All quiet on the western front

All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The film from director Edward Berger is based on the world renowned bestseller of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.

All Quiet on the Western Front, American war film, released in 1930 and set during World War I, that is regarded as one of the most effective antiwar movies ever made. It won great praise in the United States but was banned in several other countries, including Germany, because of its pacifist message. The movie, which was based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, earned the Academy Award for best picture (then called most outstanding production).

The movie begins in a small German town in 1914. As a military parade takes place outside a school, a group of students, including the film’s protagonist, Paul Baumer (played by Lew Ayres), volunteer for the army at the encouragement of Professor Kantorek (Arnold Lucy), who extols the glory of military service. Following training camp, where they endure the sadistic drill sergeant Himmelstoss (John Wray), the new recruits are sent to the front. They arrive at a bombed-out French town amid a hail of enemy shells and meet some weary veterans, among them Tjaden (Slim Summerville) and Sergeant Katczinsky, known as Kat (Louis Wolheim). That night the new recruits are sent out to install barbed wire under the command of Kat. As they work, the soldiers come under attack. One of the recruits is blinded by an explosion, and when he runs forward in a panic, he is killed. Kemmerick (Ben Alexander) endangers himself in order to retrieve the body, earning a rebuke from Kat.

For several days the company is pinned down in a bunker as shells explode around them. When part of the bunker collapses, Kemmerick flees and is hit in the leg. After the shelling finally stops, the soldiers move forward into the trenches. An attack by French soldiers results in massive casualties, and the Germans are forced to retreat. However, they mount a counteroffensive and regain their original position, having lost nearly half their company. Afterward, Paul goes to visit Kemmerick in the field hospital. Kemmerick’s leg has been amputated, and he dies while Paul is there. Paul takes Kemmerick’s boots, which are given to a succession of soldiers as fighting continues to decimate the company. In a memorable scene, a wounded Paul takes shelter in a crater, only to be joined by a French soldier (Raymond Griffith) who is also seeking refuge. In panic, Paul stabs him with a bayonet. The ongoing battle keeps Paul trapped in the crater with the slowly dying Frenchman, and Paul suffers an agony of remorse. After being wounded in a later battle, Paul is sent to a hospital behind the lines.

When Paul recovers, he is allowed to return home on leave. While he is there, his father’s friends dismiss his accounts of the war, and he finds Professor Kantorek still urging students to join the military and find glory. Kantorek asks Paul to share stories of heroism with the students. The schoolboys call him a coward when he tells them that there is nothing glamorous in dying for one’s country. Paul returns to the front to find that almost no one from his company has survived except Tjaden and Kat. An aerial attack wounds Kat, and Paul tries to carry him to safety, but another bomb kills Kat. In the final scene, Paul, in a trench, sees a butterfly and reaches for it. As he leans out of the trench, he is fatally struck by a bullet.

The film was based on the novel Im Westen nichts Neues (1929; All Quiet on the Western Front) by Erich Maria Remarque, who served in the German army during World War I. It was the first sound film (talkie) directed by Lewis Milestone. However, a version with intertitles was also made, to be shown in theatres that did not yet have equipment for movies with sound and for distribution in non-English-speaking countries. Ayres, influenced by the movie, declared himself a conscientious objector during World War II. All Quiet on the Western Front was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1990.

Production notes and credits:
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Lewis Milestone
Writers: C. Gardner Sullivan (supervising story chief), Maxwell Anderson and Del Andrews (adaptation), and George Abbott (screenplay)
Cinematography: Arthur Edeson and Karl Freund (uncredited)
Cast:
Lew Ayres (Paul Baumer)
Louis Wolheim (Kat)
John Wray (Himmelstoss)
Slim Summerville (Tjaden)
Ben Alexander (Kemmerick)


Four oscar awards for this film:

Edward Berger’s antiwar epic All Quiet on the Western Front has won the Oscar for best international feature for Germany at the 2023 Oscars.

The drama, the first German adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s World War I novel, was the frontrunner in the category after the film picked up nine Oscar nominations, including for best picture.

Lewis Milestone’s 1930 adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front was also an Oscar champ, winning Academy Awards for best picture and best director.

When taking the stage, Berger gave credit to the “many new friends” he made while working on the film including the cinematographer, costume designer, the hair and makeup designer and the production designer. “I owe everything to you and the rest of my crew,” he said.

He later mentioned how he recently connected with Tár cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister: “We’re from the same town … we made our first movie together — I was his assistant — and we held each other, and for 30 years it felt like there was an embrace of all the hard work that went into this. And it’s just deeply moving for all of us.”

Berger finished his speech by praising the stars of the film including newcomer Felix Kammerer. “This was your first movie, and you carried us on your shoulders as if it was nothing. Without you none of us would be here. Thank you Felix.”

Berger’s film, which stars newcomer Kammerer alongside Albrecht Schuch (System Crasher), Devid Striesow (The Counterfeiters) and Daniel Brühl beat out an impressive and eclectic list of international contenders, including Lukas Dhont’s heartbreaking melodrama Close from Belgium, winner of Cannes’ Grand Prix, Santiago Mitre’s legal period piece Argentina, 1985 for Argentina, Colm Bairéad’s exquisite family drama The Quiet Girl for Ireland and Jerzy Skolimowski’s Cannes jury prize winner EO, a drama told entirely from the perspective of a donkey.

All Quiet had a quiet launch at the Toronto Film Festival last year, but strong word of mouth and support from industry fans helped the Netflix film build momentum throughout awards season. Last month, the movie swept Britain’s BAFTA awards, taking seven trophies, including best film and best director for Berger.

In The Hollywood Reporter’s review of All Quiet out of Toronto, John DeFore called the film a “visceral take on the German anti-war classic” and “another artful reminder that war is hell.”

This marks the fourth best international feature win for Germany and the first since Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others won the Oscar in the same category back in 2006. The first-ever win was Volker Schlöndorff’s The Tin Drum in 1979, entered under the auspices of West Germany.
Caroline Link’s Nowhere in Africa won the Oscar for Germany in 2002. All four of Germany’s Oscar winners have been period dramas.

Jimmy Kimmel returned as host for the 95th Oscars ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Visit The Hollywood Reporter’s awards page for more awards season coverage. See the star-studded Oscars red carpet arrivals here.