X
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 2 h 28 m
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 2 h 28 m
Summary All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The German film from director Edward Berger is b...
Directed By: Edward Berger
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 2 h 28 m
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 2 h 28 m
All Quiet on the Western Front
76
7.9
Where to Watch
Summary All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The German film from director Edward Berger is b...
Directed By: Edward Berger
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 37 Critic Reviews
76
86% Positive
32 Reviews
32 Reviews
14% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 37 Critic Reviews
76
86% Positive
32 Reviews
32 Reviews
14% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
War is hell and for a little over two and a half hours, All Quiet on the Western Front displays its ghastly horrors without ever venturing into voyeuristic consumption, opting instead to unsettle its audience with bleak realities and sobering truths.
Rather than portray its characters as glorious heroes bravely fighting for their country, or even ending the film on an optimistic note, "All Quiet on the Western Front" is tragic from beginning to end, and is relentlessly, almost unbearably, bleak. That's the point. It's the ultimate anti-war war film.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 263 User Ratings
7.9
86% Positive
225 Ratings
225 Ratings
9% Mixed
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
5% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 263 User Ratings
7.9
86% Positive
225 Ratings
225 Ratings
9% Mixed
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
5% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
Absolutely bone chilling and heartbreaking, one of the best anti war films out there
Report
If 1917 (and to some extent, War Horse) were stories of survival, gussied up with big technical gimmicks, All Quiet On The Western Front is an even more visually beautiful film that never lets you forget the main point about The Great War: that it was A Bad Idea That Ended Badly. Berger drives this point home studiously, meticulously, poetically, and by the end, a little repetitively.
Nobody could mistake All Quiet on the Western Front for anything other than an anti-war film, but the deafening, careering action — shot in predictably desaturated tones by James Friend — still works to create an unhealthy surge in the viewer.
We should never become accustomed to the horrors of war, so for all its familiarity (morally and formally), the movie still feels necessary.
Coupling a minimalist (albeit loud-and-thumping) score by Volker Bertelmann and a cold, unfeeling color scheme by cinematographer James Friend gives a menacing, unwaveringly serious savagery to director Edward Berger’s aesthetic—danger and imminent violence are palpable even when there is hardly any action onscreen.
Filmmakers have arguably lost the plot, turning “War is hell” into a “Can you top this?” competition.
All quiet on the Westerm Front is one of the best war movies ever made. You bastard
Report
War is hell. We all know that. But do we really need to be reminded of that? Given mankind’s propensity for conflict, one might say yes. However, how emphatically need that message be stressed? The latest version of this time-honored 1929 anti-war novel by author and military veteran Erich Maria Remarque tells the story of an idealistic young German soldier (Felix Kammerer) who sets off with friends to fight in World War I, seeing it as his patriotic duty and a grand coming of age adventure. Before long, however, he experiences the brutality and futility of combat as he watches his buddies die horrific deaths under deplorable conditions. And, as the story wears on, the film depicts the extreme emotional and physical stress it places on soldiers in the waning days of the war immediately prior to the November 1918 armistice that ended the fighting. In doing this, the picture shines a bright light on the perils of wartime atrocities and blind nationalism in its attempt to drive home the story’s anti-war message. Nevertheless, for a production that professes to convey this sentiment, it incorporates a plethora of exceedingly graphic battle footage, so much so that it often verges on dangerously disturbing combat porn that drones on seemingly endlessly. It’s almost as if viewers are subjected to a cinematic symposium illustrating the myriad ways that people can be killed. While it’s one thing not to hold anything back, there’s such a thing as overkill, and this offering definitely pushes those boundaries. In light of that, writer-director Edward Berger’s latest is an overlong, tedious, difficult watch whose primary thematic intent is overshadowed by its visuals, a problem that tends to dilute the value of those scenes in which its principal aim is achieved (albeit eclipsed). It also never attains the heroic quality of a film like “1917” (2019), instead opting for an uber-realistic, in-your-face, supremely depressing approach. To its credit, the cinematography of this release is often compelling (if gratuitous at times), and Kammerer’s lead performance captures the range of conflicted emotions his character experiences. But, despite the many accolades that the film has received thus far, the filmmaker’s take on this tale is all a bit much for me, just as I suspect it might also be for many would-be viewers.
Report
This film uses so little from the novel that I wonder why the director bothered to use the title at all. No character development, flat performances, poorly written scenes. This movie is trying to be anti-war but there is no heft beyond aesthetics. It's just shock schlock.
Report
Production Company
Amusement Park Films,
Gunpowder Films,
Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment,
Anima Pictures
Release Date Oct 7, 2022
Duration 2 h 28 m
Rating R
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 4 Wins & 9 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
BAFTA Awards
• 7 Wins & 14 Nominations
