[Film] All quiet on the Western Front

[Cheeky Monkey]

Managed an hour of it, up until the long scene with them peeling potatoes and the ruminating that came with it. It was, inevitably I guess, a bit ‘paint by numbers’ for me, young naive wide eyed patriotic youth sign up for the great and noble cause, find it’s anything but yadda yadda. Big Daniel Bruhl fan, shame his part wasn’t bigger. Big budget and well acted though, a quality production.

 

[Taybha]

Don't want to spoiler alert anything but is that actually true what the wanker German general ordered his men to do 20 minutes before the ceasefire ?

A yes or no is fine as if it's a yes that surely has to be one of the most insane orders to soldiers in history.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Powerful

 

[wuntbedruv]

Don't want to spoiler alert anything but is that actually true what the wanker German general ordered his men to do 20 minutes before the ceasefire ?

A yes or no is fine as if it's a yes that surely has to be one of the most insane orders to soldiers in history.

I don't know the last battle but there is a lot of re-writing of the book for this version of the film. It is a long time since i last read it but iirc the main character Paul Baumer dies in late October not armistice day. The timeline also has some liberties.

Still a great film though and the anti war message still carries through.

 

[wuntbedruv]

In the last hours of World War I, a terrible toll

Thousands of troops were dying even as the clock ticked down to the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[SeagullinExile]

Don't want to spoiler alert anything but is that actually true what the wanker German general ordered his men to do 20 minutes before the ceasefire ?

A yes or no is fine as if it's a yes that surely has to be one of the most insane orders to soldiers in history.

Not sure. I know at least one US commander definitely did, in order to gain some ‘glory’ before the ceasefire kicked in. 3500 US dead in the final hours of the war. Shocking really.

 

[wuntbedruv]

Don't want to spoiler alert anything but is that actually true what the wanker German general ordered his men to do 20 minutes before the ceasefire ?

A yes or no is fine as if it's a yes that surely has to be one of the most insane orders to soldiers in history.

10,900 casualties estimated for the last day

 

[Happy Exile]

Watched this yesterday and a good film. As others have said some rewriting from the book and I think lost the most powerful bit and the bit from which it got it's name: Paul dies on a day on which hundreds of others die, shot by a sniper I think, certainly nothing dramatic or exceptional or heroic, and on a day in which there is no significant action anywhere so it is reported by the generals as "all quiet on the Western front". For 16 year old me that brought home the futility and the casual disregard for life and death more than anything else.

 

[jakarta]

I didn't think it was as good as the original version, very possibly as the original cast could have served, or had family that served in WW1.

Best War Film from a German perspective has to be Cross of Iron...

 

[wuntbedruv]

Watched this yesterday and a good film. As others have said some rewriting from the book and I think lost the most powerful bit and the bit from which it got it's name: Paul dies on a day on which hundreds of others die, shot by a sniper I think, certainly nothing dramatic or exceptional or heroic, and on a day in which there is no significant action anywhere so it is reported by the generals as "all quiet on the Western front". For 16 year old me that brought home the futility and the casual disregard for life and death more than anything else.

The proper translation of the German title is " In the west nothing new" and artistic license is taken from beginning to end but I believe the film holds well to the sentiments of the book, a book regarded as subversive enough to be burned by the "German Students Union". Remarque eventually escaping persecution and moved to the USA.

But most reworkings of books have to truncate and adjust the story ( unless you are filming " The Reluctant Fundamentalists " in which case you have the perfect story for a film including the whole book but just decide to screw up the whole tale) the perfect example being Les Miserables, at truly epic novel over 1600 pages long being truncated to less than an eight of the story.

 

[portlock seagull]

I didn't think it was as good as the original version, very possibly as the original cast could have served, or had family that served in WW1.

Best War Film from a German perspective has to be Cross of Iron...

Concur.

Original is easily the best of the 3. The 70s remake with Walton boy is ok. This Netflix version was terrible. Boring in-fact, I didn’t care for Paul or any of the characters and think you make a good point. It’s poor perhaps because of the passage of time and almost trying too hard. And yes, Cross of Iron is a superb anti war production - far superior to this latest addition to the genre. Rewatched Come and See last month. Not seen since 80’s Channel 4 days. My god, that’s a harrowing watch which tops the lot.

 

[Comrade Sam]

Really looking forward to this. Thought 1917 started as a good portrayal, then went all Germans nutcase and bad and British good and heroic. Also was a bit Private Ryan, begins as a study of the horrific brutality of war and then becomes a story of a far fetched struggle against the odds. 1917 was along the Gove rewriting of WW1 as an earlier WW2 - democratic and free Britain Vs barbaric and murderous Huns.

 

[Pavilionaire]

A powerful film, we watched it as a family last weekend. This is one of a number of high quality war films to come out over the last fews years.

 

[Pevenseagull]

A solid B+

It you think you would like to watch it you will get what you want from it.

 

[Brovion]

.

Spoiler: Plot

Hmm. Watched it at the weekend and whilst I thought it was ok I don't think it was a patch on the original - or even the color remake. For a start it was too long (a failing in a lot of modern films IMO). Also they missed out for me a couple of important bits. They went straight from enrolling to going to the Front - and stayed there. They missed out the training with the abusive NCO, which in the original had a good pay-off as he was eventually sent to the Front as well where he was absolutely useless compared to the battle-hardened teenagers he'd trained. It also missed out the 'homecoming' section where Baumer is so appalled by the jingoistic attitudes he encounters that he can't wait to get back to the war.

Finally in the original his death (by sniper) is just a low-level, incidental, mundane, pointless death on what would be called a 'quiet' day. I thought that was better than showing him being killed after putting up a good fight in a big battle right at the war's end

EDIT: Probably too late now as others have quoted me in disgust, but I found out how to use the spoiler tag! Click the three dots at the end of the toolbar and you see additional tags, one of them is 'Spoiler'.'

 

[Pavilionaire]

Hmm. Watched it at the weekend and whilst I thought it was ok I don't think it was a patch on the original - or even the color remake. For a start it was too long (a failing in a lot of modern films IMO). Also they missed out for me a couple of important bits. They went straight from enrolling to going to the Front - and stayed there. They missed out the training with the abusive NCO, which in the original had a good pay-off as he was eventually sent to the Front as well where he was absolutely useless compared to the battle-hardened teenagers he'd trained. It also missed out the 'homecoming' section where Baumer is so appalled by the jingoistic attitudes he encounters that he can't wait to get back to the war.

Finally in the original his death (by sniper) is just a low-level, incidental, mundane, pointless death on what would be called a 'quiet' day. I thought that was better than showing him being killed after putting up a good fight in a big battle right at the war's end.

As spoilers go that's a damn good effort. Any views on the remakes of The Italian Job or Murder on the Orient Express?

 

[Dibdab]

Hmm. Watched it at the weekend and whilst I thought it was ok I don't think it was a patch on the original - or even the color remake. For a start it was too long (a failing in a lot of modern films IMO). Also they missed out for me a couple of important bits. They went straight from enrolling to going to the Front - and stayed there. They missed out the training with the abusive NCO, which in the original had a good pay-off as he was eventually sent to the Front as well where he was absolutely useless compared to the battle-hardened teenagers he'd trained. It also missed out the 'homecoming' section where Baumer is so appalled by the jingoistic attitudes he encounters that he can't wait to get back to the war.

Finally in the original his death (by sniper) is just a low-level, incidental, mundane, pointless death on what would be called a 'quiet' day. I thought that was better than showing him being killed after putting up a good fight in a big battle right at the war's end.

FFS

 

[Cheshire Cat]

RC Sherriff - Journey's End - BBC Sounds

British front line officer Captain Stanhope faces the reality of the First World War.

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 4 Extra did Journey's End over the weekend

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

If your mind thinks at any point “They’re acting” it’s game over, even though you obvs rationally know that they are, and aren’t actually on the ‘Frontier d’Ouest’ back in the day. I also found myself looking at it from a directional stand point, the number of extras, which bits were CGI etc. which killed the suspension of disbelief somewhat.

 

[Brovion]

As spoilers go that's a damn good effort. Any views on the remakes of The Italian Job or Murder on the Orient Express?

No, but I can tell you that the ship sinks in 'Titanic'!

Anyway, sorry. I guess I thought that as the story is such a classic everybody, even if they hadn't seen one of the earlier versions, knew it and knows how it ends.