REALISM: Erich Remarque, who wrote All Quiet on the Western
Front, was a veteran of WWI. The
movie recreates the realism of the book.
This starts with the opening scene that reflects the enthusiasm of the
German people for the war. The training
camp scenes give a taste of Prussian discipline. At the front, director Milestone did a
remarkable job with the trenches, dugouts, and no man’s land. The film includes references to the rats, the
lice, shell shock. The battles are as
realistic as one could expect with the technology available. Paul’s trip home shows the cluelessness of
the public to the facts at the front. GRADE
- A
“Oh! What a Lovely War” is not meant to be literally
realistic. In fact, much of it is
surreal. One scene has the cavalry as a
merry go round. The Brighton West Pier
represents the home front. Perhaps
surprisingly, the front is earthy and unsentimental. It throws in little touches like early gas
masks and canaries to warn of gas attacks.
The most realistic aspect of the film is the depiction of the
leaders. They are damned by their own
words and attitudes. GRADE
- C+
FIRST
QUARTER SCORE: All Quiet -
9 Lovely War - 7
DIALOGUE: “All Quiet” is not a dialogue driven movie. It has few famous quotes, but the soldier
banter is natural. There are two scenes
where dialogue is strong - when the
soldiers discuss the war and when Paul returns to his old classroom and
describes the war to the new potential cannon-fodder. GRADE - B
“Lovely War” uses a lot of primary source material so
the words coming out of the mouths of the kings and generals are real. The rest of the dialogue is fine and not
flowery. If you count the numerous
period songs, then the dialogue is outstanding.
The songs are an integral part of the story and are not just background
or filler. GRADE - A
HALFTIME
SCORE: All Quiet - 17
Lovely War - 16
SOLDIER
BEHAVIOR: “All Quiet” is one of
the best movies in delineating German soldier life in WWI. You can
learn a lot about soldier life in WWI from this movie. The movie is especially strong in its
depiction of soldier camaraderie. The
bonds are forged in the furnace of the trenches. The film throws in numerous details of
the hardships the soldiers endured. It
hits many of the “lacks”: food,
female companionship, sleep,
hygiene GRADE
- A
“Lovely War” is not really
focused on depicting soldier life. The
vibe is apt. The arc takes the men from
patriotic enthusiasm to jaded cynicism.
The black humor is relevant. The
very British behavior may be a little clicheish, but there was a certain stiff
upper lip quality to the British soldiers of the Great War. GRADE - B
THIRD QUARTER SCORE: All
Quiet -
26 Lovely War - 24
ENTERTAINMENT:“All
Quiet” is a faithful presentation of the most famous war novel. The movie was a box office success and
garnered the Best Picture award. The
plot is a near perfect imagining of the effect the war could have on a group of
young men who volunteer with no real knowledge of war and end up tasting the
fruits and ashes of that war. It was
smashing entertainment for the 1930s, but is a bit outdated today. This is mainly attributable to the archaic
silent movie style acting of much of the cast.
All things considered, it holds up remarkably well and can be viewed
numerous times if you are a war movie fan.
GRADE - A
“Lovely War” is a unique take on
the war. It is probably the most
female-friendly of the movies in the tournament. The songs are numerous and very
entertaining. Unfortunately, you have to
be historically literate to really enjoy the movie. It is something of a niche film. Since most people are only vaguely familiar
with the history of the war, it is not entertainment for the masses. It is more educational than
entertainment. GRADE - B
FINAL SCORE: All Quiet - 35
Lovely War - 32
MATCH ANALYSIS:This was
an intriguing match-up between movies with contrasting styles. “All Quiet” is justifiably considered to be a
masterpiece, but “Lovely War” deserves to be considered one of the best WWI
movies. Certainly, “All Quiet” should
have advanced in a tournament to determine the best WWI combat film. It is the quintessential movie of its
type. “Lovely War” is a square peg in a
round hole. As a musical set in the war, it is without peer. My suggestion is to pair the movies up to get
the full WWI experience. Watch “All
Quiet” for the foot soldier perspective and watch “Lovely War” to see how they
got into that mess.
PLOT:“All Quiet…” is a faithful rendering of the most
famous war novel. This makes the plot
outstanding. For those of you who are
reading this from another planet, the movie is the story of Paul Baumer and his
mates as they try to survive on the Western Front. Paul goes from naïve schoolboy to cynical
veteran. The men go through boot camp
and then it’s off to the front to experience what the war is really like. Under the tutelage of a wizened old vet, Paul
and the boys learn the ropes. Along the
way they find out that war sucks and few survive. It’s heart-felt and heart-breaking. It has several iconic combat scenes. GRADE - A+
“Private Peaceful” is based on a young adult
novel. It is the tale of two brothers
and the girl they both love. She chooses
the older Charlie which breaks Tommo’s heart.
The war separates the couple, but reunites the brothers. Tommo and Charlie are lower class lads who go
off to the Western Front where they are harassed by evil sergeant Hanley. He is
a stock villain who does everything but twirl his mustache. The plot builds to the execution of one of
the boys for disobeying orders. It
concludes with a trite twist ending. GRADE
- C+
FIRST
QUARTER SCORE: All Quiet -
10 Peaceful - 7
ACTING:The only real flaw in “All Quiet” is in the
acting. The cast is not special. Lew Ayres was not a big star and did not get
top billing. His performance is much too
overwrought. Top billing went to Louis
Wolheim who played Kat. He and Slim Summerville
(Tjaden) are the only main actors who don’t chew scenery. There are several moments in the film where
the acting causes giggles. Although a
talkie, the film is distinctly silent in its acting. Even Ayres, who became a star from his role as
Paul, is cringe-inducing at times. GRADE
- C
“Private Peaceful” stars the up and coming Jack
O’Connell as Charlie and he brings a lot of charisma to the role. The rest of the cast is not well known, but they
are fine. John Lynch foams at the mouth
as the despicable Hanley, but the role was written for that. GRADE - C
HALFTIME
SCORE: All Quiet -
16 Peaceful - 13
COMBAT: It may surprise many that “All Quiet” has only 11
minutes of combat. The quality is high, however. The big set piece trench warfare scene is a
classic. It is the best at showing the
back and forth of trench assaults. The
French evict them in spite of their machine guns and rifle fire, they retreat
to their reserve trench, a barrage forces the French back, the Germans
counterattack and take the French trench, but they withdraw and everyone is
back where they started from! The scene
features some vicious hand-to-hand fighting and one indelible shot of severed
hands on the barbed wire. Combat is
secondary to the hardships and rare moments of humanity that Paul and the
others undergo. GRADE - B
“Private Peaceful” has only 5 minutes of combat and
what there is is small scale. It is also
unrealistically staged. The no man’s
land is merely a field. No shell
craters. No reason to scare the
kiddies. Besides, it’s a tale of two
brothers and their girl friend. The only
part combat plays is to set up the court-martial. You would think it was a play. GRADE - D
THIRD
QUARTER SCORE: All Quiet -
24 Peaceful - 18
ANTI-WAR: “All Quiet” is based on the most famous antiwar novel
ever written. And the movie surely
brings the vibe to the silver screen.
This theme that the war was a terrible mistake kicks in from the very
first scene and is consistently permeating the film throughout even the home
front scene. The movie includes Paul’s
stay in the hospital which is another form of horror. The body count is reflective of an anti-war
movie. The anti-command sub-theme is
exemplified by the Himmelstoss character.
By the way, Lew Ayres became a conscientious objector in WWII due to his
involvement in the movie. GRADE
- A+
“Private Peaceful” is meant to be anti-war in a
lecturing sort of way. Being aimed at a
young audience, the theme is simplified and unsubtle. The movie does not really show the horrors of
trench warfare. The big tear-jerking
moment is the result of villainy that could have been found in civilian
life. If anything, the movie is more
anti-upper class. The Peaceful family is
trod upon by their local landlord. GRADE
- C
FINAL
SCORE: All Quiet - 34
Private
Peaceful - 24
MATCH
ANALYSIS: Hey, I had to go
through the motions, okay? This was
truly a mismatch. It was a lightweight
up against a heavyweight and it got pummeled.
“All Quiet” is a classic that is arguably still the best WWI movie ever
made. “Private Peaceful” will be
forgotten soon. Not that it was the 16th
best movie in the tournament. There were
definitely worse contenders.
It all began in the summer of
2010 after I saw the movie “Julie and Julia”.That is a movie about a young woman who decides to blog about trying all
of Julia Childs’ recipes.I was looking
for something to create a blog about and had recently gotten a copy of Military
History magazine’s “100 Greatest War Movies” issue.Add this to my lifelong love of war movies
and the project took shape and I was off and running. The initial idea was to
review the 100 on a weekly basis.That
quickly proved too ambitious for a full-time teacher and soccer coach, hence
the plus four years to reach #1.Amazingly, I have been able to view every one of the 100, although some
were difficult to obtain.I decided early on that I wanted to branch out
and do more than just the 100.The blog
expanded to include a variety of war movies.Although finishing the project is very satisfying, it is not the end of
my journey.I now move on to compiling
my own list of the 100 Best War Movies and continue the variety of reviews I
have been doing.There are still plenty
of war movies, war miniseries, and war television series to be watched.And the occasional war film that makes it to
the theater.
BACK-STORY:The first great anti-war film was based on the
greatest anti-war novel ever written.Lewis Milestone took on the task of bringing Erich Remarque’s book to
the screen and even considered casting Remarque as Paul Baumer.Lew Ayres won the role and was so affected by
it that he became a pacifist and jeopardized his career by claiming
conscientious objector status in WWII.His brave service as a medic helped regain much good will from the
public.Milestone had learned filmmaking
in the Signal Corps during WWI.He knew
what war looked like from editing war footage.He recreated no man’s land on a ranch in California.Shell holes were blasted with dynamite and
then filled with muddy rain water.A
French village was built on a back lot and included a canal that was dug for
the swimming scene.Twenty tons of black
powder and ten tons of dynamite were used for the battle scenes.One explosion resulted in Milestone being hit
by debris and knocked unconscious.2,000
extras were found in California by requesting help from American Legion
posts.The US Army could not provide
soldiers because American doughboys could not appear in foreign uniforms on
film.The 99 day shoot was double the
planned 48.The $.9 million budget
boomed to $1.4 million.It paid off as
the movie was a smashing success and won the Best Picture Oscar.Milestone won Best Director and the film was
nominated for Writing and Cinematography.It was ranked #54 on AFIs original list of the 100 greatest movies, but
did not make the revised list issued in 2007!(See below for the list of war movies that made the list.)It was not a smashing success in Nazi
Germany, a country Remarque had been forced to flee for his life.At its premiere, Goebbels had the Brown
Shirts release mice, stink bombs, and sneezing powder to clear the theater.The movie was pulled after a week and not
shown again in Germany until 1952 ( the year Remarque returned to his homeland
).
OPENING:A title card:“This story is neither an accusation nor a confession and least of all
not an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face
with it.It will try simply to tell of a
generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were
destroyed by the war…”(This is the
opening to the book and previews the fact that the movie follows the book
closely.)It seems to be an adventure as
the opening scene has enthusiastic soldiers march through a German town to
cheers from the populace.In a high
school classroom, Kantorek (Arnold Lucy) harangues his charges about their duty
to the Fatherland.They are “the iron
men of Germany, the gay heroes who will repulse the enemy…”The camera pans to the boys’ faces as each
imagines what enlistment will mean.One
visualizes his heartbroken mother and his proud father.Another sees himself riding in a parade
sandwiched between two babes.(Milestone
cut several other imaginings including Paul working at home on his writing and
being torn between it and the army.)Peer pressure and the band wagon effect have the boys enlisting en
masse.Added bonus:no more school!
SUMMARY:Exit class, enter training center.The boys-now-men naively look forward to
combat, but the arrival of their ex-postman Himmelstoss (John Wray) throws cold
mud in their faces.He gives the typical
denigrating speech where he calls them stupid and tells them to forget everything
they know.“I’ll take the mother’s milk
out of you.I’ll make you
hard-boiled.I’ll make soldiers out of
you or kill you.”Having never seen a
war movie drill sergeant (since they had not been invented until this movie),
they consider Himmelstoss’ tough training methods to be outrageous.(Milestone cut two scenes fleshing out
Himmelstoss’ pettiness.For example,
Paul and Albert cleaning the floors with toothbrushes.)Especially the trips to “the muddy field”.Revenge involves a caning and a mud
puddle.They don’t bother to thank
Himmelstoss for hardening them for the front.
The
muddy field does not prepare them for the chaos and death which awaits them the
moment they exit the train.They are
thrust in with some veterans who sneer about newbies being “fresh from the
turnip patch”.Making his grand entrance
with a purloined hog comes the first scrounger in war movie history.Katczinsky (Louis Wolheim) also doubles as
the crusty non-com who actually runs the unit.He questions why they left school.They will too - shortly.Kat
shepherds them on their first taste which is a routine wiring detail in no
man’s land at night.The lorrie driver tells
them:“If there any of you left, I’ll
pick you up in the morning.”A close
shell causes one of them to crap his pants – you don’t see that kind of realism
in modern war movies.The same soldier
(Behn – the most reluctant of Kantorek’s boys) is the first to die.He overemotes to death.
In
a claustrophobic dugout scene, the crew undergoes a bombardment (and a rat
assault) and several of the new guys exhibit shell shock.Kimmerich (Ben Alexander) panics and ends up
in the hospital.He passes on and passes
on his awesome boots.They are so
comfortable that the men dismiss the cursed nature of them as a running theme
has them being passed from soldier to soldier.
The
big battle scene is one of the greatest in war movie history.I show it in my classes to prepare them for
their letter from the trenches of WWI.A
panning shot of the German trench is intercut with views of no man’s land.A rolling barrage is followed by a wave of
French poilu reaching the Germans in spite of the staccato rhythm and results
of the Hun machine guns.Emphasis on
machine.Milestone takes advantage of
the pre-Victorian Production Code to show the iconic severed hands on the
barbed wire visual.This also explains
the hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets and entrenching tools.Retreat, counterbarrage, counterattack,
withdrawal.Result =lots of dead men + no territorial
change.WWI in a nut shell.
One
advantage of fifty percent casualties is the survivors get double rations of
beans and sausages from a REMF cook.War
wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for the death.The après-dinner discussion of war is cynically
pacifistic.
How do they start a war?
One country
offends another.
How can one
country offend another?You mean there’s
a mountain over in Germany that gets mad at a field in France?
No.One people offend another.
Oh, I shouldn’t
be here at all.I don’t feel offended.
Kat concludes the discussion with his opinion
that the Kaiser’s got everything he needs, but he never had a war.Every leader needs to have a war and it
benefits the manufacturers.“It’s a kind
of fever – no one wants it, but suddenly here it is.”He makes the common sense suggestion that the
leaders of the opposing sides meet in their underwear in a field with clubs.
Guess
what despised ex-drill master shows up at the front?Himmelstoss’ by the book authority trip is jeered
at by his former pupils.“Take a run and
jump at yourself”.If this were Vietnam,
he would be frag-bait.In the next
battle, Himmelstoss overcomes a bout of cowardice with rote obedience to
command.Paul survives a bombardment by
taking refuge in a grave and then has his encounter with the Frenchman in the
shell crater.It seems all the soldiers
are human beings in spite of having different colored uniforms.Paul:“You’re dead, but you’re better off than me.”
Lew Ayres and the only cast member who does not chew the scenery
An
interlude with some madmoiselles (sex for bread and sausage) is followed by
Albert (those cursed boots!) and Paul being wounded and sent to a
hospital.After surviving the “dying
room”, Paul gets to visit the clueless home front.He doesn’t fit in and is repulsed by the
armchair generaling by his father and his blathering friends.(Milestone cut a scene where Paul is berated
by an officer for not properly saluting.)A visit to Kantorek finds him recruiting more “iron men of Germany”.Paul’s impromptu guest speaker stint ends with
hisses from the future fodder as he tells it like it is.“We live in the trenches. We fight. Sometimes
we get killed.That’s all.”(Milestone cut Paul’s awkward visit with
Kimmerich’s mother where he lies and tells her he died painlessly.)
Paul gives his sausage to a French girl
CLOSING:Paul returns to his real home to find that only
Tjaden and Kat are still around. He goes to find Kat on a failed scrounging
expedition.An incredibly accurate
sniper plane picks out the pair and drops a bomb that wounds Kat in the
shin.Paul is carrying Kat to the aid
station when the bastard drops another bomb that kills Kat.Paul does not know this until the medic tells
him his friend is “stone dead”.Later,
as the war approaches its end, Paul notices a butterfly (he collected
butterflies as a kid) and upon reaching for it, he is killed by a French sniper
(who is the vengeance minded brother of the guy he stabbed in the shell
crater.Oops, spoiler alert- that is the
plot twist in the upcoming new Hollywood version of the movie).By the way, Milestone came up with the ending (the book is vague as to what happens to Paul)
after principal filming ended so he used his own arm for the scene.
WOULD
CHICKS DIG IT?If they are war movie
fans, certainly.It is a classic and set
the template for all future war movies.It
is well balanced and covers more than just soldier stuff.It even has five female speaking roles!Although three are French and not
subtitled.You can figure out what the
girls are saying, however.The combat is
not graphic or bloody.The language is
tame as is to be expected for a film from that time period.If your significant other is not a war movie
fan, they still might enjoy it.In fact,
I would imagine women might tolerate the overemoting more than most guys.
HISTORICAL
ACCURACY:Obviously “All Quiet” is
not a true story.However, Remarque was
a German infantryman during the Great War and all of the incidents in the film
are realistic and most were probably based on incidents in Remarque’s
experiences.The film has a great deal
of verisimilitude.
The
opening public enthusiasm is appropriate for people who had not had a dose of
Hell since the Franco-Prussian War thirty years earlier.The way young men were manipulated by the
authorities to go to war is a major theme.(It is important to note that if the script had been reversed and the
boys were Americans, the movie never would have been made.)The training scenes are realistic, if
softened.The Himmelstoss of the book is
harsher and closer to the Prussian style. The dynamic between the new
replacements and the hardened veterans is appropriate and could be from any war
and any country (and any war movie).
You
can learn a lot about soldier life in WWI from this movie.The movie is especially strong in its
depiction of soldier camaraderie.The
bonds are forged in the furnace of the trenches.The film throws in numerous details of the
hardships the soldiers endured.It hits
many of the “lacks”:food, female
companionship,sleep, hygiene
The
wiring detail is a nice touch and reenacts a common WWI duty that is seldom
depicted.The dugout bombardment scene
is well done and gets the claustrophobia and stress right.The movie only implies that this situation
could last for up to a week and it is not surprising that some of the new
soldiers cracked.As far as the rat
assault, this is an effective cameo from a creature that was a major nuisance
in the trenches.Speaking of critters,
there is an appearance by the ubiquitous lice.
One
could carp a bit about the rather too pristine hospital scene with the amputee
Kimmerich, but the reality of wound mortality is accurate.The combat set pieces are the highlights of
the film.Although understandably
truncated, you can not ask for a more accurate depiction of the insanity of
trench warfare.Where “Paths of Glory” showed
the suicidal nature of many attacks, “All Quiet” concentrates on the
attack/counterattack nature of the tactics.The audience is left to wonder what was the purpose of attacks that did
not change the situation and yet resulted in terrible casualties.
Just
as important is how Paul’s return home reflects the detachment of the populace
from the realities of the war.Paul is
your typical soldier who finds his home to be a surrealistic reflection of a
bygone life that he has trouble remembering ever existed.It seems he is more comfortable in the dugout
with his new family. The mattress in
Paul’s bedroom is too soft.The
butterfly collection seems childish.The
old men, representing the powers that shipped the “iron youth” off to war, are
clueless about the actual status of the war.Just like in every war before and since.
CRITIQUE:“All Quiet” is a technical marvel and Milestone
belongs on the Mount Rushmore of war movie directors just for this movie alone.(He also made “A Walk in the Sun” and “Pork
Chop Hill”.)It is the kind of film
where you notice the cinematographic flourishes in a positive way. Milestone
has a penchant for framing scenes through doorways and windows.This tends to detach the audience or the main
characters from the exterior events.This is apparent from the opening scene where we see the parade through
a doorway and then we transition to Kantorek’s class as the parade passes
by.Milestone then has the fired-up boys
marching out to join the war.The battle
scenes include a variety of shots.There
is a magnificent panning shot over the trench intercut with views of no man’s
land.We even get some POV which was
rare for films from that era.The
interplay of the machine gun mowing down the wave of French does a chilling job
of depicting modern mechanized warfare.The
most memorable sight is of the French soldiers leaping into the trench.The most commendable aspect of the combat
scenes is the sound effects.For a movie
in the transitional stage from silent to sound, it is amazing how they got the
sound of the explosions so indelibly real.The sets also bear lauding.No
man’s land looks appropriately hellish.The village built for the movie is perfect.The dugout shows a real attention to mise en
scene.The enormous $1.4 million budget
was well spent.By the way, none of the
budget was spent of a soundtrack as Milestone felt it would trivialize the
plot.The lack of the usual sappy,
prod-your-emotions score of most black and white movies is a big plus.
The
main flaw in the movie and the main reason why I had disappointing results from
showing it to students is the elements that reflect the carryover from the
silent era.This is mainly reflected in
the acting which tends to be hammy.Some
of the actors’ facial contortions and scenery chewing are distracting.This is particularly apparent in highly
charged scenes like the one where Paul is stuck in the shell crater with the
Frenchman he stabbed.Speaking of which,
Lew Ayres is a weak link in the cast.He
is not up to the role and is either too passive or is too histrionic.Most of the rest of the cast also behave as
though they were told they were making a silent movie.Only a few seem comfortable with the new “talkie”
style of restrained acting.Wolheim
(Kat) and Summerville (Tjaden) take the acting honors.Interestingly, playing veterans, they seem
more comfortable in soldier’s boots.The
dialogue is not part of the acting problem.It is actually not bad and has an appropriate dose of cynicism and
soldier humor.This is undoubtedly due
to the fact that much of the dialogue comes from the book and Remarque knew how
soldiers talked.
The
acting keeps the film from being great entertainment.On the other hand, the themes make it an
important war movie.The movie is a good
retelling of the most significant war novel ever written.You do not have to read Remarque’s novel to
get his messages.The movie does that
for the audience.Remarque clearly
intended to write an anti-war testament and the movie passes this on
admirably.It has been said that all war
movies are anti-war.I disagree with
this, but “All Quiet” has got to be one of the most unambiguous examples of
this theory.The movie is much deeper
than “war sucks”.It also posits that
the soldier age generation was betrayed by the establishment (teachers,
fathers, generals).A third theme is
that the soldiers were the same no matter the side.This was hammered at in the shell crater
scene.The scene with the French women
expands this theme.A corollary to this
is the soldier discussions that emphasize that soldiers don’t have a clue about
what war is all about and why they are fighting.The cynicism and disillusionment that effect
soldiers because of the incompetence and pomposity of leadership are
effectively depicted.
CONCLUSION:If you have followed this blog, the revelation that
“All Quiet” finished #1 has probably not come as a surprise.Military History magazine did not go out on a
limb with this choice.It’s not like
naming Jennifer Aniston the sexiest woman ever.And the choice confirms my often stated theory that the panel read
“greatest” as meaning “most important”.If that is true, then there was no other choice for #1.“All Quiet” is the king of war movies.In many ways it created the genre as we know
it, although it is not the first war movie.You could argue it was the first anti-war movie.Hollywood took a while to evolve to clearly
anti-war movies.Before U.S. entered the
war, most war films advocated neutrality.Then they supported preparedness (The Battle Cry of Peace).Once we entered, the movies favored
intervention.In the Twenties, Hollywood
depicted the war as an adventure (What Price Glory?, Wings, The Big Parade).By the end of the decade, books like “All
Quiet” steered the industry toward cynicism and thus it is the granddaddy of
movies like “Platoon”.More important,
the movie established many of the tropes that define war movies.The comradeship and bonding of soldiers at
the front.The detachment from the home
front.The clueless leaders.The crusty veterans.The officer who lets power go to his
head.The friends who go to war together
and evolve into experienced soldiers until they die.Specifically, it created the subgenre of “who
will survive?”It’s a testament to the
greatness of the book/movie that the deaths are not predictable and are so
memorable.
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