All Quiet on the Western Front

          All Quiet on the Western Front is a powerful film that gave viewers an inside look at the traumatic life lead by soldiers on the battlefront in WWI. It is revered today for its historical relevance as well as its cinematic achievements (Chambers) and its impressive use of sound technology at a time when sound was still relatively new. Its graphic representations of the Western front and strong anti-war sentiment still reverberate through American history to today. 

This is the beginning of a bombing scene in which the film's hero, Paul Baumer (standing up in the back) and his fellow soldiers experience the harsh reality of battle on the Western Front. In this shot, they begin to hear bombs falling near the trench they're holed up in. This neither excites nor especially terrifies the men, as many of them have become jaded to life on the line of battle. They expect and anticipate the bombings. This is one way of demonstrating the dehumanizing ability of war- these men are used to the destruction and it no longer phases them when they have to participate in the death machine. 

This shot also create an interesting sense of depth for the viewer with the placement of two men laying down in the foreground of the shot, three men sitting in middleground, and Paul standing in the background. It creates a sort of pyramid effect as well. In addition, the older, more experienced soldiers are laying down, understandably tired from the battles they've fought. Paul, young and still relatively naive and energetic stands up in the back. It will not be long, however, until he is laying down too. 

This clip is a part of a tracking shot of Corporal Himmelstoss running through the battlefield, attempting to dodge bombs and schrapnel. Director Lewis Milestone was one of the first to use a moving camera to track the actions of the characters in his film (All Quiet on the Western Front). During the early sound era of film, cameras were confined to a stationary, bulky soundproof box that muffled the noises they made (The Uncertainty of Sound). This made them virtually immobile. However, Milestone used a very large mobile crane to capture shots like this, and was the first to do so (All Quiet on the Western Front). Milestone's work in AQWF was an impetus for other directors to shift from limiting themselves to static, stage-like talking pictures to dynamic and versatile films that combined sound with movement (Chambers). 

All Quiet on the Western Front depicts many graphic images of destruction. This particular scene features the bombing of a graveyard, a typically sacred and revered place. The visual and aural authenticity of the bombings convey a realism for American audiences that they had never experienced on screen before (Chambers). Milestone forced his viewers to see the revulsion in these acts of war and, as a result, inspired a deep anti-war sentiment in his American audience.

Each time a bomb exploded during this scene, the sound of the explosion accompanied the visual blast. For an early sound film, the sound in AQWF is impressively synchronized. The sounds of the battle were pre-recorded and added after filming was complete (All Quiet on the Western Front). This type of synchronous sound is known as postsynchronization dubbing.

This is one of the final images of the bombing scene. It depicts Paul taking cover in an open grave and discovering that he is huddled next to a dead body. He is horrified at what he has just escaped from and horrified at what he escaped to. Here, we see Paul's loss of innocence. He has changed from the enthusiastic, patriotic schoolboy to a war-hardened soldier. The fact that he is laying in an open grave in a recently bombed graveyard demonstrates to the audience that there is no humanity or sacredness in war, and our young American men are completely immersed in and trapped by the dehumanization that it promotes. Paul seems to be framed by the destroyed casket he takes shelter in, symbolizing that the only place in which one will ever find solace after experiencing war is in death.

          Though All Quiet on the Western Front was a very powerful source of opposition for war in America, it was met with hostility abroad. Political conservatives, fascists, and Nazis in Germany and Italy believed it degraded the glory of war and the valor of soldiers (Chambers). Mussolini banned it immediately in Italy and when the film opened in Germany in 1930, it was met with Nazi street protestations. Many Germans saw it as an insult to their national pride. In order to maintain its place in the German film market, Universal studios agreed to make cuts in the film, and after the censored version opened in 1932, it became the sixth most popular film in Germany (Chambers). Hitler, however, banned the film entirely when he came to power in 1933 (Chambers).

         For Americans, All Quiet on the Western Front symbolized the horror of battle and framed a popular perception of WWI that reverberates through history and into modern times (All Quiet on the Western Front). It allowed people to experience and understand the corruption of war through the lens of Milestone's camera. Not only did it inspire anti-war sentiment and opposition to the making of war, but it built a shared sense of humanity and pacifistic nationalism (Chambers).

Works Cited:

Chambers, John Whiteclay. "All Quiet on the Western Front: The Antiwar Film and the Image of WWI." Historical Journal of Film, Radio & Television 14.4 (1994). Print. 

Miller, Frank. "All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)." Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment Networks. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. 

Introduction: The Uncertainty of Sound.