One of, if not the, most effective anti-war films ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2000)

Most older war movies had a tendency to glorify their subject matter. War was often shown as a big adventure, something that young people just go do to show how much they love their homeland. Often the enemy is shown as inhuman evil-incarnate, whose death is not only justifiable but deserved.
All Quiet On the Western Front, however, attempts precisely the opposite. It follows a group of young German students who, with intense pressure from their teacher, enlist to fight in WW1. Never throughout the entire film are their experiences with war glorified or shown in such a way as to somehow justify or rationalize what they're going through and doing. For example, in one powerful scene, they are situated in an underground bunker while they are bombarded with artillery from above. The shot is intentionally long, to show the tension building among the men, with some being shaken to the brink of insanity and others trying to repel the nightmare surrounding them by playing a game of cards. There are many such scenes in the film.. all of them cause us to look at war through the eyes of real people, not fictitious heroes triumphing in completely unreal scenarios.
Yes, it's depressing. Yes, it's not fun to watch. But I'm glad this movie was made.. it will completely abolish any notions you had about war being glorious.