes on. His speech to the class in his old school on a visit during leave is an eloquent homily on the subject of war's horror.
Interesting (and I daresay courageous in some ways) that this film was shot from the German perspective - and it would be interesting, if impossible, to know whether a film shot from the British perspective would have characterized the war as so pointless. Surprisingly graphic for a movie made in 1930, it's well worth watching if the opportunity comes up.
I rated this as a 7/10.