This is one of the best war novels ever written - by Erich Maria Remarque, a German soldier after the war and from the German perspective. If you look closely, other movies such as Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Jarhead etc. all borrow from the theme that was first fully developed in this movie - a generation transformed by and then lost from war. The book provides vivid details of teenagers transformed into solid soldiers from basic crule basic training at the hands of a sadistic drill seargent to hand-to-hand combat on the front line to an inability to relate to the society they defend.
Unfortunately, the made-for-TV movie fails to exploit the source material of the book (most likely as a result of a low budget). While the scenes at basic training are done well enough, the movie does not do justice to the horror that was present on the Western front - in terms of loss of friends and the futility of the war and the schisms between the soldiers in the true meaning behind the cause of the war (pacifists vs. war mongers). In fact, the scene where Paul kills the French soldier in the trench falls short in terms of depicting the raw, human emotion and the philosophical questions of whether its better to have war or peace that are clearly articulated in the novel.
While movies often do more justice than their source material, this movie missed the mark. If you haven't done so already, read the book.
Unfortunately, the made-for-TV movie fails to exploit the source material of the book (most likely as a result of a low budget). While the scenes at basic training are done well enough, the movie does not do justice to the horror that was present on the Western front - in terms of loss of friends and the futility of the war and the schisms between the soldiers in the true meaning behind the cause of the war (pacifists vs. war mongers). In fact, the scene where Paul kills the French soldier in the trench falls short in terms of depicting the raw, human emotion and the philosophical questions of whether its better to have war or peace that are clearly articulated in the novel.
While movies often do more justice than their source material, this movie missed the mark. If you haven't done so already, read the book.