All Quiet On The Western Front
They left for war as boys, never to return as men.
A devastating story of war and a generation destroyed. In 1914 a group of German schoolboys, idealistic and inflamed with youthful patriotism, set off to fight in the "glorious" war. During their brutal basic training disenchantment begins; then, boarding a train for the front, they see the wounded being rushed back to hospitals. They begin to grasp the grim reality of war.
On their first night in action they come under heavy attack. In the trenches, they begin to fall. Their youth is stripped away by the violence, and the boys become as sullen as veterans.
When Paul (Richard Thomas) shoots a Frenchman and watches him die, he realizes the futility of the war. Wounded, he returns home to a different world, a place where he cannot fit in. Sent back into battle, he meets destiny on a day when the German High Command Communiqué states simply, All Quiet On The Western Front.
Member Reviews
Not So Quiet on the Western Front - Chiroqueen
This movie is excellent and well worth watching several times. It's gripping but oh so sad. Seeing young men as they graduate from High School being told by their teacher, who didn't enlist, that it's their duty to the Fatherland to enlist. The boys are so excited about finishing school and have plans for their futures but the war kills all their plans as they dutifully enlist. I don't think any of them dared not enlist. The horrors that followed were so real, tho' some scenes were used several times with different town names. The devastation of the towns and villages, even the countryside, was terrible to see but that was nothing to seeing how many lives were lost over a small stretch of land. One learns again about the stupidity of war, tho' in my opinion, war is better than one's country being run by a dictator. All teenagers should watch this movie and put themselves in the shoes of each soldier; maybe then they would realize what a priviledge they have to live in Canada today.Wonderful - Unshaven
It is hard to dislike this movie if you have ever read the book. This is one of th estories I read a dozen times between being a boy and now as a man.
The movie of boys, yes boys, who go off to war. Who are told the same things the enemies boys are told. Who die for a strip of land in an unnamed place only to lose it the next day. Boys who die in droves for nothing.
This is not a preachy movie, as it has plenty of action, but it is balanced well with a story to make it an enjoyable movie.
Member Reviews
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Not So Quiet on the Western Front - Chiroqueen
This movie is excellent and well worth watching several times. It's gripping but oh so sad. Seeing young men as they graduate from High School being told by their teacher, who didn't enlist, that it's their duty to the Fatherland to enlist. The boys are so ...Wonderful - Unshaven
It is hard to dislike this movie if you have ever read the book. This is one of th estories I read a dozen times between being a boy and now as a man.
The movie of boys, yes boys, who go off to war. Who are told the same things the enemies boys are ...