Directed: Lewis Milestone

Year: 1930

Nominated: Best Film, Best Director – Lewis Milestone

Won: Best Film, Best Director – Lewis Milestone

Plot in 25 Words: A bleak and probably quite honest view of life on the front lines. Hunger, disease, injury and death but no glorifying of war. Bleak film.

In My Opinion: So far this was the first film in my mission that I’d actually heard of, and for good reason. I’ve only watched a small number of war films from this era but this was by far the superior – in all aspects: story, acting and technical quality.

I was surprised at the war scenes. The gunfights were loud and explosive, despite the lack of fake blood, they were utterly realistic. My only issue with the battles was the speed. Watching the men literally running around made me feel a little dizzy. There was something a bit unnatural about it, as if i were watching it on fast forward. My boyfriend (having his first foray into my film challenge) thinks its due to the hand cranking of the cameras. And the more exciting the action got, the more excited the crank boys got, and the faster they cranked! It made the action look quite hectic, but that kinda worked for the film.

It covered a lot of aspects of war, and did it quite well. From front lines to the hospitals. A recruits’ ‘greenness’ and his rapid slide to seasoned pro.

The film followed one soldier, Paul Baumer, through his training, integration into a platoon, injury, and return to the front, eventually culminating in his death. It was bleak and tear-jerking, but it seemed very honest.

On researching the film after viewing I discovered it was based on a book portraying the events from a German point of view, something I would never have guessed from the film. Very well converted.

Star Performer: Louis Wolheim as Stanislavs ‘Kat’ Katczinsky. A great character performance, from the big man. A world-weary ‘seen-it-all’ sergeant suited him perfectly.

Overall: While I don’t think this was the best film to try and entice my man into the world of black and white films, it was certainly one of the more action-packed. Depressing ending as per standard!