All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)

A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Paul Monash (screenplay), Erich Maria Remarque (novel)

Stars:

Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Thomas	...	Paul Baumer
Ernest Borgnine	...	Stanislaus Katczinsky
Donald Pleasence	...	Kantorek
Ian Holm	...	Himmelstoss
Patricia Neal	...	Paul's Mother
Paul Mark Elliott	...	Josef Behm (as Mark Elliott)
David Bradley	...	Albert Kropp (as Dai Bradley)
Matthew Evans	...	Friedrich Muller (as Mathew Evans)
George Winter	...	Franz Kemmerich
Dominic Jephcott	...	Peter Leer
Mark Drewry	...	Tjaden
Colin Mayes	...	Westhus
Ewan Stewart	...	Detering
Michael Sheard	...	Paul's Father
Katerina Lírová	...	Paul's Sister

Storyline

Paul Baumer is a young German who, along with his graduating high school classmates, enlist in the German Imperial Army during the First World War. Originally thinking war would be a great adventure, Paul and his friends discover exactly the opposite as the war drags on and one by one the members of the class are killed in action until only Paul remains.

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Plot Keywords:

war violence | trench warfare | world war one | battle | trenches | 

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Taglines:

They left for war as Boys, never to return as men.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hallmark Hall of Fame: All Quiet on the Western Front (#29.1)

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norman Rosemont Productions, Marble Arch Productions, ITC Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min (DVD) 129 min (1980 cut) 157 min (Uncut Edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Paul Baumer and his classmates march into the barracks after their joining the German Army, they are heard singing. This song is an English version of the World War I (German) Patriotic song "Die Wacht am Rhein". The movie version of the lyrics, as performed in English, is not the correct one however.

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Goofs

The stabbed French soldier's right arm moves from his side, to his chest, and back again, between shots.

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Quotes

Paul Baumer: [to a dying Frenchman] If we threw away the guns, the grenades - we could have been brothers, but they never want us to know that.

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Alternate Versions

In the full version of the film, the back story of Himmelstoss is greatly expanded to include an introductory scene in which Himmelstoss is shown to have been the town mailman, often harassed by Paul and his friends, and then in an ironic twist became their drill instructor since he was a reservist in the Army. This matches the same back story as shown in All Quiet on the Western Front.

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Connections

Version of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

User Reviews

Great adaptation of superb anti-war classic

The made for TV and 'remake' labels have tended to devalue All Quiet on the Western Front. With successors like Das Boot and Saving Private Ryan, it also seems less visionary now. However, All Quiet on the Western Front is a superb adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's classic novel. The novel, published in 1929 by the 31 yr old Remarque was an instant classic. I remember reading it nearly two decades ago and its still one of the best books I've ever read. The Hollywood adaptation starring Lew Ayres - director Lewis Milestones greatest achievement - was very good as testified by its IMDb status. The remake is better! The remake is more intelligent, the cast is great and the period detail is extraordinary. The director - Delbert Mann - is an experienced veteran with classics like Marty to his credit. All Quiet is his magnum opus, released on TV because theatre owners didn't see it making any money. Naturally very few people watch message movies. Fewer still would make the effort to rent a "made for TV" film. Hardly anyone would watch this when they can see the original instead - a film with a more famous pedigree.

This adaptation is very faithful to the novel. Even with minor changes in the ending, the basic spirit of the book is retained. The cast is uniformly excellent with Richard Thomas playing the central role of Paul. Donald Pleasance, Ian Holm and Ernest Borgnine all give uniformly good performances in character driven and memorable roles. It could be said that Ernest Borgnine is too old and too fat to be a corporal. True, but on an emotional level be fits brilliantly into the role and his physicality really lends an element of humanity to him. The war scenes would rank very high in anyones list but for Saving Private Ryan's gritty realism. I loved the old German town from where Paul and his friends come. It looks straight out of the 1910's. All the period details are top notch. I strongly recommend watching this unheralded classic.