Watch All Quiet on the Western Front For Free

From my favorite movies..

Excellent adaptation.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Remake of the classic 1930's masterpiece which of course these days is very very old itself. Never really given the respect it deserved and not classed as good as the original but I found it just as hard hitting.First thing I noticed was the story has been mixed up a bit, its not in the same order as the original, everything seems to have been translated across but in different stages of the film. This does actually work because it doesn't just seem like a carbon copy. There are also a lot more details in some sequences with different ideas for settings and locations, new angles and edits upgrading the whole film somewhat. Basically upgrading most aspects giving them a new modern spin (for the time).On the whole it does look better in places, a good example I prefer being the bleak ending in this version over the original. Its still the same but with a slightly differently approach and NOT showing the sniper. All that is heard is the fire of a rifle and then a cut to Baumers hands as they react and his body slumps into the mud, possibly more effective and harrowing than the original 1930's sequence.The cast are again solid for this adaptation with Borgnine playing the role of Stanislaus Katzinsky perfectly and maybe better than the original actor in 1930. Donald Pleasance is the German teacher whom regales the young German boys with propaganda and the glory of war. Holm as the over the top Corporal Himmelstoss giving him a slimy, backstabbing, cowardly glow and finally Richard Thomas looking just the part in his WW1 German uniform although coming across a little bland.The scope isn't quite on par with the 30's version, its still very good and very bleak but its missing that epic feel which I guess is down to it being a TV movie. A shame really because this story deserves a much wider scope, none the less this version is still the business. The whole production is very authentic with good costumes, vehicles, landscapes, weapons etc...The battles are good but not overly grand whilst the waste of life, cheapness of life, desolation and despair is well conceived throughout. No shying away from the grim horrors of war when it came to the mud soaked trenches.Its a shame this has been overshadowed somewhat as its a very good war film and manages to recreate WW1 just as well as its predecessor. Its still rough, gritty and somewhat shocking as it offers new perspectives from the last movie version of the story. Its easily a must see if you liked the 1930's film, its just as interesting, memorable and poignant. 7/10

This movie is clearly underrated when compared to THE moral beacon of war movies: "Full Metal Jacket". For several reasons, I find this masterpiece on par with the latter film by Stanley Kubrick.First, there is the clear notion of the "dehumanization process" at the start of both films, but in my opinion, the viewer is better reminded of this process towards the end of this film, when we see the main character reflect on the past years and concludes that he has been transformed into a broken man, only to realize that he will never fit into normal life again. In this respect, the final scene is almost merciful.Secondly, when watching the film I was reminded of an HBO documentary I saw last week about PTSD and war trauma. "All quiet on the Western front" managed to capture the very essence about this condition in a time where the term "PTSD" hasn't even been coined (as far as my sources are accurate, that was only in the next year, 1980, and it was still very much of a mystery at that time).Add to that the superb performances and compelling screen play, and I can only conclude that this film is an absolutely must see!

Granted I've never seen the original - I do have that unfortunate problem of being unable to relate to films made in a very young time.Nevertheless, I did grow up during the "Golden Age Of TV Movies" and I never saw this on television. There was a teacher that kept airing it when I was working in the A/V Lab. I didn't care about that.Well I was old enough to take note. Now I think this is probably the Best Made For Television Movie of all time.The Great War (or World War I) is a war that I believe is immensely ignored in the scheme of the 20th Century. I was one of those people that heard pretty much everything about WWII and I can recite it backwards and inside-out.But the thing about the situation in Europe needs to be looked at more seriously and in a long amount of time. WWII didn't just pop out of nowhere.I'm going to tell you to know the 20th Century you need to research "The Great War" and "The Franco-Prussian War".But if you want to only find out how the Industrial Revolution turned war into a total, complete killing factory World War I is where it all started.And if you research further, most people didn't really know what they were fighting for and/or who.Young men were asked to go fight to keep up the status quo. That's basically about all you can say about ANY war.That's what this movie is about; young me going to war and dying and the tragic circumstances. It's an endless theme.

This movie I would definitely have to say is not one of my favorites. For me it wasn't authentic enough to what I thought it should bed. For example, the Germans don't even have German accents! That doesn't even make sense! They sounded like Americans. Even if they don't speak German they could at least try to have one. That is why they call it acting. Another reason is it just wasn't exciting. I mean you could at least spruce it up a little bit. I almost fell asleep through some of it. Even if they didn't have great technology back then they could at least do something to make it more real. It didn't seem authentic enough or real enough and that's what killed it for me.