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 (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:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed largely in Czechoslovakia, one of the first U.S. and U.K. productions to be shot in a Communist Bloc country.

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Goofs

The Kaiser is merely wearing the rank insignia of a Generalmajor (Major General) - plain shoulder cords for general officers. Wilhelm II. always wore the rank insignia of a Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal General), which were the shoulder cords for general officers with two crossed Field Marshal's batons, a crown, and the initials "WR" ("Wilhelminus Rex" = "King Wilhelm").

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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

The DVD release is the edited version which was shown in European theaters in the early 80s. Approximately 20 minutes of footage was cut from the original Hallmark Hall of Fame production which aired on American TV in 1979, including two scenes immediately following the award ceremony: the soldiers discuss the causes of the war in their billet while Himmelstoss listens in icy silence, and Paul and his friends admire and make lewd comments about a pretty girl on a theater poster. Also, the scene of Paul carrying the wounded Kat to the dressing station is greatly reduced, eliminating the rest stop and conversation in which Paul tries to give Kat his address.

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Connections

Version of All Quiet on the Western Front

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.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

All Quiet on the Western Front

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