All Quiet on the Western Front - Trailer [1930] [3rd Oscar Best Picture]

This is an English language film (made in America) adapted from a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque. The film follows a group of German schoolboys, talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War 1 by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young German recruits and highlights the tragedy of war through the eyes of individuals. As the boys witness death and mutilation all around them, any preconceptions about "the enemy" and the "rights and wrongs" of the conflict disappear, leaving them angry and bewildered. This is highlighted in the scene where Paul mortally wounds a French soldier and then weeps bitterly as he fights to save his life while trapped in a shell crater with the body. The film is not about heroism but about drudgery and futility and the gulf between the concept of war and the actuality. Written by Michele Wilkinson
[IMDB.COM]

Release 24 August 1930
Running Time 133 min
Awards Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations
AFI Recognition 100 YEARS100 STARS #54
Producer Carl Laemmle Jr.
Director Lewis Milestone
Writer George Abbott
Cast Louis Wolheim (Kat [Katczinsky]), Lew Ayres (Paul [Bäumer]), John Wray (Himmelstoss), Arnold Lucy (Kantorek), Ben Alexander (Kemmerich)
Genre Action, Drama, War
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