beautiful

Rating: 10/10 (27 August 2006)

This is a great movie. Plain and simple. Sure the sound isn't great but it's 1930, and besides the sound is like a documentary. This captures World War 1 far better than any film about the war. Probably because the director was a veteran, and the film extras were all real German soldiers. Because of those two respects it gives the viewer a greater sense of the anti-war feelings associated with World War 1. You watch as Paul Baumer's friends slowly die off one by one until he's the last one. And when he reaches out for the butterfly at the end and is felled by sniper fire, we are sorry that he is dead. But also relieved that he met a quick and painless death unlike many of his friends. And when he returns home on leave and talks to the old men who know nothing of war or of the situation who practically scold Baumer for correcting them, almost makes the viewer want to shout at the screen to set them straight. But the most heart wrenching sequence was when the camera focused on the boots as he went from taking them from his dead friend, on the march, through combat in the trenches and finally his death. That was beautifully shot. Overall I'd recommend this movie to anyone who can overlook the films age, but I say this to everyone: the age doesn't matter! The message is still fresh and useful.