All Quiet On The Western Front on Blu-ray & DVD (1930)

All Quiet On The Western Front

1930

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

from 3878 members

One of the most powerful anti-war statements ever put on film, this gut-wrenching story concerns a group of friends who join the Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their fiery patriotism is quickly turned to horror and misery by the harsh realities of combat. Director Lewis Milestone pioneered the use of the sweeping crane shot to capture a ghastly battlefield panorama of death and mud, and the cast, led by Lew Ayres, is terrific. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but the finale, as Ayres stretches from his trench to catch a butterfly, is one of the most devastating sequences of the decade. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and for Milestone's direction -- and trivia buffs should note that the actors were coached by future luminary George Cukor, while Ayres became a conscientious objector in World War II. The Road Back (1937) followed, and the film was remade for television in 1979.~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

All Quiet On The Western Front details

Formats:	PG DVD, Blu-ray
Starring:	Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Lew Ayres, Ben Alexander, Arnold Lucy
Director:	Lewis Milestone
Genres:	Action/Adventure - War, Drama - War
Studio:	UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK
Collections:	American Film Institute's top 100, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Book Adaptations

Name	Discs
All Quiet On The Western Front	PG Feature

DVD Information

Run time:	2 hours 5 minutes
Rental release:	21 Feb 2005
Main languages:	English

Name	Discs
All Quiet On The Western Front	PG Feature

Blu-ray Information

Run time:	2 hours 5 minutes
Rental release:	12 Mar 2012
Main languages:	English

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Most helpful review All Quiet On The Western Front

A Good Read

By Someone from Lancs , 25 Nov 2003

[Highly rated reviewer]

I had heard of this film being a classic but somewhere in the back of my mind I thought it was a German black & white film which means that this is a remake. I started off thinking that the film was slow but, after a certain point, I could not put it down, just like a good book. There is enough in the film for it to portray the reality of war and it has the added twist that it is filmed from the German side but it could not be accused of portaying gratuitous violence. All the harsh realities are there without any one of them being dwelt on for too long. The film made its point and then moved on. If you like a good read then this film should be for you.
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thought provoking

By olddown (5 reviews) , 06 Dec 2012

More of history lesson than entertainment; but interesting nevertheless Well made considering when it was made and it was thought provoking
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Dated, but still comtemporary.

By Eldar (9 reviews) from Beckermet , 09 Jun 2012

[Highly rated reviewer]

The film style is obviously dated, but the content isn't.

Certainly well worth watching, you can sense how war was viewed 80 years ago.

One of the better war films.
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Aged almost as well as the book

By Mareen (7 reviews) , 22 Jan 2012

For an 80+-year old movie, this has aged surprisingly well. I do love the book, which has the same, or even more of that timeless quality. By modern standards, there are some very heavy-handed moments in the script, but for me that's more than made up by the general subtlety of the violence/carnage - it's a relief to see a war film that doesn't show close-ups of exploding craniums to drive home its point.
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Is Saving Private Ryan a disney film .... after this it may as well be

By Youngandhopeless (18 reviews) from newcastle , 15 Jul 2011

Considering the fact this film is not far off being 100 years old it is stunning. A film that by todays standards is still one of the harshest and most graphic of war films. With scenes that make saving private ryan look like a disney picture. This is simply unmissable.
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RENT OR BUY THIS NOT REMAKE

By peewak (9 reviews) from Runcorn , 26 Jun 2011

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL 1930 CLASSIC NOT THE CHEAP LATER RE-MAKE WITH(RICHARD THOMAS)

THIS WELL BETTER WELL MADE THE STORY LINE IS PERFECT,ACTING GREAT.
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