Cinema
All Quiet on the Western Front
Lewis Milestone · 1930
Synopsis
In a German town during the Great War, Professor Kantorek urges his pupils to enlist, and seven of them, including Paul Bäumer, set off together, full of enthusiasm. In training, Himmelstoss, the former neighbourhood postman who has become their instructor, humiliates them. At the front, food is scarce and the veteran Katczinsky teaches them how to get by; rats invade the shelter under bombardments that last for days. Wounded, Paul goes through the hospital, then returns home on leave, and goes back to his old classroom.
Context
The film was shot with more than two thousand extras and trenches dug on a California ranch; former German soldiers living in Los Angeles played small roles and served as advisers. In Berlin, the premiere of 4 December 1930 was disrupted by Nazi activists who released white mice and stink bombs into the auditorium, and the film was banned a week later. A shortened version was authorised in 1931, then banned again in 1933, and it did not return to West German screens until the fifties.
Who it is for
A film of two hours eight to two hours twenty-one depending on the prints. The book it is based on was burned by the Nazis in 1933, and the title takes up a formula from the German army's communiqués.
Prizes and reception
Academy Awards for best picture and best director in 1930, the first won by its studio, Universal.
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