All Quiet on the Western Front is a bonafide 20th century classic, which has been adapted numerous times. The most notable is the Oscar winning 1930 adaptation, still often considered not only the greatest World War I movie, but even the greatest war film ever made. This is not a remake of the 1930 film, but rather an adaptation of the same source material, the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The 2022 version, made in the novel's native Germany, is actually quite different from the classic film.
It is interesting to see what the filmmakers decided to include, exclude, or emphasize. The most noticeable addition from the 1930 version is a strong emphasis on the officers leading Paul and company to battle, and the most noticeable subtraction is Paul's return home between his two tenures in the war. Adding the emphasis on the officers does make sense; it's intended to emphasize both the forces that drive them to continue the war, and also the blind nationalism that kept it going. The original makes this same critique (one of the main points of the novel), but does so more faithfully to the novel, where the teacher encourages them to join the army for the sake of the nation. In the original, the classroom scene lasts quite a while (although talkies were very new at the time), in this version, it lasts a minute at max. Moving it to the officers does work in its own way. These are the people on top, and they do have all the influence. They are shown completely detached from the real battles in their luxurious train cars. For them, Paul and his friends are literal cannon fodder, not men worth saving. It is effective, even if it's different.
The subtraction of the return home is the biggest mistake this version makes. The purpose of All Quiet on the Western Front is to show the toll that war takes on the human psyche, and many of the most powerful moments in the original story are when he can't re-adapt to his life at home. All Quiet, despite not being a true story, is a deeply intimate and personal story. Now, there has been a trend in recent war movies (like Dunkirk or 1917) to omit the character's backstories, making them like a blank slate for the viewer to see themselves in. For All Quiet, it works for this version independently, but not as an adaptation of the novel. This also solidifies the depersonalization of the story; the nationalism element coming from the teacher adds a personal element to it, as Paul and company are inspired by someone they know and trust, not some anonymous officer far away. The ending is changed as well. Paul still dies, but the butterfly from the 1930 version is not present.
Visually, the film is incredible. The battle scenes look like time traveling back to World War I. It silently does some of its best humanizing here; these battles break Paul. It is not spoken, but you can see it in his eyes in each skirmish. The cinematography is outstanding. There are some breathtakingly beautiful shots in this film. Something about the lighting makes these shots so impressive. The makeup is jaw-dropping. It looks like they really threw these guys around in the mud and grime of the battlefield. The 1930 movie was shockingly violent for its time. While the 2022 version is definitely quite violent, it's not to the level of, say, Saving Private Ryan. The soundtrack is hit or miss. That repeated three note track doesn't work. While it is quite industrial, it's too modern for World War I. The rest of the music is good. It's intimate and solemn, much like the story itself. This is a good movie, but it is inferior to the 1930 version. It's difficult to separate the two, but if you have to pick one, go for the original.
Fun fact: if this wins Best Picture at the Oscars, it will be the first time ever two winners are adapted from the same source material.
It is interesting to see what the filmmakers decided to include, exclude, or emphasize. The most noticeable addition from the 1930 version is a strong emphasis on the officers leading Paul and company to battle, and the most noticeable subtraction is Paul's return home between his two tenures in the war. Adding the emphasis on the officers does make sense; it's intended to emphasize both the forces that drive them to continue the war, and also the blind nationalism that kept it going. The original makes this same critique (one of the main points of the novel), but does so more faithfully to the novel, where the teacher encourages them to join the army for the sake of the nation. In the original, the classroom scene lasts quite a while (although talkies were very new at the time), in this version, it lasts a minute at max. Moving it to the officers does work in its own way. These are the people on top, and they do have all the influence. They are shown completely detached from the real battles in their luxurious train cars. For them, Paul and his friends are literal cannon fodder, not men worth saving. It is effective, even if it's different.
The subtraction of the return home is the biggest mistake this version makes. The purpose of All Quiet on the Western Front is to show the toll that war takes on the human psyche, and many of the most powerful moments in the original story are when he can't re-adapt to his life at home. All Quiet, despite not being a true story, is a deeply intimate and personal story. Now, there has been a trend in recent war movies (like Dunkirk or 1917) to omit the character's backstories, making them like a blank slate for the viewer to see themselves in. For All Quiet, it works for this version independently, but not as an adaptation of the novel. This also solidifies the depersonalization of the story; the nationalism element coming from the teacher adds a personal element to it, as Paul and company are inspired by someone they know and trust, not some anonymous officer far away. The ending is changed as well. Paul still dies, but the butterfly from the 1930 version is not present.
Visually, the film is incredible. The battle scenes look like time traveling back to World War I. It silently does some of its best humanizing here; these battles break Paul. It is not spoken, but you can see it in his eyes in each skirmish. The cinematography is outstanding. There are some breathtakingly beautiful shots in this film. Something about the lighting makes these shots so impressive. The makeup is jaw-dropping. It looks like they really threw these guys around in the mud and grime of the battlefield. The 1930 movie was shockingly violent for its time. While the 2022 version is definitely quite violent, it's not to the level of, say, Saving Private Ryan. The soundtrack is hit or miss. That repeated three note track doesn't work. While it is quite industrial, it's too modern for World War I. The rest of the music is good. It's intimate and solemn, much like the story itself. This is a good movie, but it is inferior to the 1930 version. It's difficult to separate the two, but if you have to pick one, go for the original.
Fun fact: if this wins Best Picture at the Oscars, it will be the first time ever two winners are adapted from the same source material.