The quintessential war movie

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2011)

Some might say Saving Private Ryan. Some might say The Thin Red Line. Some might say Platoon. Some might say Paths of Glory. Some might say Apocalypse Now. Some might even say Regeneration(though that focuses more on the psychological aspects of war rather than the war itself). But as good(great even) as these movies are, I give the title "quintessential war movie" to All Quiet on the Western Front.
The whole film is beautifully shot, with the cinematography and editing still holding up well today, and the whole is compellingly written in story and dialogue that it has not once for me lost its ability to shock and involve. All Quiet on the Western Front is wonderfully directed and every single one of the performances are exemplary. The film is a sincere and powerful one, but I have to mention the climatic sequence. I know very few individual scenes that leave me heart-broken on every single viewing, but this scene does.
All in all all, a brilliant movie and one of the best of any genre. 10/10 Bethany Cox