All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Lewis Milestone
Written By: George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Erich Maria Remarque
Starring: Lew Ayres, John Wray, Ben Alexander, Louis Wolheim, Scott Kolk, Arnold Lucy
Franchise: All Quiet on the Western Front
Country: USA
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Stars | User | Rating | |
8 | ![]() |
Magb | 85 73rd |
The refreshing lack of unnecessary non-diegetic music is just the icing on this surprisingly brutal, bleak and honest cake of a film. The only significant flaws are the overall poor acting, which isn't particularly hard to ignore and even feels oddly appropriate at times, and the abundance of simplistic stock characters. It's okay, though, because the film does a much better job of portraying the war as a whole than it does of portraying any of the specific characters.
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MartinTeller | 90 94th |
A war movie that ranks up with the best of them. There are some amazing camera moves here. A lot of transitions between interiors and exteriors, and some astonishing tracking shots. The battle scenes reminded me a lot of Paths of Glory, and I have to believe they were an influence on Kubrick. The dialogue does get a bit sentimental and hokey at times (and the acting isn't that great), but on the whole the film is surprisingly gritty for 1930. Mighty good stuff.
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jimmynmu | 88 89th |
Honest and ahead of it's time.
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cambel | 98 99th |
Waaaay beyond its time. It's like mother of all war movies.
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PeaceAnarchy | 92 97th |
An excellent war movie that stays true to its message that war is hell for everyone involved. Even though certain parts have been done better in more recent war films, this still packs a good punch and, possibly because it's set in WWI, manages to keep the focus on war in general, rather than on the politics or situations of the specific war. The ending is true to the film and really caps off the message perfectly.
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Moribunny | 65 65th |
Must have been an awesome spectacle upon release, as the first big-production war movie with full sound (and thankfuly, little music). The way the mechanics of war are staged and recorded, the rattle of machine-gun fire and whistling and booming of artillery shells, as well as some locations, remain the highlights. The writing and acting departments aren't quite as accomplished, but it does enough to convey some of the war culture of WWI, and is appropriately bleak and devoid of heroics.
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ozymandius10 | 86 92nd |
It doesn't take sides, and shows you the realities of war. The ending makes me tear up every time.
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Anomaly | 87 89th |
In spite of its proximity to the invention of sound cinema, this is a powerful and haunting experience that more than makes up for any flaws contained therein. The battle scenes are still raw, even to this day, by simply portraying what it was like for the soldiers as accurately as they could at the time. Left me in a funk for quite a while after the viewing.
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recklessmess | 90 97th |
Spoiler alert, Germany goes on to lose the war, then is never heard from again.
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St. Berna | 96 96th |
Alman askerleri neden İngilizce konuşuyor? Bu ufak(!) pürüze rağmen 10 verdim, çünkü film şahane çekilmiş. Sessiz film döneminden sesli döneme geçişin ilk yıllarında çekildiğine inanmak güç, o derece. Tabii oyunculuklar biraz amatörce kaçmış, senaryo da kimi yerlerde tökezliyor ama savaş karşıtı duruşumuz aslanlar gibi; o bile yeter.
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afx237vi | 80 84th |
A powerful and moving film that portrays the chaos and senselessness of war. It does feel dated at times, but the cinematography during certain scenes is absolutely incredible. The battle scenes in particular are astonishing - so visceral and violent, they stand up to anything filmed since. Some heartbreaking moments, too - the guy with the boots really got to me, and the final scene must rank up there as one of the best ever.
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Jimmy Suede | 85 85th |
Excellent anti-war movie, impressive and grim, with wonderful cinematography. I just wish the acting wasn't so dated and over-dramatic. Aw I'm kidding myself, the word I'm looking for is 'bad'. The acting was bad.
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djross | 72 80th |
The window of opportunity for a genuinely anti-war studio film was brief, between the end of the silent era and the advent of preparations for another world war, but Lev Milstein’s attempt to convey the scale and tragedy of the waste and destruction of the world’s first truly industrial war must have made a powerful impression on audiences, and remains effective 92 years later, despite the acting and dialogue showing clear evidence that filmmakers were struggling to manage the shift to talkies.
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TheDiceman | 80 95th |
Excellent anti war film, a must see for film fans.
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th_mertens | 77 73rd |
It does keep it's initial anti-war, passifistic message, and the camera movements are indeed well ahead of it's time. But because we have to stay critical and not base our opinions on pure nostalgia, I do think, like so many others that the acting and dialogues are not in comparison with the brilliance of the rest.
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Nathan S | 4 74th |
The grandfather of all war epics. A blatant indictment of nationalist idealism, bleak and visceral, directed with exceptional skill and featuring astonishing battle sequences. The acting is often showy and hokey, but oh well, everything else is so impressive.
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AFlickering | 5 74th |
my grandfather, an awesome but politically disillusioned, existentially fraught ex-soldier who last year declined into feelings of abandonment, paranoia and mortal terror on his deathbed, counted this numbed, haunted anti-war film among his favorites. he understood the ugliness of death, the finality and the waste, but understanding did nothing to help him prepare for his own. watching, i was grimly aware that had he served in WW2 instead of just after, i may not have come into existence at all.
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TedDedon | 90 86th |
Great war drama that deals a lot with an anti-war sentiment in a mature way. Visually this is among some of the best, it's just that the sound design is extremely dated--which is entirely understandable. It's honest and touching in a way that most war movies can't be.
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JooJoo | 4 55th |
Exceptional camerawork/editing/battles doesn't quite make up for the weak dialogue [with some consistent over acting along with it]. A fine ending marks it up in my book. This must have been impressive for the time but an overlooked gem [released only two years later] by Raymond Bernard overshadows my opinion in every regard.
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saucyjack | 93 96th |
One of the greatest war movies ever. Heck, one of the greatest movies ever. The anti-war sentiment provided in this film was prescient and honest. Doesn't take sides, shows how war is hell for ALL parties involved.
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Barthalen | 85 92nd |
Surprisingly mature, unapologetic and honest, considering the timeframe. Effective, never drags and while some of its contents have been improved upon throughout the years, it's still pretty damn impressive on many levels.
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Ofterdingen | 90 99th |
It's more than 90 years old, and the average level of battle scenes is still way above contemporary movies, even films like 1917. Also the blueprint for several pivotal scenes in Saving Private Ryan. Only the acting gives away that this is from 1930.
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XakkMaster | 90 88th |
Camera work ahead of its time, great acting, great cinematography, and a terrific adaptation of one of the best pieces of anti-war literature ever created.
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Vertiggo | 90 85th |
War sucks.
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talonmalon | 87 74th |
One of the great war films for sure.
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1 | Madnas | 88 77th |
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So emotionally touching that I couldn't concentrate on the narrative during the last act of the film! Besides, the film is technically terrific! It manifests cinema strikingly. However, actors, especially the young ones, are evidently theatrical.
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1 | Lonewolf2003 | 82 88th |
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A timeless anti-war movie
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Daigoro | 8 85th |
It obviously shows its age, but at the time of its release it was easily the best movie ever made, and the model for countless war and anti-war films to follow.
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EvilMangoes | 88 67th |
A-
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NathanBates | 80 77th |
A powerful anti-war movie that does suffer from some poor acting but still resonates today. It's heartbreaking to know that just a few years after this should have opened some eyes that we were all right back to fighting again.
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1 | Portals | 95 99th |
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A more perfect war film does not exist. Profound, gritty, honest. No pretentious dramatics or glory to be found here. Only the brutal reality of war.
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1 | onyedi | 82 79th |
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Unexpectedly great for a film that was made just at the beginning of the sound era. The story is great and touching. We get to know a lot of characters and feel a connection to most of them. The feeling is transferred to the watcher very well. It's a bit too didactic, though. As someone who has never seen war -fortunately-, I believe that it depicts what war is correctly in terms of events, but I don't think the conversations are like that. It tries too hard to teach, but that backfires.
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1 | RottenT | 100 98th |
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Director Lewis Milestone's brilliant anti-war polemic, headlined by an unforgettable performance from Lew Ayres, lays bare the tragic foolishness at the heart of war.
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kael | 1 0th |
Over a hundred million people have gone to theatres to see it andhave-perhaps-responded to its pacifist message. One could be cynical about the results, but the film itself does not invite cynical reactions, and the fact that it has frequently been banned in countries preparing for war suggests that it makes militarists uncomfortable
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Big Ticket | 88 95th |
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is an extremely moving anti-war film. The theme of the senselessness of war and bloodshed is extremely strong in this film. This applies especially to young people. The battle sequences are stunning. The story is tragic, brutal, gloomy and shocking. However, there is the relieving humor here and there. The shots are very dynamic, the editing and photography are excellent. This war drama enormously earns its reverence among war films.
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Average Percentile 72.7% from 1436 Ratings | ![]() |