Director: Lewis Milestone
Year: 1930
Run-time: 2 hr 13 min
Source: Amazon Video
Wikipedia
Notable for: As a direct adaptation of the German author Remarque's now-classic novel, it's a much more explicit and compelling anti-war film than The Big Parade, with which it has a lot in common. The adaptation is reasonably accurate, although many of the iconic scenes from the book have a more "Hollywood" presentation that is familiar to novel-to-film translations from then to now. Everything feels a little bit more romantic in a way that the book very intentionally avoids. The message and themes of the book do remain fairly intact, however. WWI was largely pointless war with an immense cost, and to make that claim in a big budget production eleven years after the war ended is not a trivial thing.
Verdict: As only the second sound film on this list, it's remarkable how modern it feels, although considering how many later war films have stolen from it, it doesn't feel as fresh as it once did. It is interesting to see how the German characters have been adapted into various American stereotypes, in particular the character Katczinsky, who has a serene, almost Christ-like presence in the book, but is turned into the wise-cracking veteran (played by Lewis Wolheim, the 1930s equivalent of Ernest Borgnine) in the film. His character is actually a highlight. Lew Ayres, who plays the lead character Paul, doesn't fare quite as well. He has some good moments, but there are a couple scenes where he can't rise to the emotion that's called for.
Perfect Pairing: Of course, it has to be Saving Private Ryan, which was explicitly inspired by this film. However, that film ultimately carries a different message than Remarque put into his book. Despite the tremendous violence and loss of life, Spielberg ultimately believes that war brings out the best in men, whereas Remarque believed it was only good for stealing humanity away.
Year: 1930
Run-time: 2 hr 13 min
Source: Amazon Video
Wikipedia
Notable for: As a direct adaptation of the German author Remarque's now-classic novel, it's a much more explicit and compelling anti-war film than The Big Parade, with which it has a lot in common. The adaptation is reasonably accurate, although many of the iconic scenes from the book have a more "Hollywood" presentation that is familiar to novel-to-film translations from then to now. Everything feels a little bit more romantic in a way that the book very intentionally avoids. The message and themes of the book do remain fairly intact, however. WWI was largely pointless war with an immense cost, and to make that claim in a big budget production eleven years after the war ended is not a trivial thing.
Verdict: As only the second sound film on this list, it's remarkable how modern it feels, although considering how many later war films have stolen from it, it doesn't feel as fresh as it once did. It is interesting to see how the German characters have been adapted into various American stereotypes, in particular the character Katczinsky, who has a serene, almost Christ-like presence in the book, but is turned into the wise-cracking veteran (played by Lewis Wolheim, the 1930s equivalent of Ernest Borgnine) in the film. His character is actually a highlight. Lew Ayres, who plays the lead character Paul, doesn't fare quite as well. He has some good moments, but there are a couple scenes where he can't rise to the emotion that's called for.
Perfect Pairing: Of course, it has to be Saving Private Ryan, which was explicitly inspired by this film. However, that film ultimately carries a different message than Remarque put into his book. Despite the tremendous violence and loss of life, Spielberg ultimately believes that war brings out the best in men, whereas Remarque believed it was only good for stealing humanity away.
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