I had this on standard dvd and both the picture and sound qualities were terrible but I was able to forgive that at the time considering that it was released only 3 years after the very first talkie 'The Jazz Singer' was released. If ever a film makes a strong case for war only as a very last resort, this one certainly ranks very highly indeed. This is one of my favourite films of all time and it is certainly one of the best anti-meaningless war films ever. Remarque wrote a follow-up novel to 'All Quiet on the Western Front' called 'The Road Back' which examines the lives of the German soldiers who survived the war and their struggles to adjust themselves to a peacetime society, many of whom were suffering from PTSD-type symptoms, which were poorly understood at that time.

His younger sister, who remained in Germany, was sentenced to death and beheaded in 1943. Remarque was forced to leave Germany and live in Switzerland. When the Nazi's came to power in 1933, they did everything possible to suppress the book and smear the author, because the book doesn't idealize war. The book was published in the late 1920s. Since everyone else has so thoroughly analyzed the film, I'll give a few side notes.Įric Maria Remarque, who wrote the novel the book is based on, served as a German soldier during WWI.

Interesting is the fact that the director was also a German, 'Milestone' being a pseudonym.

The book is a still better, and the film is perhaps a little dated in some ways, but holds up well considering it was made in 1930. I can only say I agree with those who found this film to be a classic film about war.

Only the brave movie 1930