| All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal Cinema Classics) | 
 enlarge | Director: Lewis Milestone
Actors: Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray, Arnold Lucy, Ben Alexander
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $7.44
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Avg. Customer Rating:  118 reviews
Sales Rank: 5305
Format: Black & White, Dolby, Full Screen, Original Recording Remastered, Restored, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), German (Original Language), Latin (Original Language), French (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 132
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD61032368D
UPC: 025193236821
EAN: 0025193236821
ASIN: B000KGGJ0Y
Theatrical Release Date: August 24, 1930
Release Date: February 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/06/2007 Run time: 132 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com essential video
If a classic movie can be measured by the number of indelible images it burns into the collective imagination, then All Quiet on the Western Front's status is undisputed. Since its release in 1930 (and Oscar win for best picture), this film's saga of German boys avidly signing up for World War I battle--and then learning the truth of war--has been acclaimed for its intensity, artistry, and grown-up approach. Director Lewis Milestone's technical expertise is already stunning in the great opening sequence, as a professor exhorts his students to volunteer for the glory of the Fatherland while troops march past the windows. Erich Maria Remarque's novel is faithfully followed, but Milestone's superbly composed frames make it physical: the first battle scene, with the camera prowling the trenches as they fill with death and chaos, was surely the Saving Private Ryan of its day. The cast is strong, with little-known Lew Ayres finding stardom in the lead (Ayres became a pacifist and conscientious objector during World War II; although he served in battle as a medic, the stance harmed his career). This DVD has no extras beyond a vintage re-release trailer and Robert Osborne's useful introduction, but the main draw is the excellent picture and sound quality of the print--the movie looks better than it has in years. Those indelible images are now clear enough to cut glass: Ayres' lonely look back at the disappearing troop truck; the blinded soldier who runs into enemy fire at night; the fine pair of boots wasted on a boy with an amputated leg; and the final, devastating seconds, arguably the defining cinematic image of war in the 20th century. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 113 more reviews...
 3.5 stars out of 4 January 3, 2009
The Bottom Line:
A compelling adaptation of Remarque's classic novel, All Quiet on the Western Front offers striking images--including battle scenes that look great today--and a wonderful ending that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the book.
 War/Antiwar December 21, 2008
I have read the story both in English and in German. It is a classic tale describing the uselessness of warfare from the viewpoint of the soldier who is caught in the middle between two warring nations and/or cultures. He, as does most everyone, wants to be a hero, but what is heroic when you are cold, wet, and hungry. His death came, although the movie doesn't make this clear, after World War I is over. In reply to a dispatch from Berlin asking how things were came the answer: "All (is) quiet on the Western Front." The movie does a fairly good bringing out Remarque's intent. Very similar in theme to "The Red Badge of Courage."
Culpability... October 28, 2008
True. The blood and gore of modern war films are absent, but so are the orchestrated scores, the heroes, and with them, the implicit glory of combat. The trench warfare and Maschinengewehr machine guns might be dated (along with the black and white format and by-modern-standards-poor sound), but the nationalist pride and civilian attitudes complicit in warfare are not. A film for every generation.
Of note: this format is the only I've seen, so I cannot vouch for any so-called remastering or improvements over earlier releases, only the film itself. That being said, I would consider $10 a fair bargain for a good DVD of a great film.
Still a Classic September 10, 2008
I probably saw "All Quiet on the Western Front" for the first time in the mid 50's. I was a young boy at the time and saw it as an adventure film. I later saw it several times and, of course, its powerful anti-war atmosphere really struck home during the Vietnam era. I am now in the process of re-reading books and re-watching films from my younger days. The idea is to see the effect they have on me now. Both the book and the movie of "All Quiet on the Western Front" have more than held up. Set aside any prejudices you have against black and white movies. Set aside any prejudices you have against a slightly old-fashioned theatrical style of acting. This is a very powerful film about human beings trapped in the horror of war. What is going on Iraq now is exactly what these young men experienced in WWI.
An Historical Icon June 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a 1930 film production, faithfully based on Eric Marie Remarque's WWI novel by the same title. Considering the infancy of talkie film making when this was created, it is an absolutely remarkable piece. Many of the battle scene techniques have been recycled to this day.
I read the novel 3 or 4 years ago, and had forgotten that it was told from the German viewpoint (such is the universality of the war experience). The story is critical of war - though I personally believe that at times it becomes a necessity, when greedy/evil people want to force their will onto other nations. Still, the film powerfully makes the point regarding comfortable old men fighting armchair battles, while teenagers die in the mud. The WWI trench warfare battlefields were a particularly grim environment. I thought this was one area in which the movie, though making a gallant effort, could not convey the reality as well as the book does.
Filmed only a decade after WWI, this movie has huge historical value. Aside from the moral implications, it is a rare glimpse into the homes, hospitals, streets, and battlefields of almost a century ago.
A very important historical piece that is worth the time.
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