All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Starring
Lew Ayres
Director
Lewis Milestone
Awards
Academy Awards
Best Director - Lewis Milestone
Best Picture
Academy Award Nominations
Best Writing - Lewis Milestone,
Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews and George Abbott
Plot Synopsis
A group of German schoolboys, inspired by their professor to
fight for their country, enlist in World War I. The film documents their descent into war
in graphic detail, from the everyday reality of trench warfare to starvation and butchery.
The film tracks the boys in training, battle, and eventually their untimely deaths.
Film Notes
Based on Erich Maria Remarque's timeless anti-war novel, this
moving film follows a group of German recruits during World War I as they make their
personal journey from patriotism to disillusionment. Shot on an epic scale with an
impressive budget of $1.25 million, the film's realism and visual art created a sensation.
Author Remarque was so embroiled in controversy after the film's release that he was
forced to relocate from his native Germany to the United States.
Rated: NR
Rated: NR