All Quiet on the Western Front

[João]

I haven't read the book, but thought this new adaptation was worth a mention. The CGI is intelligently used and the story speaks for itself, worth a watch. Such a shame as a species we don't learn from these stories.

Ps its in German
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf8EYbVxtCY&ab_channel=Netflix

 

[kato]

I haven't read the book, but thought this new adaptation was worth a mention.

The Netflix adaption is heavily rewritten, removing and adding characters and scenes to the story, changing the ending (to the point where the title no longer has the meaning it expresses in the original), rewriting dialogues to remove contemporary context that is not relatable today and both focusing on and exploiting violent content.

There's some pretty heavy criticism in German press of the adaption, to the extent of quotes like "you have to wonder whether the movie director even read the book" or, going further, "whether he only read it to find scenes to cut so they could put their own scenes into it", alleging that 80% of the movie has nothing to do with the book beyond the character names.

In Germany the book is mandatory reading in high school in most places, typically around 11th grade.

If you ever get to read the book do so keeping in mind that it is based upon Erich Maria Remarque's own diary from a month on the frontline, heavily expanded with similar diaries of friends of his, and adapting events into a fictionalized exaggeration; he actually had to rewrite and censor it several times in order to find a publisher in 1927-1929. He also wrote a much less-known sequel in 1930-1931 ("Der Weg Zurück" - "The Road Back", there's a 1937 movie adaption as well) which mostly deals with shellshocked soldiers trying and failing to reintegrate into society.

 

[João]

The Netflix adaption is heavily rewritten, removing and adding characters and scenes to the story, changing the ending (to the point where the title no longer has the meaning it expresses in the original), rewriting dialogues to remove contemporary context that is not relatable today and both focusing on and exploiting violent content.

There's some pretty heavy criticism in German press of the adaption, to the extent of quotes like "you have to wonder whether the movie director even read the book" or, going further, "whether he only read it to find scenes to cut so they could put their own scenes into it", alleging that 80% of the movie has nothing to do with the book beyond the character names.

In Germany the book is mandatory reading in high school in most places, typically around 11th grade.

If you ever get to read the book do so keeping in mind that it is based upon Erich Maria Remarque's own diary from a month on the frontline, heavily expanded with similar diaries of friends of his, and adapting events into a fictionalized exaggeration; he actually had to rewrite and censor it several times in order to find a publisher in 1927-1929. He also wrote a much less-known sequel in 1930-1931 ("Der Weg Zurück" - "The Road Back", there's a 1937 movie adaption as well) which mostly deals with shellshocked soldiers trying and failing to reintegrate into society.

Thank you for your reply, I should have read this book already, I have a good eye for the frame and thought the cinemaphotography /CGI very well executed but I did wonder how accurate to book it was. Not many books are portrayed a well in film. I will buy the book now!

 

[tbm3fan]

I watched that movie a couple of days ago. I can only say entertaining which is what I say about Top Gun since each have almost zero basis in fact.

 

[João]

I watched that movie a couple of days ago. I can only say entertaining which is what I say about Top Gun since each have almost zero basis in fact.

This will always be the reality when a film studio tries to portray actual events. 1917 was also an experiment in camera techniques, but how real?? You said maybe already

 

[Albany Rifles]

Factually it was a mess based on how the book went.

But I agree with TBM, it was a good movie if you just ignored the title.

It's like the movie The Lost Battalion from about 15 years ago...a good little movie that is adjacent to the facts.

 

[Bigfella]

In Germany the book is mandatory reading in high school in most places, typically around 11th grade.

If you ever get to read the book do so keeping in mind that it is based upon Erich Maria Remarque's own diary from a month on the frontline, heavily expanded with similar diaries of friends of his, and adapting events into a fictionalized exaggeration; he actually had to rewrite and censor it several times in order to find a publisher in 1927-1929. He also wrote a much less-known sequel in 1930-1931 ("Der Weg Zurück" - "The Road Back", there's a 1937 movie adaption as well) which mostly deals with shellshocked soldiers trying and failing to reintegrate into society.

I read the book when I was about in my early teens. My grandmother on mum's side had a copy that was printed in 1929 (my grandfather had purchased it) and I was curious. I can't remember a lot of the specific details, but I do remember it having a tremendous impact on me. I had been a big fan of these little British war comics. They were WW2 focussed and romanticized the plucky Tommy fighting the evil Hun or Tojo. Beyond that I had read a few 'boys own' style versions of real life events. All very heroic and utterly divorced from reality. The precise opposite to Remarque.

Step one in knocking that childish attitude out of me was a holiday in Europe when I was 10. We visited Verdun with its grim forts and seemingly endless fields of crosses. We also visited Dachau, which I wasn't then ready to process. Remarque was the perfect follow up to that. 'All Quiet...' gave me insight into what I'd seen at Verdun in visceral detail. 'The Road Back' gave me insight into what happened in Germany in the 20s & 30s. Both great books.

Thank you for your reply, I should have read this book already, I have a good eye for the frame and thought the cinemaphotography /CGI very well executed but I did wonder how accurate to book it was. Not many books are portrayed a well in film. I will buy the book now!

Read the book. It isn't fun, but it isn't that hard a read. The immediacy of its writing makes up for any flaws.

Also watch the 1930 film. You can dig it up online. It is great & as I recall fairly faithful to the book. Many of those in the film had served in WW1, so there is a deeper layer, if you will. If you are interested in further WW1 films I can recommend two. One is 'Paths to Glory' a 1962 film by master film maker Stanley Kubrick. A legitimate masterpiece. The other is 'Gallipoli', a 1981 Australian film. It has flaws (the British are unfairly maligned), but it has some great battle scenes and also gives the Australian perspective very effectively. It stars a young Mel Gibson, back when he was still Australian & not a shitstain.

I am going to watch the new version of 'All Quiet..' soon. Looking forward to it.

 

[João]

Read the book. It isn't fun, but it isn't that hard a read. The immediacy of its writing makes up for any flaws.

Also watch the 1930 film. You can dig it up online. It is great & as I recall fairly faithful to the book. Many of those in the film had served in WW1, so there is a deeper layer, if you will. If you are interested in further WW1 films I can recommend two. One is 'Paths to Glory' a 1962 film by master film maker Stanley Kubrick. A legitimate masterpiece. The other is 'Gallipoli', a 1981 Australian film. It has flaws (the British are unfairly maligned), but it has some great battle scenes and also gives the Australian perspective very effectively. It stars a young Mel Gibson, back when he was still Australian & not a shitstain.

I am going to watch the new version of 'All Quiet..' soon. Looking forward to it.

I''l buy and when I'm on holiday next year I will try and relax and read a book for a change.
I've watched both the Paths of Glory and Gallipoli. Kubrick was special. Yes a powerful film and has stood well even now. Gallipoli I watched decades ago and will have to watch again. My Great grandfathers elder brother fought there. I found some documents of him leaving Gallipoli on a hospital ship with dysentery, bound for Egypt. He ended up in the labour Corp in France. My family are partly from Lancashire so I did research through ancestry and other sites to find out What happened to the different relatives. Two more relatives, both killed in France. One shortly after the Battle of Loos 1915 from wounds (I think frost bite) and the other was killed during the Ludendorff Offensive in April 1918 he was RFA and is buried in what looks like a CCS small graveyard.

 

[Bigfella]

I''l buy and when I'm on holiday next year I will try and relax and read a book for a change.
I've watched both the Paths of Glory and Gallipoli. Kubrick was special. Yes a powerful film and has stood well even now. Gallipoli I watched decades ago and will have to watch again. My Great grandfathers elder brother fought there. I found some documents of him leaving Gallipoli on a hospital ship with dysentery, bound for Egypt. He ended up in the labour Corp in France. My family are partly from Lancashire so I did research through ancestry and other sites to find out What happened to the different relatives. Two more relatives, both killed in France. One shortly after the Battle of Loos 1915 from wounds (I think frost bite) and the other was killed during the Ludendorff Offensive in April 1918 he was RFA and is buried in what looks like a CCS small graveyard.

My grandfather on mum's side (the one who owned the book I read) tried to join up to fight in WW1. He was born in 1900, so he would have been under age. Stories vary as to what happened. One is that they realized he was too young & knocked him back, though a doctor gave him medical cover claiming his lungs weren't good from breathing in too much flour. The second story is that as a baker's apprentice he was in a protected occupation and was refused. Either way, no one in the family was sorry he missed out.

My other grandfather was born in 1918. He was just the right age to serve in WW2, which he did. Didn't fight in the front lines, but saw enough that he carried it with him for life. His brothers did fight. One was overrun by the Japanese in Malaya, fought back through enemy lines & was eventually captured when Singapore fell. Spent over 3 years as a POW including time on the ingamous 'Death Railway' in Thailand.

There is a database in Australia that allows you to find the names & addresses of people who served in WW1. I live in a small street in inner Melbourne that is less than 100 meters long. It has about 35 little terrace (or row) houses. I think something like 11 men from my street served in WW1. One from a couple of doors down went ashore at Gallipoli on the first day and was killes several months later at Cape Helles. I think at least one more died and several more returned wounded. Dozens more men from the surrounding streets served and a number more died, including two brothers. Numerous others died prematurely in the years tha tfollowed. The impact of all of that on these tiny neighbourhoods must have been like a sledgehammer. So many men gone, so many who died and so many more who came back with mental & physical scars.

 

[João]

Its fascinating when you start researching. People from working backgrounds and near poverty in many cases thrown into War. History would have been much better when I was at school if we had the tools to research that we have now. I also found a brother of the one killed in 1918 . He joined the East Lancs Regt and then ends up in the Tank corp. Which as you know would have been quite something back then. But something I also found when I tried to research after the war. Many of them don't live long and not just one or two alot!
Another good story I found while researching my brother in law, his Great uncle was a Miner by trade, enlisted in 1915 into Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, goes to France on 21/6/16 for the Somme battle is then transferred 13/1/17 to Salonika, 19/6/17 transferred to Egypt, 1/5/18 back to France. Sometime after he is gassed, I know this because his paper work says disability 47 and on his paper work is diagnosed with 'neurasthenia' with a 20% disability. Hes called John and he's in his 30's and my conclusion is he was moved around so much because he had skill sets in digging certain soils which clearly the Army needed in different places. Obviously never met him but fascinated by the story. Something else I noticed as well. Alot that survived never went back to their hometown. It clearly permanently changed people and their views on life. I think we are still living with after effect to this day! But yes I've spent days researching this stuff as you clearly have. Did you know that Lancashire had an entire Division in Gallipoli? The only time it ever happened.