'All Quiet on the Western Front'

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) is one of the early adaptations of the German author, Erich Maria Remarque's book, who alike the film, was highly Americanized, with close links to the stars of Hollywood. It depicts the tale of a young German foot soldier's journey through war, yet unlike Remarque, the film made no attempt to shy away from the stereotypically glamorous qualities of Hollywood movies, it was the Golden Age of film and so alike many others of its time, it contained the humour, drama, the American accents and the pin-up-like girls that sculpted that era.

The Director, a Russian, and former veteran of the Signal Corps, brings a particularly modern display of warfare - on par with some films even today. Many of the scenes featured have been creatively shot through windows or display a true to life depiction of battlefield experiences, including explosions and dust showering overhead after bombings, supported by the use of real locations, a subject which cinematographer Arthur Edison remarked, "We might as well have been in the war". Despite this realism, there is a lack of attention to detail in some areas, particularly in the idealized way in which the film cleanly depicts war, without at any time depicting blood and gore. Perhaps purposely replacing this with comedy so that it would numb the audiences reactions to such a subject? The often humorous and mischievous goings on of the soldiers is short-lived as situations go from fun and foolery to madness and depression as they witness their first death, shattering their beliefs (built up by their teacher and other adults) that this was a 'Great' War. From then on we see how war can break a man and change his reactions, through visions of desperate situations of ravenous wolfpack-like men, hungry enough to bludgeon and eat rats with a spade, turn against one another, disrespect and steal from the fellow dead. I found the most touching and symbolic scene though, was of the soldier, killed whilst reaching for a butterfly. It is the contrast of the delicacy of the butterfly and innocence of the soldier's intentions with the harsh realisations of war that made it the most memorable part for me.

(Left) Paul & Kat, (Top Right) The butterfly Scene, (Bottom Right) One of the many realistic effects shown in this film.

Alike the previous weeks films I took note or drew any prop, or interesting costumes seen. I found these to be slightly more relevant than those noted in last week's film, Oh! What a Lovely War, because All Quiet on the Western Front was particularly associated with the lower-middle class, small towns and rural villages, which are so embedded in our project brief.