All Quiet on the Western Front - DVD

Product Description

Lewis Milestone's epic screen adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's anti-war novel stars Lew Ayres as one of a group of German teenagers who enlist for World War I after hearing a stirring speech from their professor. They soon discover that war is less about noble ideas and sacrifice than it is about pain, humiliation, suffering and death. Winner of the Best Picture Oscar in 1930.

Amazon.co.uk Review

If a classic movie can be measured by the number of indelible images it burns into the collective imagination, then All Quiet on the Western Front's status is undisputed. Since its release in 1930 (and Oscar win for best picture), this film's saga of German boys avidly signing up for World War I battle--and then learning the truth of war--has been acclaimed for its intensity, artistry, and grown-up approach. Director Lewis Milestone's technical expertise is already stunning in the great opening sequence, as a professor exhorts his students to volunteer for the glory of the Fatherland while troops march past the windows. Erich Maria Remarque's novel is faithfully followed, but Milestone's superbly composed frames make it physical: the first battle scene, with the camera prowling the trenches as they fill with death and chaos, was surely the Saving Private Ryan of its day. The cast is strong, with little-known Lew Ayres finding stardom in the lead (Ayres became a pacifist and conscientious objector during World War II; although he served in battle as a medic, the stance harmed his career).--Robert Horton