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 Primetime Emmy. 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 (Richard Thomas) is a young German who, along with his graduating high school classmates, enlist in the German Imperial Army during World War I. 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 | hand to hand combat | bayonet charge | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene of Kaiser Wilhelm II (Denys Graham) pinning medals on the soldiers, the Kaiser uses only his right arm and hand, while an aide holds the soldiers' tunics, a nice historically accurate detail, since the real Kaiser Wilhelm had a stunted and withered left arm that was virtually useless.

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Goofs

When Himmelstoss arrives with his new platoon, his old trainees tell him that Kemmerich is dead and he crosses his arms in front of him and says he doesn't remember him. In the next scene, his hands are clasped behind his back instead of crossed in front.

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Quotes

Muller: Himmelstoss...there's a latrine down the road. Why don't you go take a jump?

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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

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola/Philip Glass (1986)

User Reviews

Very good

This is a very good anti-war movie. It shows how the young and naive are being brain-washed to think that somehow it is their duty to kill and die. Big words like Fatherland, Kaiser, God, Patriotism. But it is always the young generation that does the dying, whilst the old men discuss strategy over a beer. War has lost whatever legitimacy it ever may have had when the leaders left the front line to lead from the back, safe in their headquarters miles away from the killing. Sending young boys to their death whilst claiming it is eventually for the Good is the ultimate cowardice. Some get their come-uppance, such as Cpl Himmelstoss, but most live their lives in the comfortable cocoon of their self-righteousness – the school teacher, the father, the Kaiser himself.

But sometimes a young soldier sees through the scam, as when Paul kills a Frenchman by sheer instinct, only too late realising what he has been forced to do to someone who might have been his brother. But even then the cultural impregnation is too strong for him to follow his true human feelings and draw the only logical conclusion. And of course in the end he pays the price himself. Destroyed - for what?

That is the lesson that we all should take to heart, to this very day.

A very good film based on an exceptional book.

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:

16:9 HD