Unlike most message films which date themselves almost immediately, lewis milestones low-key unpolished and deeply-felt screen adaptation of the erich maria remarque anti-war novel has lost little of its original impact.
years after its release it was still being banned in countries mobilizing for war.
the plot follows a group of young german recruits in world war i through their passage from idealism to disillusionment.
as the central character paul baumer (lew ayres) declares, we live in the trenches and we fight.
we try not to be killed - thats all.
all quiet is an anthology of now famous scenes: ayres trapped in a shell crater with a man he has killed; the first meeting of the recruits and the veterans; infantrymen being mowed down to machine-gun visual rhythms; a moonlight swim with french farm girls; ayres pacifist speech to his astonished schoolmates; and the final shot of the soldiers hand reaching for a fatal butterfly.
Scenes | Ayres trapped in a shell crater with a man he has killed |
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