Thursday, February 12, 2009

All Quiet On The Western Front - Just An Overview

In class today we just finished watching the classic All Quiet On The Western Front. It was released in 1930, which officially makes it the oldest movie I have ever seen (the previous record holder being It Happened One Night (1934) and The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) before that). It won Best Picture in 1930, and I guess I could see why. The direction and writing really were something to behold, and with the help of my teacher, I don't think I missed anything. The only problem with the movie though, perhaps isn't even really a problem with the movie. It's a problem with me. I am a victim of the 21st century, so AQOTWF was noticably dated to me. I was very aware of the fact that I was watching a film made 79 years ago. With that in mind, I understand how this movie won Best Picture, regardless of whether I fully appreciate why it won Best Picture.
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. Mr. Bennett 310February 12, 2009 at 2:27 PM

    Movies older than this one are almost all silents. You might try Battleship Potemkin, Intolerance, Birth of a Nation, Nosferatu, Metropolis. All of these are more or less required viewing for the cognescenti. You are correct about the quality of the film. It's much slower moving than we will tolerate today, the acting is pretty rough by our standards, and I spared you the scenes with Paul's mother. THe Library of Congress restored it a few years ago, so a perfect print does exist with a few extra minutes of footage. In fact, the original release was a full 20 minutes longer, but I believe that that footage is lost. I guess you know about the fat of most "acetate" films. They're gone forever. The Holy Grail in this regard is the lost reels of Stroheim's "Greed."

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)