The Drinker Recommends... All Quiet On The Western Front

Every once in a while, a movie or TV show comes along that disproves the idea we're no longer able to adapt classic stories. All Quiet On The Western Front is such a movie.
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[@S_047]

When anything good actually comes out I'm almost confused and wary. Like a dog that's been kicked too many times and is being petted by a genuine person. Hollywood has really fucked me up.

[@holyleech2159]

I would hardly call it Hollywood, this one is from Europe, it is no coincidence that some of the best stuff on Netflix is almost all made outside of the USA, Arcane, dark squid game and more

[@HallowedKhaos91]

@@holyleech2159 Ragnarok is also great.

[@silverhost9782]

I knew this one would at least be respectable because it was done by ze Germans, not the Americans. Say what you will about Germany nowadays, I never expected them to fuck their own literatary history. And they didn't. If they had left it to Netflix it would have been a disaster

[@jackmesrel4933]

As Drinker said, this movie is german, and there anything related to WW1 and 2 is taken extremely seriously, so just by that metric one can expect good things for any WW movie coming from there

[@tnfpodcast]

Great analogy.

[@SilentMephisto]

As a German myself I just have to admire the amount of talent in this movie, it is absolutely refreshing to see a German movie that good even if it is, again, a war movie 😂

[@thedragon133]

We got our foot into Sci-Fi (Dark), now we're back to war movies :D

[@SilentMephisto]

@kosinus ja absolut 🤣👍🏻

[@headspaceastronaut]

1899 from the makers of Dark is coming and it also looks amazing

[@Lonovavir]

Some of us non-Germans know about Fritz Lang's films. If you like sci-fi Noirs like Blade Runner and Dark City you inevitably hear about M and Metropolis and perhaps end up buying them on DVD.

[@calexander7495]

At least Germans weren't depicted as being evil or a bunch of perverts. Better than most appearances in Cinema.

[@bigding8977]

This was brutal to watch. I felt exhausted after that final scene. I will probably think about this film from time to time. 17 million dead. How fortunate I feel sitting in my comfortable chair, in relatively peaceful times, to pursue my own path. I feel so badly for those young men.

[@thematerialfish3105]

They were hardly men yet. They were just kids sent off to hell on earth

[@lawrencewood289]

Go watch the 1930s version. It is better and more elegaic.

[@andrewthomas695]

I had to watch it over a number of days because of this. It's hard to believe people experienced WW1.

[@bigding8977]

@@andrewthomas695 Same. I watched it over several days because it was so intense.

[@seangotts6470]

it was a shit time to live ww 1 then spanish flue .. then ww2 then commie mass purges .... fuck that

[@jguerrero32]

That scene where he stabbed the man and then tried to save him absolutely broke me. they acted that out so so so well. fantastic movie.

[@lawrencewood289]

The scene comes from Erich Maria Remarque's novel. Shows what a great writer he was.

[@videoms1271]

@@lawrencewood289 incredible, a movie adaption of a book uses the book!

[@UltimateChaosForce]

@@lawrencewood289 thing is, wasn't he in ww1? there's a good chance he either felt this or heard someone doing something like this.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@videoms1271 That's almost the only thing this cruddy movie adaptation used (except character names and the title).

[@lawrencewood289]

@@UltimateChaosForce Yes Remarque was a German Army WWI soldier. Absolutely. Also Carl Junger (who spent more time at the front and was highly decorated) has some excellent recollections in Storm of Steel.

[@sumSOTY]

Fun fact: main actor for Paul, Felix Kammerer, this was his first acting job in film. Previously he was an actor in theater

[@aerickmon3350]

Talk about a jump in role! Very impressive for him to go that far so quickly

[@miika6739]

@@aerickmon3350 he was so tallented in the role

[@mEEEEE1934]

@@aerickmon3350 What do you mean? Most theater actors are better than most film actors. He just deemed to do the lesser form of art.

[@NecromancerIV]

He was so damn good too

[@Hiraghm]

In a couple of the scenes... he looked like Steve McQueen.

[@jeremiahwaller1283]

As a Marine vet of Iraq and Afghanistan, I'd like to nominate the crater stabbing scene as the best scene in a war film ever.

[@txdmsk]

Thank you for your service, sir.

[@videoms1271]

@@txdmsk his service in what? Destroying 2 countries?

[@Monkeyman_04]

@@videoms1271 Don't blame him, blame the assholes that sent him there. Did you even watch the movie? It's basically that story.

[@Gwardini_PL]

Yes this scene stayed with me and will stay for a longer time, also made me cry today morning after a movie yesterday.

[@postcollapse1170]

@@Monkeyman_04 the "assholes that sent him there" couldn't do so if he hadn't enlisted you bend boy.

[@utlandsk]

Someone said that the soundtrack of this movie sounds industrial because it is the metaphorical cogs on the war machine turning. This put the soundtrack in a new light for me and made me enjoy the movie even more.

[@Imblu95]

Also it serves as a warning that something is happening being for the next cog of war, scene and or mentally .

[@lucabarnardo6613]

The soundtrack was a masterpiece. Really captured the essence of this movie.

[@exanimo8554]

Indeed the movie uses a lot of metaphorical elements to convey the situation. When Ww1 started, as zhe first war in modern times in an industrialized world, the downsides of the industrial revolution showed. That actually influenced the German people, especially many poets so mich that we have a specific era in our poetry, that describes the dread and horrors of that time.

[@altf4755]

the soundtrack made me feel stressed and nervous, it was amazing

[@matthewjohnathanwarburton8342]

Exaclty! That -3 tone death riff-: "DERR-DUUH-DUUM".

[@Herfinnur]

3:22 actually, in the scene where they're all in the yard and the general orders them to attack, you see and hear several soldiers refusing to follow his orders, then you see military police grab them, and then as we see Paul's stony face, we hear those soldiers being summarily executed

[@noir3662]

🤓🎪

[@maddogtannan1334]

@@noir3662 The mirror is over there

[@Muschelschubs3r]

There is one minor detail. The German army during WW1 was NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF SUMMARY EXECUTION OF DESERTERS OR DISOBEDIENCE OF ORDERS! Sorry for screaming.

[@Herfinnur]

@@Muschelschubs3r is that true? All sources I've read and my history Professor say that happened a lot, and I can't see that scene in the film suggesting anything else. Edit: And just to be clear, there are reports of this happening in probably every WW1 army except possibly the Americans. Brittain has its fair share of these unofficial cases, as well as the official cases. But maybe I'm confusing what I've read about ww2

[@lawrencewood289]

Total bollocks. When Franz von Hipper tried to send the Imperial Navy on a death ride in October they mutinied and that's what started the downfall of the Kaiser. The German Army is not a bunch of Japanese about to embark on a banzai charge. In fact Ludendorff and Hindenburg wanted to PRESERVE the army because they were worried about what those rascally leftists were going to do at home. (In fact they were whining for an armistice whereas the German politicians would have preferred them to fight on to try to negotiate for better terms-this dingbat film reverses that and this perpetuates the very dangerous story of the Dolchstosslegendre). This was yet another reason this film basically stinks historically and as a version of a great book. It seems to appeal to 1. Those who have little knowledge of WWI 2. Those who love video games and comic book movies

[@seanh7610]

As a German - and I think many of the french or british people can agree - movies like these have kind of a personal note to them when you know some of the man portrayed there might be your great grandfather fighting along his brothers or cousins... It's like watching something that was history wise just a moment ago but feels so distant.

[@mapesdhs597]

Very much agree. Alas even today it's often hard for the modern populace to talk openly about those events, they are too hard wired into what have become ingrained cultural biases, or in the case of Germany encouraged inherited guilt which is exploited for political & economic purposes by those in power. The strange thing is, it's usually the *civilians* (especially in the UK where I am) that held onto their anti-'enemy' attitudes, fostering such norms in their children who were single digit age at the time. The soldiers though generally understood things better. I saw this play out via my mother, who was born in London in 1939 and thus strongly recalled bombing raids as a child; in later years, when I was mature enough to query, I found it very hard to encourage her to think objectively about what happened, about what was done to 'the other side', toward the end often without justification (the 'Allies' being the victor is I'm sure the only reason why Harris isn't today more widely regarded as a war criminal), or to perhaps consider that her opinions were only as strong as they were because of her own mother's firm views (my grandmother, a woman of determined character, would run outside during raids with a rake, waving it at the planes in the sky and yelling at them, which being told this as a young teen in the early 1980s I always thought sounded rather funny). I think my mother had particular fear of the V1 & V2, especially the latter since of course it would strike without audible warning, but it's hard to know how much of what she described was genuine memory or merely that endlessly recounted by her own mother. Either way, what was endured was then surely cemented in the general public mindset by the many years of rationing and austerity which followed after the war ended, but it's a pity this took place with little awareness of what it was like for those across mainland Europe who had to rebuild, amid far worse conditions; it's an as yet untold story. Years ago I watched a documentary about an American soldier who fought in the Pacific campaign in WW2, was captured and held in a Japanese POW camp where conditions were brutal and often fatal, the guards cruel, etc. In modern times (now in his 70s IIRC) he undertook a journey to Japan to visit one of the camp guards who had also survived the war and had agreed to meet him, both now very elderly. Very much to his surprise, when meeting for the first time the Japanese man broke down in his lap and cried, half a century of guilt and needed atonement had taken their toll. Untold stories... For those who fought, age brought wisdom and perspective. For the civilians though, all too often they stubbornly hold onto long outdated views, attitudes doubtless regarded as necessary at the time as part of the general propaganda effort, but afterwards, within the peace which follows, utterly out of place.

[@Rondo2ooo]

@@mapesdhs597 Excellent comment! I couldn't agree more.

[@andrewcarter7503]

Agree. An ancestor of mine - Ernest Luke Moss - died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. No grave but remembered on the Thiepval Memorial. It's important to remember these were not just numbers but people, just like your friends, your brothers, like you and me.

[@takano-san9903]

my grand pa reiceved the iron cross in the first world war for bravery. unfortunatly i did met him as he passed away before i eas born. but some day, when my parents have died I hope I will get documents about his military carrer

[@ryanwebb5082]

The fundamental tone of this film is this was the first time in history that recruits to the army had no idea what they were letting themselves in for. War during the 19th Century was fought with swords, muskets, horses etc. Ok, the Gatling gun made an appearance in the Civil War and this is well documented in films like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (which I discovered is free on YT for those wanting to watch one of the greatest films of all time) but the soldiers on both sides didn't have a) the protection or weapons to protect themselves (mobile machine guns) b)the ground to run/ hide from the machine gun which essentially made it a meat mincer to run through. Add to that all of the other obstacles etc Then the tanks (never seen), then the flame throwers and finally mustard gas. Technological advancement made this a gateway war - where old met new, and human misery was the result. This film and Paths of Glory are the only two films which capture this insanity. Also, one thing also picked on, is unlike other wars before it (Napolean wars/ Civil war/ Independence war - this is the first war where generals/ leaders aren't thought of as heroes, and little men actually get a voice.

[@L233233]

The one thing from the book (and earlier adaptions) that I really missed was when he went back home for a couple of days on front leave. I always felt this was a central element of the story, driving home Paul's alienation from society and the lack of understanding of those not having to fight in the war for the plight of the soldiers in the trenches.

[@animelytical8354]

This is a good point. I watched Wendigoon's video about that first adaptation and that part was very important. I didn't know it wasn't going to be present until this comment, but it's an understandable difference when I hear about the things that they added. They seem to have leaned into the context behind why the book was written even more by highlighting the futility of the fighting towards the end. But I didn't know it would be at the expense of that moment. The only hint was there was no mention of that part in this video. I can't even criticise that choice, to be honest. It's almost like they leaned into the underlying societal issues that made the book necessary instead of showing the alienation an exact retelling. As I type this, I think I really respect the choice. Because people that are very familiar with the original will have reason to be equally moved by what they showed as opposed to moved in a much lesser way in just showing them that personal story they already know.

[@kristianwesterdahl9576]

Exactly! I missed that part too.

[@davebarrowcliffe1289]

Agreed.

[@ferencdojcsak8576]

This what Remarque's other master piece, A Time To Love And A Time To Die is all about. The movie blended the two novels together, and I'm not one bit disappointed.

[@pistoneteo]

Totally agreed, and the bootcamp is also missing... I liked the movie a lot, but for me, the 30s adaptation is still supperior, despite all of its technical lakings.

[@grimiss]

I'm glad they kept things like the crater scene and Kat dying on Paul's back, but there were some big pieces of Paul's experience that weren't in this adaptation and I was surprised by that. Like the bird sketches he does, or how at one point he is wounded and gets to go home for 2 weeks towards the end of the war. There's a powerful scene where he's back home talking to some older patriotic men in a beer garden about how the war is going. Paul tries to tell them how Germany is losing but they are in denial, they think Germany is winning and casually dismiss Paul's opinion despite his personal experience on the frontline. The futility really sinks in for him here, as he realizes the men who sent him and his friends to war are completely disconnected from reality, and everything he and his friends sacrifice will have been for nothing.

[@lawrencewood289]

Yes this version really shouldn't use the title. It diverges quite heavily from the book and the 1930/1979 versions.

[@PhilipFry.]

@@lawrencewood289 so what

[@scallie6462]

@@lawrencewood289 you seem yo be thr only person whos butthurt about this.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@PhilipFry. Then don't grab a title (for your commercial and attention advantages) when you aren't going to be even remotely close to that particular work. Feel free to be a brave artist and put yourself out there with your own work. That's what Erich Maria Remarque did and this is, bluntly, parasitizing that.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@scallie6462 Actually there's a few different threads about this new (supposed) version of All Quiet on the Western Front and quite a few people note that its pretty far from the original work. Obviously, you can judge it on its own merits but if you remake something you're supposed to at least have some degree of faithfulness to the original work. The two "Willy Wonkas" were very different takes BUT they both had the same plot lines, same characters, roughly same ending, etc. This thing veers off into Lala land. And that's fine if it wants to be its own thing. But then it shouldn't steal a title (and lift some characters and plot fragments) for its commercial advantage. And please spare us all the "butthurt" infantilisms.

[@basedboi3956]

The scene where Paul kills the French soldier in no man’s land and has to be with him as he slowly dies hit me harder than any moment in film in recent memory. Pure brutality and emotionality

[@lawrencewood289]

A masterpiece by Erich Maria Remarque in the novel.

[@tomben6180]

The one for me was his comrade stabbing himself in the neck to commit suicide.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@tomben6180 Trouble was that is a figment of the filmmaker's imagination. Neither in the novel nor the earlier film adaptations does Tjaden try to commit suicide. In fact he is the earthiest character of all. He and I think Kat have regular arguments about eating soup before battle. Tjaden figures why should he be hungry in battle. Kat worries about getting. a stomach wound. Outside of this (cruddy) adaptation I believe Albert Kropp (whom Paul is in hospital with) does get despondent after losing his lower legs and in hospital he takes a fork and tries to pound it into his chest. However he is stopped and later he survives being taken to the "bandaging ward" (A euphemism for the place you are taken to die). He seems to recover and Paul is happy he will exit the war. (Funny interesting sidenote...Paul Baumer was a famous WWI ace who was a dental assistant in civilian life. Erich Maria Remarque was a patient and grabbed the name.)

[@nian89]

I don't cry at movies, but that scene was a close one

[@scottwallace5239]

@@nian89 when he pulled the French soldiers journal out and saw his wife and daughter, hit me, imagine taking someone's life over a piece of mud and knowing you're the reason a child will never see their father again, you'd feel like a monster

[@Earl_Bassett_]

I expected this video, and the Drinker never disappoints

[@georgedavey1339]

I love this movie genre especially those based on historic events! Look forward to giving this a watch, cheers!

[@officialvickyp]

NNN clips kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYizn5iYn7Zrr9k

[@simongrant924]

Tell that to Tatyana

[@lukebarroso449]

I just watched this yesterday. Absolutely fantastic movie. Really glad to see you enjoyed it.

[@MeyerBen27]

Except 'Prey' sucked balls.

[@heintmeyer2296]

My grandfather was a grammar school teacher conscripted and fought in WW1, he was gassed and suffered terrible lung damage, which killed him when my father was 10. The emotional damage he suffered was also enormous. All Quiet is more important than just a story, it is history.

[@seanjohn2312]

How old was your grand Papi when he fought?

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@seanjohn2312 ...Drinker is really Agreeable for a Right-Winger, so i wished he'd collabed with "Some More News" one day. He even has covered MANY of what Drinker often says in his 'Popcorn Dystopia'-Video.

[@JohnFreedman0]

@@slevinchannel7589 I don't know what you are talking about. I am Conservative, and I found the movie rather crappy. I couldn't stand people just watching tanks drive over their men without taking shots at the tracks, or running from a firing line at 80m just to take 5 rounds to the back. I am a war veteran, and none of this made any remote sense to me. I decided to look at some more news. I learned that he doesn't understand how the Supreme Court works, or what it's role is in the American government system.

[@lordmilchreis1885]

@@JohnFreedman0 bro, tanks were introduced in ww1, they didnt know how to fight them, and have fun running away from machine gun fire, if youre a war veteran this movie would make absolute perfect sense

[@John_II]

Thank you for sharing that. The "like" isn't because your family suffered, and for that I am sorry, it's just to highlight your comment because it's a good one.

[@Sixeye_]

This should be shown in all high schools around the world. Never let what these kids went through be forgotten. Lest we forget.

[@vincentlaw1415]

Jesus, I get what you mean but half of the class would need a therapist after that xD

[@WeirdTale]

@@vincentlaw1415 So did their great great grandpas in that hellscape, nothing says family bonding like shared trauma. XD

[@arminius504]

They would call it white privilege

[@parzavaal5335]

@Vincent Law Lmao they already do

[@sassuskrassus3166]

in germany we usually do a trip in the 8th - 9th grade to certain concentration camps (ive been to Flossenbürg) were they show us the conditions of those workers, they had shown us the gas chambers and they had shown us the furnitures/crematoria how they all died. I think its an immense lecture for young kids to see what horrible things our ancestors did so we hopefully never do it again

[@Zeuts85]

If Hell were a real place, it would just be a copy of WW1. The subject really fascinates me, because it represents something like an extreme of human experience. I remember from one of Dan Carlin's hardcore history podcasts, he read excerpts from various soldiers' descriptions of the battlefield, and out of that came a list of sensations/experiences that I can't really rank because they are all equally horrible. In no meaningful order... 1: Huge rats everywhere, feasting on corpses and occasionally living soldiers while they try to sleep. 2: The smell of blood, rotting corpses, feces, and spent munitions - so overpowering that soldiers could smell it from miles before arriving at the front. 3: Artillery barrages lasting hours, sometimes even days, creating a ceaseless, disorienting roar that drove many soldiers insane. 4: Overpowering thirst due to a lack of fresh water, while being surrounded by muddy puddles, oily with corpse bloat and toxic gas residue. 5: Horrible constipation due to poor diet, and lack of even a safe place to take a shit. (In one excerpt, a soldier described how his friend was desperately trying to wait for dusk so he could go take a shit in no man's land, but eventually gave up an decided to chance it, only to get blown to pieces by a shell.) 6: Endless, interminable boredom in miserable squalor. Basically just sitting in a muddy hole for days, stretching into weeks and months, waiting to die. The list could go on and on. I feel like if somebody wanted to deliberately design the most miserable human experience possible, they'd have a hard time topping WW1.

[@officialthomasjames]

Thank you for sharing. Is this podcast still available anywhere?

[@angelgirl1559]

Completely agree. This topic truly interests me too, and as a female high schooler I am surprised it does.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Don't forget lice, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes carrying diseases like typhus and malaria, and billions of flies feasting on corpses and carrying their bundle of diseases. And then the flu...

[@andchat6241]

As I previously wrote, the Mud ,gas & trenches is far from 'the story of WW1 '- a certainly more horses than heavy guns ( surprisingly the OTT '1917' does get something very right , the clean fields that much of the war was thought over.) This was a 'world war' in a real sense - from Russia, Africa ,Asia & the oceans .. Much of the European war was horrific though ( my Grandfather was fortunate in being badly wounded by a Cavalry charge early on & was an 'invalid, thus sent home )

[@andchat6241]

The 'Spanish flu' that was noted towards the end ,in Spanish medical centres was awful...but this is a view from a 'western perspective ' e.g. Typhus & blood diseases are still common in much of the world ...& Smallpox was finally 'cleared from Africa' in the 1970s . ( approx 200 years after innoculation existed)

[@CB_Wells]

I absolutely loved this movie despite how haunting and traumatic it was. The scene where Paul kills the French soldier and then realizes their shared humanity and tries to clean him up was so moving. When I first saw the trailer I had a strange feeling Netflix would surprise us with a fantastic film, and I wasn’t disappointed.

[@markcwebster]

I agree. That scene just shows how humanity comes through when the smoke clears. The desperation of ones own survival can easily turn to that of the selfless given the right circumstances. It just shows that in the midst of all that horror, there is still hope in the human spirit.

[@Neuzahnstein]

A German Team was behind that, at least the regiseur.

[@dragomirdanut2451]

Try read the book ,its realy good.

[@barbiquearea]

In the book Paul also swore that if he survives the war he would track down the man's family and provide for them, although he realizes after what he's done they would likely want to kill him.

[@rgw7345]

I can't shake the feeling. This movie is a great flim, but a bad adaptation. Had this movie been called "armistice" it would be perfect, but they tried to make this a remake of "alls quiet on the western front" and it doesn't square up.

[@Ben-rd3dd]

The final shot of the movie absolutely broke me. Just when you think they're going to cut away, they keep holding it, forcing you to sit in that trench with Paul.

[@Schizobateman]

@@razorwindrazor3981 go back to reddit

[@Slider712]

@@razorwindrazor3981 cope, seethe

[@LeroiAlbertpremierdunom]

@@razorwindrazor3981 Cope harder bozo

[@lunisinko7498]

I agree. Woke and brainwashed types like you should be more tolerant and open minded towards opinions that differ from yours. People like you dont stand for tolerance at all. You just want everybody to think like the woke hive mind.

[@applied.precision]

YES. THIS. I was so impressed with the bravery of the choice to hold that shot for so long.

[@Benjy1]

The scene where they had to fight tanks and napalm scene was straight out of a horror movie

[@lawrencewood289]

And the Director's fictitious imagination.

[@tomben6180]

@@lawrencewood289 Flame throwers and tanks were used during the First World War. The back and forth fighting between trenches over and over was exaggerated but the actual kills were realistic

[@lawrencewood289]

@@tomben6180 Yes they were but 1. Flamethrowers work by projecting a flammable liquid and igniting it. Whatever these props are they don't do that (they are some kind of weird gas jet). Also, they were precious and a prime target. You would never line them up like this asking the enemy to commence a Sperrfeuer or artillery counter barrage. 2. WWI tanks were agonizingly slow (and the St Chamond was a prime example unlike the Renault FT) and hard to maneuver. They were generally not used in counterattack but rather massed for an assault where they could be pre-positioned.

[@jns_schrtr]

@@lawrencewood289 this guy just commenting on every positive comment to shit on the movie because of historical inaccuraties. Calm down bro. It's a movie. We are well aware of the imagined scenes.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@jns_schrtr I'm very calm. Yes, it is a movie, one that many people are lauding and think is like the most amazing thing ever (and seem pretty unaware of the "imagined scenes"). I and several others disagree for a variety of reasons which includes a number of historical inaccuracies though equally as big a deal are its poor character development and huge plot excursions from the novel whose name it appropriated.

[@JS-gc7kf]

When I realized that Paul was given the uniform of the previous soldier, Heinrich, the guy we're introduced to from the starting battle scene, I felt really bad about it. That was one of the saddest things I remembered from watching this, because I didn't know Heinrich was killed in that bloodbath. Took me a while to realize despite the movie's hints. I thought he survived or I mixed up Heinrich and Paul altogether

[@lawrencewood289]

That was such BS!! It isn't in the novel and frankly it isn't something that happened in WWI!. Complete filmmaker nonsense as someone who has no clue about real military stuff.

[@thymethome6755]

@@lawrencewood289 calm down.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@thymethome6755 I'm quite calm. I just dislike a filmmaker basically grabbing a famous novel and prior film and using its title then creating their own POV while completely distorting reality. That just doesn't sit well with me. At some point you're diverging from the original source material and you shouldn't appropriate their name/title.

[@j.w.m.415]

@@lawrencewood289 oh no, the most recent film adaptation includes historical events that weren't specifically mentioned in a hundred year old fictitious novel. 🙄

[@baldrickthedungspreader3107]

@@lawrencewood289 wether it happened or not I liked it nonetheless because it was a way of highlighting the scale of carnage that happened on the western front, Also filmmakers don't have to go by the book 100% of the time, novels whilst great stories usually don't make good movie script, the point of art is creativity and not just work within the confines of the source material

[@mrcoal69]

the opening sequence where the deceased soldiers' uniforms are repaired and sent back into circulation is one of the most chilling moments I have watched in recent movie history.

[@randomdude189]

You should watch they shall never go old by Peter Jackson cause you be ashamed you let this fake depiction affect you so much. Seeing the actual pictures of the new recruits being unloaded next to the coffins being loaded is real life horror. The conveyor or factory of war with human fodder. The cgi headshots ruined this movie for me

[@panzerlieb]

@@randomdude189 absolutely! “They shall never grow old” is not a movie you classify as merely good. It’s a movie that’s so important it should be seen by everyone. It gives you an all to real sense of the true cost of war.

[@mrcoal69]

@@redcell9636 i actually watched and it was very captivating, but the love for the movie comes from how the filmmakers chose to depict that horror.

[@asneakychicken322]

@@randomdude189 and if we've watched both? Why can't this be enjoyed as well?

[@lawrencewood289]

Well great. But guess what...that isn't what happened. The Germans weren't recycling uniforms. This is some random filmmakers dream.Think about it. NO ONE is going to grab their comrades dead body from very dangerous areas and strip them naked to send their mud and blood stained uniform back. Frankly it is offensive and stupid!! (I served in the military). The Film is already half dead to me with this idiocy. And of course the randos who have never spent a day in their life in uniform LOVE this baloney. Remember this the 1930 Lewis Milestone version featured many men who had actually experienced this horror (my grandfather was a machine gunner at Vimy Ridge and other spots) not a bunch of actors. Look to that version for the greatness of the Erich Maria Remarque novel!!!

[@artfiend4212]

Watched this 3 days ago, absolutely loved it. Unbelievable acting by the main young guys. Absolutely perfect viewing.

[@officialvickyp]

NNN clips kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYizn5iYn7Zrr9k

[@SaltStorm007]

It was PHENOMENAL! TBH it surprised me given Netflix’s track record💯

[@spook407]

Idk about the soundtrack with those techno beats tho, doesn’t really fit the ww1 vibe

[@hawkerhawthorne881]

I`m under the impression that Netflix somehow managed to realize the non-modern audience is quiet large and the modern audience consists only of some noisy radicals who can`t afford a ticket/subscription... because they`re unemployed gender studies graduates

[@thurin84]

i figured itd be good. i just say an interview of him relating how in depth he went into researching and preparing for the role. nice to see actors who do more than phone it in again.

[@cryptoallmight]

This is probably the best German movie I've ever seen! It doesn't feel German at all, and that says a lot...I'm German and movies here are, let's put it that way, not the best... Acting, music, atmosphere, tempo, you name it, this was an incredibly well made movie!

[@thema.sosoudid2229]

I’d recommend you watch Land of mine or goodby Lenin. Very good German cinema

[@ajvhan]

I am not german and I have seen plenty of amazing German movies... Das Boot, Stalingrad, Das leben die anderes, Das Experiment, Run Lola Run, Head On

[@cosmoframe3466]

The problem in Germany is, that the German propaganda Channels (ARD/ZDF) suck out a lot of talent from the market and use it to create mostly forgettable trash. Many artist either leave the country or get comfortable in the state media machine. It's eye opening, that the only German show that made any international waves in the last few years was 'Dark'. A show produced by Netflix and thus slightly appart from the normal German tv machine. At the same time more than 10billion dollars every year spend by the government channels did not produce anything of note.

[@cryptoallmight]

You guys are right, there are definitely other great movies but they all "feel" German, which is a style I myself don't really like. This one was different imo. It's like Cosmo said, ARD/ZDF are a massive problem... funding in general is very hard to come by and hardly ever is there anything creative and good coming out of it.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@cryptoallmight Sorry but this is a cruddy film neither faithful to its source material or accurate to WWI. The 1930 version is way better in almost all respects.

[@Clint_Beastwood87]

Kat was such lovely character and great acting.

[@lawrencewood289]

Check out Louis Wolheim form the 1930 version!!

[@Mjdemass]

I served 10y in the french army, and every time we were going through some hardship during training on the field or in operations outside Europe, my mental self motivation was " this is nothing compared to the hell trenches of WW I, man up". Even I with my little experience cannot imagine 10% of what those brave men ( on both sides ) endured. I tremble with dread by just thinking about it. I hope such an experience will never be endured by any human ever again.

[@trystdodge6177]

The French have an army?

[@Soridan]

@@trystdodge6177 yeah, and the frogs have the most successful military history too. Don't huff too many memes.

[@makingastardestroyer3066]

@Em W sadly it is currently ongoing. More than 100.000 men fallen on the front, Russians and ukrainians alike. And most of them sitting in trenches waiting for artillery strike. This is happening. Right now.

[@paulf3999]

Same for me, everytime I would face some hardship, like dropping a plate of spaghetti, my self motivation was "this is worst than the trenches of WW1" and I would order ubereats (again)

[@VitaKet]

@@trystdodge6177 You know.. the guys who have 1500 years of fighting history, sacked Rome, created the second largest empire on earth for a time, were a large part of the success of the American Revolution.

[@darthmartinez]

The original 1930's movie still holds up very well. The Netflix remake is very well done and is visually stunning and really shows the horror of WW1 combat.

[@foxtayle683]

If you haven't seen the 1979 TV version I'd recommend watching it. Using non German actors is not optimal but they did a good job, especially Ian Holm.

[@bryanb6931]

The 1979 version is also very good .

[@robertjohnston8690]

@@foxtayle683 We got to watch it in school in history class. It was / is an awesome film. As bad as the western front was, the eastern front was said to be worse.

[@SwiftTrooper5]

I am glad others have seen this!!

[@thurin84]

id say even the 1979 version holds up well. not as good as the 1930, but good. and seeing the events in color made it all the more real.

[@ayacachotinemi4974]

While it's more cinematic for the film to have the countdown of the Armistice negotiations going on in the background and end with a big battle, the original novel was far more chilling precisely because Paul's death has absolutely no fanfare. It was a calm, ordinary day but he died anyway, an event so small compared to the slaughter of other days his own army didn't even notice it. That's what the title means: it's a situation report from the day Paul dies. The novel doesn't even tell us how it happens - there's no apocalyptic battle, no breathless struggle in the trenches. He's just there one moment and gone the next. That's why it's the perfect war novel: in its final lines it shows you how war devalues human life far better than all the gore and screaming does. There isn't even any pathos in it, it's just a completely hollow death. They also sacrificed some of the history for dramatic effect. Still a great film, but the novel carried more weight because it's the unvarnished truth.

[@thevrana]

I had a real problem with this ending. It kind of goes against the point and the name of the movie/novel. Ending of the novel was perfect. Anticlimactic, off-page death. Just another number. Few things more wasn't the fan of. That sprinter farmer's kid. Can't see the point in that scene. Also, I think they missed out with skipping the part where Paul went home on a leave. And, I wouldn't mind the part where that professor from the beginning ends up on the front.

[@exiszentriker2952]

I also love how they chose the protagonist to be a student in a "Burschenschaft", it gives their relationship another layer of meaning on a greater scale of things. For those of you who don't know, the guys with the red hats at the beginning are "Burschen". Its kind of like a fraternity, but the bond is for a lifetime and they defend their honour with literal sword duels. I for myself am in a "Landsmannschaft" and every year we remember the dead of the first world war. More than 3/4 of the members of our bond lost their lives due to the great patriotic ignitement amongst students at that time. The film highlights great how Bismarck nostalgists in those "Burschenschaften" influenced the youth to go out and die in this horrible war. And even now many Burschenschaften still have the same sentiment from more than onehundred years ago...

[@petro9227]

What shocked me the most during the combat scenes wasn't really the gore, but rather the occasional soldier trying to surrender, begging for his life, only to be shot or burned anyway. It makes sense and should be expected, but hasn't been shown off as much in other war movies I've watched. It's horrifying to see even when you know it's going to happen

[@mapesdhs597]

Well said. Once long ago I had an argument with a guy who had a weird notion about how govts, he believed, would never ask enlisted men to sacrifice themselves pointlessly, or use them in a strategic manner that was essentially worthless. His view of war and what soldiers fundamentally had to do in the heat of battle, where of course in reality there is no place for nuance or hesitation, was rose tinted to put it mildly. I said to him, the job of a soldier is to kill upon the orders of the state, that's it; humanity, compassion, morality and fairness are cast asunder, the result is raw brutal survival undertaken on behalf of people far away with no idea of the hell they force men to endure. In WW2 in the Pacific, gestures of surrender by Japanese soldiers were often used as a means of concealed attack, leaving no possibility of even considering taking prisoners, making that particular conflict much worse, ie. one couldn't take any chances, combat had to aim for an absolute end of the enemy. I forget offhand but I think this was depicted in, "The Pacific" at some point.

[@davedelarosa319]

@@mapesdhs597 for those with the time and the fortitude to listen, Dan Carlin has done a masterclass of relaying the World Wars in all that they are on his Hardcore History podcast. Absolutely recommended, but with the caveat that it's not in any way an easy listen.

[@barbararice6650]

A guy called, fucking hell I've forgotten his name wrote a book called 'the face of battle' in which he goes into detail how prisoners aren't and are taken in battle 👀

[@JRandall0308]

I briefly worked with an older man who served in WW2 in a tank division . He recalled his sergeant telling them in one offensive, we”re not taking prisoners today, as they gunned down surrendering enemy.

[@CHIPSSALTY]

3 days ago a solder lost his best friend to random shelling. Today the same soldier sees an enemy trying to surrender. Soldier shoots that enemy without thinking twice. Soldier still feel dead inside but feels a bit better. War is brutal.

[@blank557]

Felix Kammerer as Paul Baumer reminds me of Elijah Wood as Frodo in the LOTR. Both actors have a soulful face that becomes a canvas to reflect their traumatic experiences. At the beginning, they are innocent and carefree. As their journey goes on, they suffer grievous wounds to body and spirit from their respective conflicts. In the end, neither find peace in the mortal world. As someone once said, "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

[@terragthegreat175]

Especially apt considering Tolkien's service in WW1 and the impact it had on him and his works. Frodo and Sam are heavily inspired by the common British soldier of WW1, who would have experienced things very similar to Paul Baumer's story.

[@kjaerdian7864]

@@terragthegreat175 wow, great insight, makes a lot of sense, thanks for this 🙏

[@terragthegreat175]

@@remingtonsteele9431 dude I didn't say it's an allegory I said it was inspired. All authors draw on past experiences when they write. Its unavoidable and Tolkien himself has admitted as much on numerous occasions. He hated the idea that a book should be taken as having one literal interpretation of one real-world topic. He said this because people insisted that he wrote LOTR as an allegory for WW2, which completely fails to appreciate the works true brilliance as an archetypal story of its own right. But Tolkien certainly had inspirations. He was inspired by his faith, his love of mythology, and his war time experiences. These shaped and molded the story, but that doesn't mean he intended LOTR to be an allegory for those inspirations. Learn the difference between allegory and inspiration before you go insulting people on the internet my guy.

[@barbararice6650]

Rubber faces 😁

[@MrKing-771]

@@terragthegreat175 I would say that Frodo's character journey is an allegory for a ww2 soldier, but not the story overall.

[@nettubarona]

Just it's delicious listening to you roasting bad movies left and right (unfortunately, we have a never ending supply of that), it's also very refreshing see you praising great movies such as this one. Keep up the good work.

[@ogrehaslayers605]

I actually watched the dubbed version and didn't even realize it was dubbed until the movie was almost over. THAT is how engaging the characters and story were. Amazing!

[@veronicamoravega7754]

this happened to me 😭 i want to watch it again in german because i liked it so much

[@LunarLocusts]

As a military historian, I loved this movie. Not enough credit has been given to these actors and extras who had to go through this experience too. Being covered in mud, soaked to the bone, and exhausted, it was just a glimpse in what some of our ancestors had to go through.

[@lawrencewood289]

Oh give it a break. The actors blah blah. They go back to their trailers at the end of the day. I was actually in the military. Also, this film sounds bad compared to the absolutely great 1930 original. Have you seen that?!

[@Ali007572]

That was honestly the only good thing in this movie, but still some aspects of the tactics (like the tank scene) were not done properly and that last attack at the end of the movie was really dumb. This whole movie really felt like a mediocre reanactment of some battles with a hollow script and no characters, they were bland, almost not existent. Besides it completely misses the "leitmotif" of the book, it should have been done as a standalone film, and they should've really worked on the characters and script.

[@LunarLocusts]

@@lawrencewood289 You're very bitter and that's sad. Especially considering that you can't look passed your own experiences to appreciate someone honoring another's. Regardless, thank you for your service.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@LunarLocusts Well Mr Slaughter (interesting username) I'm not actually bitter at all. I just think this isn't very good. I like a good war movie and I saw this just like the new Midway and years back Pearl Harbor. Both were profound disappointments compared to the original Midway (a low bar in some ways especially with regards to effects though the cryptography story is told well) and Tora Tora Tora. Similarly, this remake disappointed me greatly with its IMO gratuitous and fictional interjections. My dislike of this work does not in any way cast aspersion on the rank and file soldiers of both sides who sacrificed considerably (My own grandfather was one of them). I appreciate your thanks.

[@muppdog390]

@@lawrencewood289 Well said there! I seriously doubt that Mr Slaughter is a 'military historian'. May have read a few books. This film is so historically incorrect, from the barb wire to the tanks to the flame throwers to the use of machine guns, that it is painful to watch. I didn't make it, I'm afraid. Get yourself the book and immerse yourself into something truly horrific.

[@anFy81]

I read the book 25 years ago. Excellent movie. Makes me so glad we are living in current times. My great-grandfather fought in WW1 - he was an officer but still was involved in the front lines. He survived 4 injuries (2x bajonett 2x bullet). He was also tortured as a captive. We still have lots of his things from the war. I feel like I just got lucky to be born in a time after WW1, WW2 and communist dictatorship in CEE. The men (ok, and women) in my family had to go through all of that. Let's appreciate what we have here.

[@velveetaslingshot]

AMEN. Far too many in the world have never seen the horrors of war. And therefore have no gratitude for the peace they live in every day.

[@anFy81]

@@velveetaslingshot yeah, we get lost in everyday quarrels and the grind. Such movies help to reflect and to put things into perspective. All the best to you!

[@Meerkat73]

After 2000+ years of European constant warring I am blessed by living in EU, cooperating instead of butchering each other for some etherial "reasons". Leaving all the bureaucratic crap aside.

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

@@Meerkat73 depends. Russia seems a bit belligerent these days. Lol. But then I don't think they'd make it past Estonia or Poland for that matter. Even were the Chinese to show up, which most CERTAINLY would activate a number of "trap cards" the world over. ( A currently neutral India and Japan and korea basically being forced into action for instance)

[@JayJay5244]

We had to read the books for German class, not only because of its importance in German literature but also because of its moral/historical value. As a fan of the books I was kinda disappointed tbh. The film takes quite a few liberties and you also don’t get to connect to the soldiers as well as in the books or older movies. But as a showcase for how brutal this war was it’s the perfect movie, frightening even… 3/10 for accuracy but a 10/10 for realism

[@odarrien]

This was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Engaging from start to end. I really felt connected to the main characters as the actors portrayed them excellently. The brutality, senselessness, fear, and pain of fighting in the trenches are well brought out. Great film!

[@lawrencewood289]

Try the 1930's original as well as Paths of Glory By Kirk Douglas.

[@theViomax]

@@lawrencewood289 no.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@theViomax "no"? Up to Darrien really not yourself but care to elaborate? The 1930 film adheres very closely to the original book (unlike this one). The machine gun scene during the French attack is regarded as one of the absolute classic "charge"/war scenes of all time and the director Lewis Milestone as well as several of the actors had actual military/WWI experience which clearly zero of these guys from this version have (As a veteran myself it shows). Louis Wolheim is especially brilliant as Kat. Paths of Glory is incredibly powerful. The story itself is fictional but a reasonable representation of certain events during WWI. The film has superb acting and deep philosophical implications around why each of the three "victims" was selected. Also, it shows humanity stripped down to a base level but also how it can occasionally break through. The film was so powerful, The French government banned it in France for 20 years after its premiere. So I say "Yes!". Do you have anything specific to say?

[@danielmeb84]

@@lawrencewood289 not everyone cares about ''sticking to the book'' bro, we just want to see a good war movie

[@lawrencewood289]

@@danielmeb84 1. Understand your point. 2. I don't think this is that good a war movie. 3. It shouldn't use the book's title (and all the commercial advantages that come with that) if it is basically going to be mostly an original story or take extreme liberties. Erich Maria Remarque is dead...but if you wrote a book and then someone took the exact title as well as the main plot line and characters and then jiggered them around quite a bit would you be ok with that? Perhaps. But I've seen a lot of cases where authors are pretty PO's and even sue when their works are mangled (my words. I understand you and others like this remake). I'm not a believer in "cultural appropriation" because I don't think anyone owns a culture. However, I do believe that you can (mis)appropriate a work by an individual. If you enjoyed this work, cool, I'm not trying to steal your joy. But I would recommend you check out some other things that I outline in my posts.

[@jackanory-balamory]

It was a gut wrenching film. One of the most sobering war films I've ever seen. And they really thought out every detail. Every actor had yellow teeth and those with facial hair had it scraggly and scruffy. Soldiers drenched head to toe in mud and filth. A brilliant film.

[@guestguest9]

The scene when Paul stabbed the Frenchman in the bombhole and as the Frenchman was bleeding out and choking, his piercing blue eyes were staring directly at Paul as he slowly died was the most scarring and impactful scenes in cinema I’ve seen in a long time. I would never want to be in Paul’s situation, absolutely horrible.

[@anydaynow01]

I've been re reading Storm of Steel after seeing this adaptation and I must say there was a lot of that going on also. Where they are hacking apart the English lines and he gets a look at the "enemy" and is a bit haunted that he has to kill people that look just like him is very similar to Paul's scene. Such an outstanding book I hope HBO will make a miniseries adaptation of it in the same vein as The Pacific and Band of Brothers. I've been crossing my fingers for a remake of Tour of Duty also, HBO is the only studio I have faith that they won't screw it up, or AMC maybe but it won't be as raw as HBO can make it. (I'm giving them a pass on season 8 of GoT considering how excellent HotD has been so far)

[@markheinle6319]

and yet not a single comment about the drinker throwing in there about hating people who did gender studies or tHe MeSsAgE? not really sure how you guys think fascism works, honestly. you kind of create this boogeyman you hate, rally people against it, dehumanize them, make you feel like they are taking away your society ... thats how it works. so whats this video?

[@naughtiusmaximus5057]

@@anydaynow01 Storm of Steel is the most horrific, no - punches - pulled war book I've read. The scene where his platoon are laying low in a shell crater, because the saying went that shells never land in the same place twice. Then a shell lands and his description of the aftermath is just so horrific. How he and the handful of survivors collected the few pieces of steaming meat which were all that remained of his platoon. And how he cried afterwards. Unbelievable book.

[@nigelbrayshaw2709]

Jeez, I would never like to be stabbed in the bombhole, thats for sure!

[@NTJedi]

Most politicians today, do not care about ruining the lives of their own people.... they live inside a bubble where thousands of normal citizens are merely pawns.

[@mikea1819]

I like how they show how absolutely terrifying the tanks must of been to the soldiers who never have seen one before.

[@johnnyparatrooper1326]

Tanks were mostly useless junk in WW1. In WW2 tanks were very serious, and reliable weapons.

[@tntkit]

Just like in the medieval times when soldiers see the war elephants for the first time Terrifyingly intimidating

[@johngeiger3770]

Fact is even today soldiers get nervous around enemy tanks. Those things look terrifying and are terrifying even with all the anti-tank weaponry.

[@myblacklab7]

It's one of many historical inaccuracies depicted in this movie. By 1918, everyone knew what tanks were, and it would be highly unlikely that German soldiers in 1918 would be shocked by a tank attack, especially considering how slow and vulnerable those tanks were - they were not even fully bullet-proof.

[@abercrombieblovs2042]

@Sakkra1993 I've visited the Tank Museum at Bovington, and their exhibit with an actual Mk. 1 comments on that. Apparently, though there were some isolated cases of terror amongst the German soldiers, the majority were simply puzzled and curious. Until they started taking fire, of course XD

[@honkmainster3552]

Oh hey I actualy played as extra in a few scenes ! It was weird but fun experience, knowing that there is a chance that your face get immortalized in a art. And I did saw myself (and even my face) where I was running/standing/and sometimes even “dying” :D Also the sheer ammout of materiel that has been filmed is insane. At the final days of shooting, I heard on set they got something like 6-7 hours of clean and story-coherent shots that were already cut, but they needed to shorten it way more. :D

[@ungabunga7879]

Im curious who you were in the movie, or what scene your in Ive been spending a lot of time going back through the movie just appreciating how many extras were in the background, and watching all of their individual movements, it all feels so real

[@Gapsx1eGewehr]

That must have been amazing, especially if you were in a scene with the main character himself! Which scenes were you in? I hope you weren't one of the guys in the background getting nuked by artillery shells lmfao But if you were, I do have questions about how they did it? Was it an actual explosion or was it greenscreen?

[@xfrostyresonance8614]

Man...I would love to see a director's cut of this movie with all of those shots and extra storylines. I'm aware I'd probably be left a lifeless husk by the end of it all, but I don't quite care.

[@angelgirl1559]

Brilliant job! What was the onset process like, was it stressful?

[@morbidtotty8375]

I’m in the military, i experience a lot of stress and bullshit from work but after watching this movie I felt very appreciative that I have the job that I do because I will never experience something like this movie

[@donoimdono2702]

don't count your chickens before they're hatched

[@morbidtotty8375]

@@donoimdono2702 were it so easy

[@donoimdono2702]

@@morbidtotty8375 - might even start in the same region 🙄

[@theonlybigmorg]

this movie is the first to make me cry in 5 years. absolutely horrifyingly brilliant movie

[@corning1]

I thought for sure i had seen every war movie. I know I’ve heard of this but the clips don’t look familiar. Weird. Still my favorite is letters from Iwo Jima. Masterpiece.

[@corning1]

Oh ok I did see this. The original though. Wasn’t a fan. Bland.

[@theonlybigmorg]

@@corning1 excuse me did you just call the 1930 classic "bland"

[@blakebarrette9568]

Reading this comment just gave me goosebumps bc I almost balled my eyes out a couple times, probably my favourite world war movie

[@corning1]

@@theonlybigmorg just wasn’t a fan of the pompous show he put on. Like we get it, war is bad. The whole school teacher parts… such a drag through the pseudo-intellectual mud that this was. Maybe I’m simple. I really had to drag myself across the finish line on this one. The ending was supposed be shocking but it wasn’t. I don’t learn anything from this movie is what I’m saying. And omg the constant bombs going off drove me crazy. Like I understand that is what he was trying to achieve. How non stop shelling can shake a person, and I certainly agree. This is a movie though…. There is no need for a bomb to go off every 10 seconds for the entire movie.

[@rifroll1117]

It’s rare in today’s media landscape that we get to enjoy such a brutally honest depiction of the past without any modern revisionism etc. What a gem

[@Teknopuls3]

If you read the book, watched the 1930s or '79 versions of All Quiet...you would know it's a revisionist expression.

[@ScepticGinger89]

@@Teknopuls3 What do you mean? I've read the book and the only thing that bothered me about the movie is how they changed the ending and took away the connection to the title.

[@shoyupacket5572]

@@Teknopuls3 the book itself is revisionist, stop being pretentious

[@jonbaxter2254]

Speaking of landscapes, the cinematography of this film was incredible.

[@kommissarvalkyre2054]

No. It's bland and a bad adaptation of Remarque's work.

[@tommy6663]

I trully recommend watching this in German with subtitles if you dont understand the language. Its soooo damn good!

[@victora.1329]

I wish I spoke it because apparently the actors used authentic rural German accents

[@Imblu95]

I wash going to watch it on subs but i didn't want to miss anything, tried in English dub... with was that, thankfully Spain's dubbers are good, now I'll watch it on German.

[@pmtoner9852]

As someone who teaches this novel in high school, it is great to hear that this movie does the classic novel justice, and I appreciate your succinct and thoughtful review.

[@koopstacochran]

“Hits harder than a gender studies graduate trying to get a real job for the first time.” - 😂

[@interman7715]

😂😂😂

[@brucethomson9923]

It's funny because its true! 😂

[@amberslahlize7961]

Sad but true, war has a way of waking anyone up, anything less is just white man's fault.

[@chlorophyll6154]

Gender studies students should be sent to the Gulag or front line

[@TibiG87]

XDDDDDD

[@DevynPlaysGames]

2 hours and 20 minutes could not go by quicker. god damn what a horrifically beautiful portrayal of what war truly is: hell

[@randomdude189]

Really? I passed out lol

[@filtem0]

I found that the time ran very slowly and I also had the feeling that it was intended like this to portray the last prolonged days of the war

[@randomdude189]

@@filtem0 usually war makes you scared and keeps you awake. This doesn’t

[@augustopoliche8908]

Don't watch "they shall not grow old" . Where real soldiers talk about the great war. You might end up confused. "it was a relief from work" a man actually says.

[@ChristophSiegel]

@@randomdude189 its just not a good movie. The cinematography is good (except for the tank scene, this one is silly), but the story is boring. Which is a shame, as the book is great. I suggest you watch the 1979 version. which is far better (especially with the conveyed message).

[@alexchurchill7614]

Drinker, you magnificent bastard. We need more recommendations from you these days. There's so much trash, and I love your critiques, but please spread more endorsements! The best way to fight the shit is by championing the gold!

[@alexchurchill7614]

What are some lesser known great films we would like The Drinker to consider?

[@leewolf6434]

That scene where the tanks roll in aswell was truly horrifying. Barring in mind this is the first time (maybe not this battle but era) tanks have ever been used. These soldiers have never seen anything like a tank before and no matter how many bullets they shoot it just doesn’t stop.

[@robertjurek2070]

Yea I agree but my only complaint is that tanks were around for a whole year at that point first arriving at the Somme in 1916 so the Germans should have a few field guns and anti material rifles as counters

[@PhilipFry.]

@@robertjurek2070 never underestimate how badly equipped we Germans are during the end of a war

[@smallasaurus4200]

I felt a little panic in me when I heard the metal groaning and screaming and stuff. Now I can perfectly envision what Flers-Courcelette felt like to the German soldiers there. Complete and utter horror.

[@lawrencewood289]

The Germans had anti-tank tactics. Also, tanks were immobile. They weren't used like this in counterattack. They were massed in advance and used in attacks.

[@kloothommel6569]

Its not the first time the Germans have encountered tanks. They recognized weak spots where they placed grenades. If you'd never encountered a tank you wouldn't know this instantly The first time ever tanks were deployed was in 1916. In the movie its 1917 to 1918.

[@aaron9777]

When he stabs the French soldier and that soldier doesn't die gasping for air. That legit made me tear up it was so well done.

[@TheSpecialcorps]

that scene was haunting, especially when paul put dirt in his mouth to shut him up.

[@abercrombieblovs2042]

The best part of that shot, in my opinion, was how they seem to have actually filled the French soldier's mouth with muddy water. Either that, or the CGI is just a step above.

[@williewilson2250]

The awkwardness of him not knowing exactly how to stab him added to the idea that he didn't know what he was doing, only after it's too late does he realize what had happened

[@ManWiThOutFEAR1982]

I teared up too bro. 😢

[@hakonhenriksen9651]

It actually made me cry and I'm not ashamed to admit it

[@tunguskalumberjack9987]

From World War 1, we got two authors who went off in vastly different directions- on the one hand, we have Remarque, and on the other we have Tolkien. Both were horrified by their experiences with the brutality and despair of trench warfare, and warfare in general. Now I’m sure that there were many great authors to come out of that war, but those two have penned some of my favorite literary works of the twentieth century. In their books, the crushing hopelessness of war is at times counterbalanced by short, interspersed moments of peace where the characters take immense pleasure in the simple things in life, whether it’s a stolen sausage and drowning your sorrows in a shared bottle of something strong, or the recitation of a poem or song and the camaraderie of a prank played on a superior officer. While both writers were indelibly marked by the blood, the bullets and the bombs, they both attempted to come to terms with the painful memories by writing. One found a measure of peace in writing a (barely) fictionalized version of his own experiences, and the other found it by creating a fantasy world where the same ugliness exists, but there also exists great beauty, and an end to all the ugliness. Their characters start out very much like they did, innocent, inexperienced, and with a very rose-tinted view of the world. Along the journey to war that they embark on, they are assisted by grizzled veterans, who allow them at times to fall, and teach them to become self-reliant. They find courage through their deprivation, by shared experience and self-sacrifice, and by the example set by the veterans, and then by each other. By their stories ends, they are almost unrecognizable from the naive optimists they started as, yet they still retain their core of goodness, which has at this point been tempered in the fire of battle and loss. And both, at the end, acquire lasting peace through death. Where Paul is unwilling, Frodo knows that the living world is no longer a place where he can find rest. It’s really interesting to me how these two authors can have such similar terrible experiences but write such vastly different works, with their characters sharing a lot of similar traits throughout. I don’t really have an ending statement to wrap all of this up, I’m just about to watch the movie. I’d been putting it off because I didn’t want to take the chance of Netflix ruining one of my favorite books, but going by your review, I’m guessing that won’t be the case. Thanks for sharing your opinion, and sorry for leaving such a long comment.

[@mrtwister2696]

Russian authors who could tell about the eastern front and so on were killed by the revolution and the civil war. The only thing left is the Quiet Don, but it's more about the civil war. Therefore, nothing is known in the West about the Brusilov breakthrough. Being the largest and most lethal offensive of WW1, it relieved German pressure on French forces at Verdun, also helped to relieve the Austro-Hungarian pressure on the Italians, as a result, it inflicted irreparable losses on the Austro-Hungarian Armed forces, and induced Romania to finally enter the war on the side of the Entente.

[@jfruser]

Junger

[@oscarandreas1431]

@@mrtwister2696 thats Oddly sad and melancholic so many stories whiffed away in the blink of an eye

[@barbararice6650]

I Claudius 👈😑

[@Exgrmbl]

All Quiet is more like a compilation of experiences by the author and other people that were fictionalised and compiled into a coherent narrative. If you want to read an actual account, and one that was from someone that fought throughout the war and voluntarily, read Ernst Jünger's Storm of Steel.

[@davebowman9000]

The French counterattack was the best scene in a war movie since the Omaha Beach sequence in Saving Private Ryan

[@kingkramer]

The approach of those tanks made me genuinely scared

[@lawrencewood289]

Except in WWI tanks were rarely used in counterattack. They were very slow and had to be moved into position over time (by rail etc.). Generally they were massed for an attack but not used for a small tactical counterattack. The flame-throwers were ridiculous. They are liquid weapons yet these seemed like gas jets. Also, they wouldn't be lined up like that (too tempting a target).

[@MrMattMWH]

@@lawrencewood289 Agree with the flamethrowers. Ridiculous scene. You've got rifles , just shoot them .

[@marbleswashere31]

Watched it yesterday. An actual masterpiece. Reminded me of the book back in high-school. Incredible cinematography, acting, and plot.

[@lawrencewood289]

They pretty much butchered the plot of the novel.

[@videoms1271]

@@lawrencewood289 the message remains the same. War changes a man, and it's horrible. All the characters die, Kat doesn't get a happy ending, no one lives after the war, Kat loses his sanity and he cannot return home.

[@Pepe_Silvia]

@@videoms1271 No. It does not. The message of this movie is another one than the one of that book. You can get it, champ. You will find out.

[@andreasregele722]

Credits to Felix Kammerer which is a unknown austrian theater actor and has his first big role in a movie and did such a great job!

[@postcollapse1170]

All the characters are shallow.

[@jde-jj1lu]

@@postcollapse1170 The facial expressions, delivery of lines,body language ect ect was all good acting no? This isn'ta shake-spear play.

[@edwardmullan2724]

The calm resignation of the soldiers before the last battle was the most striking thing for me. They know the war is as good as over yet they still fight.

[@thurin84]

and the way the high commanded acted was despicable. pershing, knowing the war would soon be over, pushed his generals to attack hard right up until the end to build "street cred" for american forces. at the cost of many lives. official sources say around 330 americans, but i believe this number is low as they actively back dated dates soldiers died to conceal the numbers. pershing even had to appear in front of congress because of it.

[@miika6739]

That's what it's like when there is no motivation to do what you are ordered to do, but you have no way of getting out of it

[@dinogt8477]

no one cares

[@sovereign126]

Orders are orders.

[@Wolfen443]

Tha explains the desperate battle for resistance in WWII, the Germans did not want to surrender again like in WWI without a fight.

[@laurocoman]

I saw it today. I'm really thankful for those long shots of the landscape that give such a great environment feel to it. All those tracking shots did a good service to get you really down on the mud with the characters. The use of the light was stellar because the source of it was always consistent and it always gave you a great feel of where everything is and just how big everything is, specially when they used flares. The bombings, the tanks and the flamethrowers really made it look like you were witnessing something straight out of the gates of hell. It takes some big balls for a German crew to represent the war effort in a conflict they ended up losing so spectacularly. This had some great artistic merit.

[@noahmay7708]

I think the soundtrack was really compelling and unique. I am reminded of Papers, Please and the way its title screen music foreshadows the atmosphere of the game.

[@athingwhichexists]

I have developed a rule: if something is set in or around ww1, it is probably going to be better as it takes someone with actual thought or brains to decide to set something in ww1.

[@panzershrek7942]

Well, that rule won't work for so long.

[@JA-lr5ix]

Not wrong- the first wonder woman movie was *almost* good until they decided to have ares as an actual big bad guy as opposed to just saying “humans suck war happens and is bad” so that seems like only one of the issues

[@SweatyFatGuy]

@@Tobester_McDonkey most wars are pointless. Both of mine were. It was pointless for Iraq to invade Kuwait, and it was pointless for us to invade Iraq. However, it was profitable for certain key people.

[@DatcleanMochaJo]

@@JA-lr5ix "humans suck war happens" is not very fresh and impressive a theme either. Nor any more complex. Humans don't suck.

[@ViriatoII]

@@Tobester_McDonkey One of my favourite books. Winter of the World is the second one, the first one is Pillars of Eternity

[@TulkasMight]

This movie was a punch in the face. Absolutely horrific, and heartbreaking. Great acting, and a reality of hell on earth. Edit: Whenever Paul was smiling when he took the uniform of a previous soldier who had died, was so sad. He was so happy to serve.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

You go into the military believing nothing will happen to you. You leave the military not believing what happened to you. ~USAF SSGT 1988-1992/2000-2005 five trips to the desert. 2.5 years in Germany. 1 year in Korea. ~ To be honest I would do it again if I suddenly found myself in my 19 year old body back in 1988 once again and knew everything I know now at 53.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Tanks are scary...

[@jimisi7424]

Just one thing. The movie thou shall not grow old. What blew me away was the interviews where so many men said they were actually happy to be there. What a generation. If i was there i would be shitting my pants on an hourly basis.

[@lawrencewood289]

Economic times were hard. The British Army was all volunteer until 1916. Shows how tough things could be in life. Try the BBC documentary from the 1960s "The Great War" Some of the interviews are just incredible like 1. The German soldier describing bayoneting someone 2. I think an Irish soldier recounting how several his brothers died and then was asked basically "well do you regret all the killing". He was a blunt man and said 'Not at all. It was them or you".

[@tomben6180]

Most of the young men doing the fighting for Britain were living in poverty back home, regularly didn’t get 3 meals a day and worked in horrible conditions in factories and mills. In the army they were better looked after and better paid.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@tomben6180 You are right. I read a story about someone in the British elite who literally became a socialist once he saw how poorly fed and thin the recruits were (sorry I can't recall his name). Also, before conscription in 1916, I've read that the mini-recession in 1914 was a prime motivator for enlistment.

[@michaelparker4457]

I actually just finished watching this film with a friend from work. We are both students of history and were thoroughly engrossed by the film. It is an exceptional work. Your analysis is spot on! (Should be required viewing in high school)

[@Pepe_Silvia]

You are a student of history and you think this is exceptional work? Go and learn. Quellen und Analyse for example. Really peinlich..... student of history.... omfg

[@What0Happend]

As a German I’m happy to see that we can still make good movies

[@remedy-1879]

Y’all got screwed after ww1. Basically assured a second one.

[@damianwollai8831]

As long as it’s about the World Wars they are always good. Beyond that it gets complicated.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

Ja, those of us who have lived in the USA for the last 3 generations appreciate when the old country does something well. Deutschland can make quality films.

[@DamnTheBeavers]

and shows...Dark was brilliant

[@spm36]

Bruhl is top actor too

[@burakalp34]

"He fell in October, 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: 'All quiet on the Western Front.'" The book was a masterpiece and I am really glad the movie has managed to do it justice

[@purpleemerald5299]

Except with Katz and Paul’s deaths. “Inexplicable teleporting farm boy” and “shadow ninja French soldier” were pretty clunky ways to get around skipping to the end of the war instead of just a month prior. Reading the book first ensured that I laughed my ass off to those changes. XD

[@purpleemerald5299]

@@MrHarrystank In the book, Kat’s leg is mangled by a mortar strike, and while Paul is carrying him to a hospital on his back, yet another artillery shell sends shrapnel straight into Kat’s brain without Paul realizing it until he finally drops him off. But since the movie decided to set this AFTER the war ends, the writers decided “Eleven from Stranger Things with a rifle” would do.

[@purpleemerald5299]

@@MrHarrystank Oh yeah, and Paul dies a month before the war ends by willingly standing up out of a trench, indifferent to his fate after losing everything, on a day so serene that the field report was merely “All quiet on the western front”. Meaning that the film got rid of the ending that gave it its title.

[@thebigsad5402]

When I saw the trailer, I knew they weren't gonna screw it up. They did not disappoint. They adapted parts from the book so well into the movie that it just feels natural, little details too. In the book Paul talks about how everytime they breakthrough a enemy trench, they usually raid the food and drain the water jackets from the MGs before being pushed back to their own line because how dire food became. In the movie it shows that in its own adapted way and I just love that it doesn't completely deviate itself from the book. Obviously the German dub is the only way to watch this movie. It just feels wrong watching it with Britsh english dub. My only thing I wish were added from the books was the hospital chapter where all of them are recovering from a gas attack and Kats wife shows up to ahem... give him some memories and the gang just acts loud and stupid to help Kat out. Regardless, a well adapted movie that deserves the name its based off of.

[@finalfroggitapproaches6418]

I don’t know if I believe you. The 1930’s film was so haunting. The first guy getting blinded before getting killed, the iconic hands on the wire, and the tragic ending felt as close to perfect as it could get for a movie trying to show the horrors of war. I’ll watch it, sure, but I can’t imagine a modern retelling could capture the absolute dread that the original did so well.

[@randallt6628]

So, what did you think?

[@monkofdarktimes]

Given how there are no veterans from this war for this modern retelling is great. Given how older wwi used veterans from the war.

[@solokom]

The performance by the two actors Felix Kammerer (Paul) and Albrecht Schuch (Kat) is just outstanding!

[@postcollapse1170]

they realy can sell you anything.

[@Npyla]

As the commander said : We 'll be right behind you lads and Black Adder replied : Yes about 25 miles behind you. The Big Push

[@STEVEC66]

Yup - when Drinker mentioned the futility of the "big push", I immediately thought of that last scene from Goodbyeee. It still gives me a lump in the throat!

[@ShapBro]

As a german, i can say that there are just very few well directed and shot german movies. But this movie is just everything i could ask for in a WW1 movie. No standalone "heroes" that go through everything with ease. Just some lucky souls, who have to walk on the corpses of their fellow comrades.

[@lawrencewood289]

You need to see the 1930 version. less melodramatic.

[@Pepe_Silvia]

@@lawrencewood289 less anti-german, too.

[@cyclone3999]

I couldnt finish this movie in one sitting. Its gruesome and dark. watching these men trudge through blood soaked mud, littered with barbwire and body parts is brutal and I couldn’t force myself to watch any longer without taking a break…. and im so glad that it was that way. as unpleasant and harsh as this movie is, i wouldnt have it any other way. It portrays the ugliness of war in the most beautiful way. As hard as it was for me to watch this film, it was almost easier than watch my life long favorite stories being soullessly rebooted and pumped full of “the message”. Im glad this film was made.

[@scromly1169]

I personally LOOOVED the soundtrack. Anytime those triple bass notes would ring out I was chilled to my core. It sounded so visceral, animalistic, and full of doom. It made me shrink into my chair and stop the flow of my thoughts. It just fully grabbed my attention.

[@KC_Smooth]

Agreed! Those notes almost felt like they were straight out of a Sci fi horror movie. It made scenes like the uniform washing seem so eery.

[@randomdude189]

It got old quick.

[@DeFens1993]

@@randomdude189 agreed, i found them to be something more in place in a blade runner movie or something cyberpunk and dystopian, not something set a hundred years ago.

[@lawrencewood289]

Try listening to a real military song (available on KZbin) like Wo Allen Strassen Enden!

[@SSPspaz]

At first, I didn’t necessarily care for it and thought it felt out of place in a period film like this. But by the end of the film, those low, ominous, bass blasts felt right at home because this film SHOULD give you a discordant, unsettling feeling of doom and dread.

[@ryanclyde4789]

“Only Generals Die In Bed” is a great read about ww1 from a soldier’s perspective.

[@DEVILTAZ35]

Why are people so interested in other people's depressing perspectives though?

[@michaelparker4457]

Except for Russian Generals in Ukraine

[@cryamistellimek9184]

@@DEVILTAZ35What a blatantly ignorant comment.

[@rance2799]

Didn't plenty of generals die to stray artillery shells?

[@joeschmoe3665]

This was an amazing movie brutal, bloody gritty and really well made one of the best war movies I've seen. Also the horrible truth that those 17 million deaths would be followed by an even worse war twenty years later is so damn tragic

[@samanders2676]

'All Quiet on the Western Front' also known as 'The Nightmare you cannot wake up from'. Great remake.

[@jerryschramm4399]

"Paths of Glory" is still, to me, the best WWI war movie. I'd show it in my World History class, and the students were always shocked when (spoiler alert for a film made in 1957) they actually shot the three soldiers. They really thought that somehow, Colonel Dax would save them. The cut to the "masterminds" of the attack, eating in a palace and discussing how well the men died is still one of the most damning shots in movie history.

[@shiva.19]

.

[@spartakas659]

That charge scene is epic. It shows the reality of war with those poor bastards getting shot at the end.

[@Arinisonfire]

To be fair, it's pretty hard to top Kubrick

[@italkedtobarzini4015]

There's actually a decent episode from the trashy 'Tales from the Crypt' series where Kirk Douglas plays a WWI General. It's worth the half hour investment. The episode is called 'Yellow'.

[@selfhelp69]

Yes good movie, but this one has that rare snapshot style of realism. Choose german with subtitles.

[@TH-od3cu]

This is my movie of the year. I'm glad to hear you talk about it.

[@bpdmf2798]

The original is one of my favorite movies

[@abdu8359]

This was the first movie I finished and decided it was my favorite. No other movie has come as close to doing what this did. The crater stabbing, after Paul tries so desperately to help the soldier, he reaches into his pocket and finds a picture of him and his family. Only to lose said picture later on in the story, that sequence was hard (hard in the best way possible) to watch. The tanks followed by the flamethrowers and the hopelessness that ensued was incredibly hard to watch. If you ask me, Its a phenomenal film and ranks as my top favorite. I doubt anything anytime soon would top that movie. Loved it.

[@cinemonger1270]

It's one of the saddest movies ever and it's very haunting, I think some audiences don't like the ending but the point of the movie is it's a story about the soldiers, they focused at the main character's path to war and he portrays the embodiment effect of horror of war. In the end, they fight for nothing, fighting for another rich man's war, they fight for the generals and kings, leaders who are the most coward of all and one of the striking moments of the movie is food, food resembles life and satisfaction, the movie shows a good contrast between the food of the soldiers and the food of the officials, Food is living and the soldiers only wants that, every food they eat reminds them of home , home that they should never left in the first place, and they regretted to leave their food just for the misleading excitement and joy for war.

[@blackbuddhaPA]

When they find the delicious food in the trench in the middle of combat before the tanks and flamethrowers roll in and start slaughtering them. That really had a strong meaning, and it kind of made this whole war scene hit harder. It’s like a calm before a bigger and more horrifying storm. Even when Paul finds water and it looks cloudy and disgusting and he just chugs it with no hesitation. This movie was excellent. Great point on the food. It seems subtle but it isn’t. Even when they kept robbing that farmer for a goose and eggs could mean death lol. In the end, they are all victims, and no winners.

[@barbararice6650]

Yeah yeah So fucking remorseful were the Germans about the futility and awfulness of conflict they went on to design hermetically sealed human gas chambers 👈😑

[@tman7042]

@@blackbuddhaPA well said

[@anydaynow01]

@@blackbuddhaPA This was brought up a lot in Storm of Steel also, with how well equip the English and French were where the Germans were almost always hard up for material and food due to them being spread thin on two fronts. I hope HBO does a miniseries of that novel since they did a great job with Band of Brothers and they have the budget and balls to actually do the story justice.

[@camerongooch9606]

I think Carl of the lotus eaters put it best regarding ww1. It was the first industrial massacre of young men, and the most terrifying thing is the randomness of death involved, previous wars were obvious when death was present. But in ww1, at any moment a sniper could pop a shit, and artillery strike could happen or a gas cannister could be launched. Just years of non stop tension and every penny drop could shock you into action. It was truly hell.

[@thurin84]

id have to dispute that. the american civil war would be the 1st. ww1 just elevated it into an art form. and art form perpetrated upon lion by donkeys.

[@comradesam3382]

@@thurin84 its not official until Europeans use it to kill eachother

[@thurin84]

@The Stranger i didnt say it was in the same realm, i said it was the 1st industrialized massed slaughter of young men. massed charges into massed enemy fire. industrialized warfare. trench warfare. etc. and i also said ww1 elevated it into an artform. they had snipers during acw. no tanks, but ironclad ships. submarines. observation balloons. gatling guns. landmines, grenades, accurate rifled artillery. etc. just on a smaller scale than ww1. as i said; elevated it into an artform. the scale of slaughter during the civil war hadnt been seen up to that time either. which is my point. acw presages ww1. but no one listened. most certainly not the leadership.

[@thurin84]

@@comradesam3382 yep. who is it that said the way to make money was selling europeans better ways to kill each other? john browning?

[@taesonslane2513]

​@The Stranger in bot wars over 80% die from simple artillery

[@JarNO_WAY]

I think im westen nichts neues is specifically good for modern audiences, I see a lot of young folks nowadays look at war with a feeling of longing and desire, as if they have a wish for the heroic acts and the toppling of evil regimes. It's good to have media like this movie to remind us that in war, for every heroic act you see in a movie, ten thousand young men die a gruesome, sad or painfully ironic death.

[@slaviclettuce7937]

People should read the book as well! They did my man wrong in the movie, long live my boy Kropp!

[@ToaGatanuva]

The soldier screaming as the tank rolls over the trench: One can impossibly imagine what it must have been like to witness such a thing

[@lawrencewood289]

You'll get a more "acid" and realistic thing if you watch the BBC WWI documentary The Great War from the 1960s. Many many interviews with actual soldiers. I won't preview all but in one a guy basically talks about shooting his own wounded man.

[@ohkaythen93]

Me and the Mrs, watched this film in silence. With tears at some points. There was no need to talk about what we watched. But we both realized that life isn't that bad.

[@acagleCarLust]

I admit to watching the overdubbed version, only because I wanted to pay more attention to what was going on on the screen than constantly reading subtitles; I just don't really watch their mouths. I too have been watching it in dribs and drabs, mainly because I don't have time to sit and watch it at one sitting, but, yeah, it's difficult to keep watching. I've been switching over to 'nice' old shows on Cozi (here in the US) to sort of cleanse by brain a bit. I'm 60 and have always followed WWI history more than most (never served myself), and it feels like this movie captured the reality of actual modern warfare, so you really understand how it f***ed so many people up. And grateful that the experience was never visited upon me. (Yet)

[@alexcandlin6558]

All quiet on the western front, possibly the only film remade twice where all of them are actually good

[@georgewright3949]

I liked Peter Jacksons King Kong? But couldn't tell you if it's actually good or if I was just 10 when I watched it and liked seeing a CGI monkey fuck shit up.

[@sigmundfreude4088]

I heard the second one is a bit too TV like.

[@lawrencewood289]

@@sigmundfreude4088 And this one is a bit too video game comic book movie CGI like...well actually a lot too much with little characterization and a jumbled plot.

[@janfg1578]

I have read the book, which was first published in 1931. The author Erich Maria Remarque was a soldier on the western front himself for some time. In a hospital he interviewed others about their experiences, which made the events and characters in his book so personal and realistic. In his later works he also kind of predicted WW2, since he had seen how much hostility there was still in society after the first war. His conceptions about war and humanity are truly timeless! (Edit: The book was first published at 1928, not 1931.)

[@Conan_the_Based]

He didn't predict squat, because lingering hostility doesn't cause wars. Things like "man's inhumanity to man" is philosophical bunk. WW2 started because Germany left the international banking system and Fascism threatened to upend the global hegemony in a way that threatened the existing powers-that-be.

[@Hunpecked]

Did you read his WW II novel, "A Time to Love and a Time to Die"?

[@danteangelucci2530]

It was actually first released in Germany in 1928 and I have a copy at my school that I read from 1930

[@janfg1578]

@@danteangelucci2530 You are right, I confused the year with "The road back", another of his books thats a sequel to this one.

[@janfg1578]

@@Hunpecked Not yet, the other book of him I know is "The road back". Its partly a sequel to the western front and describes how the characters struggle to navigate life in the post-war society. There are a few hints at overly and revisionistic and violent people, likely to point out the rise of right-wing ideologies during the german 1930s.

[@Monkeyman_04]

The one scene that really got me was the part where Paul is in a pit with a man he just stabbed and the man was slowly dying. Such a heartbreaking moment.

[@TiGGowich]

Read the book if you can stomach it and you will realize the original scene (which is very different) is even more horrible. But I agree that the scene was really well done.

[@harryhoudini714]

@@TiGGowich and even that does not come close to what happens in reality in Wars of all kinds. There is a reason Veterans dont like to talk about their Experiences. They are too busy trying to get it out of their head!

[@cbrreezzyy69]

@@TiGGowich how does the scene differ in the books. Bc that scene really got to me and made me tear up and I’m curious what it’s like in the book.

[@TiGGowich]

@@cbrreezzyy69 When Paul returns to the front, he finds Kat, Müller, Tjaden, and Kropp still alive and uninjured. He shares his potato cakes with them. There is excitement among the ranks: the kaiser, the emperor of Germany, is coming to see the army. In preparation for his visit, everything is cleaned thoroughly, and all the soldiers are given new clothes. But when the kaiser arrives, Paul and the others are disappointed to see that he is not a very remarkable man. After he leaves, the new clothes are taken away. Paul and his friends muse that if a certain thirty people in the world had said “no” to the war, it would not have happened. They conclude that wars are useful only for leaders who want to be in history books. Paul volunteers to crawl into No Man’s Land to gather information about the enemy’s strength. On his way back, he becomes lost. A bombardment begins, and he knows that an attack is coming. He realizes that he must lie still and pretend to be dead, so he crawls into a shell hole to wait until the attack is over. An enemy soldier jumps into the shell hole with him, and Paul quickly stabs him. It is too light outside for Paul to make his way back, so he is forced to wait in the shell hole with the body. As he waits, he notices that the French soldier is not dead. Paul bandages the soldier’s wounds and gives him water. The man takes several hours to die. It is the first time that Paul has killed someone in hand-to-hand combat, and the experience is pure agony.

[@TiGGowich]

@@cbrreezzyy69 I guess now that I read the scene again it is pretty much the same... weird, I remember it being slightly different but I guess my memory betrayed me lol

[@mansondelacy]

It’s been a long time since a movie took me on a ride of emotions like this film did… Is it weird that it almost brought me to tears?

[@ItachiUchiha-uh9eg]

ALMOST? I sobbed like a baby at the end even though I had read the book and knew it was coming- what are you made of to only ALMOST cry lol

[@cloudkitt]

Weird that only almost, yes.

[@smokingduck507]

Watching it as a German, most of the boys have different dialects which kinda fit in with the "nichts neues im Westen" because all over Germany there was this idea that " oh yeah it won't be too bad" and damn the book is so realistic about what's like to come from war and seen and feel the action than just talking about it. Also "Homage to Catalonia" is quite similar and depressing

[@kohnjack]

Just watched it. Nightmare fuel. Feels like a more gritty Saving Private Ryan, hot take but this is brutal. This actually happened! And you probably have family who served in some capacity and they probably lived through things you see in this movie. Blows my mind. Respect to all those who have ever served.

[@thurin84]

yeah, ww2 may have introduced the world into unimagined depravity, bit for the regular foot soldier, ww1 has to rate as the most suffering induced.

[@Icetea-2000]

@@thurin84 It was primarily the pointlessness about fighting for a few meters of unrecognizable barren wasteland and losing hundreds of men around you. At almost all stages of WW2, continuing to fight was the most compelling decision for the people because the frontlines actually moved. Really no matter what side would’ve won, they should’ve never let it devolve into trench warfare.

[@803brando]

This film is a fictional representation based on WWI. The german government never ordered any attacks before the 11:00 am armistice. It was us, the allies that pushed several dozen miles past the front lines executing retreating german conscripts up until 10:59 am. Us commanders argued that it was justified just in case the germans didn't actually stop fighting. We are the bad guys. Always have been, always will be.

[@thurin84]

@@Icetea-2000 "whats the cost of a mile". well, with some exceptions. there was trench warfare on the eastern front. but luckily, many generals had learned the lessons of ww1. some the wrong message, but they learned. trench warfare was inevitable due to the industrialized nature of the killing. i think the biggest tragedy was america getting involved leading the entente to inflict a crushing defeat on the central powers. it wouldve been better for the world had the usa sat ww1 out and the combatants been forced into a negotiated peace not overly harsh on anyone but favorable to none.

[@Icetea-2000]

@@thurin84 Well I disagree that trench warfare was inevitable, in fact I think mobile warfare was much more likely due to the technological advancements, we only happened to experience WW1 in this specific way. All other wars before had gotten faster and faster since industrialization. This was a very unfortunate anomaly. And to be fair, the US was a lot less harsh on Germany than Britain and especially France, but it didn’t seem like that helped in making their demands less insulting. So you’re probably right on that one, especially since the US definitely not decided WW1, in any way really, unlike many Americans like to believe. But a peace treaty without victory was unthinkable, all sides had lost too much to accept it without facing an internal revolution and complete downfall of the government, like how it happened in all Central Powers countries. It was all or nothing. In retrospect, all sides should’ve strived to make the frontline as flexible as possible, not for everyone else but for themselves primarily to not sacrifice so many of their own young men. That’s what I mean with no matter which side won, whether in 1914 already the british and french march into Berlin or the Germans into Paris doesn’t really matter when you consider the millions dead for each of those countries as the alternative.

[@Thorgrimn]

Just watched this movie last night. It was brutal, terrifying, and honest. Took me completely by surprise that netflix produced something this good.

[@redjupiter2236]

IKR? Netflix of all acknowledging Men's struggles?

[@markheinle6319]

agreed. whys gender studies and the message need brought up? whyd the drinker have to sprinkle the hatred in there?

[@redjupiter2236]

@@markheinle6319 Drinker isn’t hateful, he’s just pissed.

[@pyrotechnicalbirdman5356]

@@markheinle6319 Yeah, but its Netflix's fault for getting so dramatic

[@aaronyochim9779]

Why is it a surprise? NetFlix makes a lot of good stuff.

[@jimnorris3276]

Ive watched this movie 4 times it has to be an Oscar contender.

[@PhilipFry.]

It is, they nomitad it for best forgein production

[@lawrencewood289]

Hopefully it doesn't win unless there is a new category "Most mangling of a classic work"

[@Courierman6]

@@lawrencewood289 HOPEFULLY DOESNT WIN: Damn how much do you hate this movie bro

[@lawrencewood289]

@@Courierman6 A lot. LOL. And it didn't at least at the Golden Globes. (BTW I do like your screen name from the movie...I read something like that Remarque was a dental assistant after the war and this was a real name...kind of like how Ian Fleming saw some old book on botany or some subject by...James Bond.)

[@Courierman6]

@@lawrencewood289 you must be fuming now that it got nine oscars lol

[@Austin-kt7ky]

I'm astonished that something like this exists in this year. American movies have really made me pessimistic about watching modern films, but this looks like a real treat of art. Maybe there's some hope that we can return to better times when films were made with some sense of purpose beyond just the money and politics; a consideration of hardship and the pains that make us human.

[@Porkslap83]

This isn't an American movie....

[@danielshaffer2609]

That opening sequence, watching the jacket move from one doomed soul to another, was one of the most beautiful and haunting things I've ever seen.

[@remhawk73]

It’s like the dark echo of “Lord of War” life of a bullet.

[@barbiquearea]

I loved that scene. It was very ominous and gave you a sense of dread as to how many dead soldiers had worn that uniform before it made it into the hands of Paul. I also love the scene after the artillery bombardment of the first night where Paul had to collect the dog tags of the soldiers who died the night before. It bookends well at the tail end of the film when Paul dies taking the enemy position and another young man freshly pressed into the war has to take his dog tags.

[@barbararice6650]

That's where the Hun corpse factory came from, there's always a grain of truth huh 👈🙂 Beautiful, well you Germans are cold fish and that's a fact 😑

[@matthewsmith2979]

This movie just goes to show that Hollywood is no longer the standard for entertainment. Awesome movie that I couldn't stop watching.

[@copyright8291]

So the standard is now being held by... Netflix? Lord, help us.

[@AJ-po6up]

@@copyright8291 Just because it's on Netflix it doesn't mean Netflix made it, Netflix always was and continues to be just a streaming platform where publishers can put their movies instead of only having them on Cable TV and theaters. Most of the stuff that is available on their platform Netflix had no hand in making it.

[@Rondo2ooo]

@@copyright8291 It means that movies with limited budgets are doing better than many over-CGIed badly written Hollywood movies these days. It's not difficult to understand. Neither Netflix nor Hollywood is the standard.

[@rob21]

Netflix got it right how a broken clock gets it right. By accident, not design.

[@barbiquearea]

@@rob21 Or Netflix didn't produce this masterpiece but paid to distribute it on its platform. They seem to love showing movies set in the world wars.

[@williamcarter361]

I’ve watched this twice. Dubbed and in German, the dubbing isn’t too bad. Excellent film that was robbed of an Academy Award for best picture.

[@frank4469]

Just found your channel today and I am so thankful I did. Will definitely be binging your videos now

[@oscargruber8582]

The beginning of the movie is extremely well made. The Great war was considered revolutionary, a war nobody was ready for. There's a famous picture of a train full of german recruits where someone wrote on ''Auf in den Kampf, mir juckt die Säbelspitze'' (Let's go to the war, my bayonett is itching). At the beginning a lot of people thought it was going to be a short and successful war. And the movie represents this really well. Also adding up to that the hats that Paul and his friends show that they are part of a student unity, somethng like a organization or group in Germany that is tied to a lot of traditionalism and nationalism, so they were way more than happy to be send to protect their country.

[@blockboygames5956]

Well said! :)

[@Crashking416]

The artistry of this movie was definitely surprising. You can tell the director is a fan of classic European cinema, because there are definite touches of films like "Mirror" and "Come and See" littered throughout.

[@michaelleitner1245]

My brother loaned me "Come and See", but I haven't worked up the courage to watch it yet.

[@kremesauce]

@@michaelleitner1245 it’s absolutely brutal but stays true to reality and in some cases is reserved to what actually did happen and that’s a sobering thought because it blows most war movies out of the water on how realistic and brutal the portrayal of violence is

[@spencerburke]

Come and See is always worth watching. But it isn't just a brutally realistic war film. It also has elements of surrealism, and hints of mediaeval fairy tales. All dark, of course. Thought-provoking, and crying out for the Critical Drinker treatment.

[@jsr9617]

Watched this the other night on your recommendation. Holy shit. A chilling and powerful look at a pointless war that killed off millions of young men for no good reason. Yet even in the meat grinder there are moments of personal elation and tragedy. This movie will stick with me for a long time.

[@lawrencewood289]

Well the war wasn't pointless if you were Belgian or French for that matter. It certainly worked out well for the Polish. Yes, it was an utter mistake for the Germans and Remarque is providing that perspective and condemning (rightfully) the concept of aggressive war.

[@louisjshiner9044]

Great film, does a great job of putting you on their shoes, you feel their terror in the tank & flamethrower scene, fear when they go over the trench and the anger and despair when they’re sent out just before 11. Amazingly done, so good I’ve ordered the book