Milestone worshipped at the altar of Eisenstein

Rating: 5/10 (17 August 1998)

Lewis Milestone made a close study of Sergei Eisenstein's techniques, and we have a mimeograph of them here, the kind that came off the bottom of the pile where the machine had been running out of ink. This film was a revelation in its day, a real eye-opener. Cinema-goers in 1930 had trouble finding authentic Eisenstein; that's not a problem we have now. This version has genuine value as an historical artefact, but any person born since 1920 would probably be far happier seeing the Richard Thomas / Ernest Borgnine TV remake, which feels far closer to Remarque's Im Westen nichts Neues (Nothing New in the West).