All Quiet on The Western Front
This is the third adaptation of the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, one of many books burned by the Nazis. The first film arrived in 1930 and won the Best Picture at the third Academy Awards. Ernest Borgnine made a TV movie of novel in the late 1970s . . . now it gets another run for new generation.
Director Edward Berger (perhaps best known for directing Patrick Melrose) creates a jaded and disillusioned vision – but loses none of its power and anger. Berger’s camera tracks the journeys of these young men through mud, blood, and recycled uniforms. The machinery of war is depicted as coldly as this. It’s all beutuffylu shot, with production values as good as the recent 1917 film.
The soldiers are sent over the top continually. Trench warfare is depicted as nothing but a failure of egomaniacal generals. Sometimes it feels like a horror film, helped by the brilliant creepy score. The whole experience is doomed and helpless, and gets under your skin.
Another excellent adaptation of this classic anti-war novel, epic and terrifying, where war feels desperately pointless.
The film is available on Netflix.
