Yesterday I tried to jump start my movie viewing by bringing my portable DVD player to work to watch movies during my lunch break. I managed to watch a half and hour into "Going My Way" from 1944 with Bing Crosby. I came home; winding down by showering and deciding to watch "All Quiet on the Western Front" from 1930. I got myself comfortable for what was to be a long night. This World War I epic is actually depicted from a German perspective and follows a group of young men eager to serve their country. We're introduced to these young men as they are listening to their Professor (Arnold Lucy) lecture them about the glories of serving your country. As the boys enlist, train and journey to the unknown war front we are given each young man's interpretation and reaction to the horrors of battle. This is a grisly look into how war affects humanity and the ultimate reality check these boys are given.
Unfortunately I ended up with a poor quality version with slightly unsynchronised sound but surprisingly this didn't effect its eerie quality. I found myself getting freaked out as some of the boys started to loose their minds and become psychotic due to shell shock. As the story continues you start to follow one of the soldiers in particular, Paul Baumer played by Lew Ayres. Paul soon realizes that the life of a soldier is not necessarily a nobel journey but a fight for survival. People are dispensable; death always a step away as comrades fall dead like flies. This movie doesn't glorify war in any way; its interesting actually the contrast between the eager schoolboys running off to war to the bewildered and hardened soldiers they become. There is a scene in particular where Paul stabs one of the enemy soldiers; as he lays dying Paul regrets what he did and begs for redemption. This moment just shakes you to the core, there is so much desperation in Paul; he is torn between the glory he should feel in defending his country and the gulit of having killed another human being . There is no musical score at all, which further provides for authentic, intense battle scenes. I finished this movie at 6 am and was so haunted by not necessarily the killing but the message. The ending itself is devestating, clinging to the last piece of humanity left in this horror- a flower.
Unfortunately I ended up with a poor quality version with slightly unsynchronised sound but surprisingly this didn't effect its eerie quality. I found myself getting freaked out as some of the boys started to loose their minds and become psychotic due to shell shock. As the story continues you start to follow one of the soldiers in particular, Paul Baumer played by Lew Ayres. Paul soon realizes that the life of a soldier is not necessarily a nobel journey but a fight for survival. People are dispensable; death always a step away as comrades fall dead like flies. This movie doesn't glorify war in any way; its interesting actually the contrast between the eager schoolboys running off to war to the bewildered and hardened soldiers they become. There is a scene in particular where Paul stabs one of the enemy soldiers; as he lays dying Paul regrets what he did and begs for redemption. This moment just shakes you to the core, there is so much desperation in Paul; he is torn between the glory he should feel in defending his country and the gulit of having killed another human being . There is no musical score at all, which further provides for authentic, intense battle scenes. I finished this movie at 6 am and was so haunted by not necessarily the killing but the message. The ending itself is devestating, clinging to the last piece of humanity left in this horror- a flower.
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