Disappointing for a Classic

Rating: 5/10 (17 February 2014)

I have heard about All Quiet on the Western Front, and finally had a chance to watch it yesterday. It certainly didn't live up to the hype for me. Technically it was quite good, especially considering it was made in the very early days of the "talkies" when the actors and directors didn't have much experience with the medium and were experimenting with a lot of new techniques. The sets were outstanding, including the battles and scenes of war-ravaged France, and the cinematography was excellent for the time (if you watch it after seeing Saving Private Ryan or something recent, you will be disappointed), but for 1930 it was very well done.
My problem with the movie is that it (and the novel it was based on) is really is just a pacifist propaganda piece. The film does a good job of portraying the plight of the German infantryman in WWI, and it was truly terrible by any measure: The soldiers lived in terrible conditions, were treated like disposable cannon-fodder by their leaders, and not even the most basic logistical services (like food) were provided for them. What the movie does not allow for is the possibility of a war needing to be fought as an absolute last resort. Had the novel/film been content to limit its scope to the horrors of the German infantryman in WWI, that would be one thing. But it is not content with that. It has to make the point that all war, by definition, for all time, is not worth it and there could be no conceivable justifiable reason for a nation to go to war. As a universal message, it just doesn't stand up.
Maybe from the German perspective in the aftermath of the pointlessness of WWI when the novel was written, the author just could not conceive of a valid reason for fighting a war or that countries sending their young men off to war might make efforts to provide some everyday comforts to their soldiers, and not expose them to any more danger than is absolutely necessary.
But we know better now, and I suspect a lot of people in 1930s Hollywood knew better too. They certainly did during and after WWII, and countless books and movies have thoroughly explored the concept of the "just" war while still showing the horrors of war. The message espoused by the film just doesn't stand up today, unless you're prepared to make the case that fighting against Nazism and Hitler just wasn't worth it.
That's why, for me at least, this film doesn't stand the test of time. I really don't see why we are still calling this movie a classic more than 80 years later, except as an excellent example of film from the era.