All Quiet on the Western Front Warfare

Milestone's portrayal of Paul Bäumer's experiences on the Western Front depicts the brutality and mental anguish of war. The number of holds barred? None.

Splayed across Milestone's epically sized sets, men are mowed down by curtain fire, shredded by shrapnel, and beaten to death in hand-to-hand combat.

Following Remarque's original novel, Milestone doesn't simply focus on the bloody spectacle of war, but also careful shows the personal and mental anguish suffered by the soldiers.

Questions About Warfare

1. Do any of the characters benefit from their time in the war? If so, who, and how does this affect your reading of this theme? If not, why not, and why do you think this is important?
2. How do you see Paul's death relating to the theme of war?
3. Do you feel the movie's anti-war message remains effective more than eighty years after its initial release? Why or why not?
4. Does this film change the way you view WWI? What about war in general?

Chew on This

Setting the film from the perspective of a soldier on the ground, Milestone doesn't provide dates, battle names, or other historical facts…because such information wouldn't be on a soldier's mind.

Without dates and other war-related facts, Milestone's film is too abstract to be effective.