A Look at World War I Film All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front was released in 1930, originated in the United States, directed by Lewis Milestone, and based upon the novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.

The scenario could seem to be that of any war movie, a class of young German men enlist in the army in search of idealistic heroism and honor. But this film takes a different, much more realistic approach. The young men enlist and, one by one, are killed on the battlefields of World War I. The film tracks their descent from naiveté to disillusionment in the group of young men and focuses on the one young man who survives the longest on the front and his relationship with a veteran.

This film was made in the United States but is seen through the eyes of Germans as the novel it is based on was written by a German war veteran. This fact, along with the date of release (1930), helps to make the message of this film unmistakable. The film breaks the barriers of nationality and allegiance. The viewer cares for the main characters regardless of what side they were on. This film is an antiwar film released with the intention, perhaps, of making pacifism attractive to the public through its humanitarian approach. The public at that time was already leaning towards the thinking that war was horrific and should be avoided. This may have been reason enough for the producer to believe it would make money at the box office. But it did not. In fact, it was banned in some countries for one reason or another, basically, it was not good pro-war propaganda for countries that were mobilizing for war (especially Germany).