Search - All Quiet on the Western Front on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: War Violence Movie Release: 1930 DVD Release: 01/05/1999 Format: DVD - Black and White,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 0 Genres: War, War Drama, Message Movie, Anti-War Film See Also: All Quiet on the Western Front

One of the most powerful anti-war statements ever put on film, this gut-wrenching story concerns a group of friends who join the Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their fiery patriotism is quickly turned to horror and misery by the harsh realities of combat. Director Lewis Milestone pioneered the use of the sweeping crane shot to capture a ghastly battlefield panorama of death and mud, and the cast, led by Lew Ayres, is terrific. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but the finale, as Ayres stretches from his trench to catch a butterfly, is one of the most devastating sequences of the decade. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and for Milestone's direction -- and trivia buffs should note that the actors were coached by future luminary George Cukor, while Ayres became a conscientious objector in World War II. The Road Back (1937) followed, and the film was remade for television in 1979. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Lew Ayres - Paul Baumer
Louis Wolheim - Katczinsky
John Wray - Himmelstoss
Raymond Griffith - Gerard Duval
George "Slim" Summerville - Tjaden

The classic All Quiet on the Western Front comes to DVD in a black-and-white, standard full-screen picture format with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono with English closed-captioning and French and Spanish subtitles. The disk is single-layered. Special features are limited to some production notes, cast and filmmaker info and bios, some film highlights, restored footage not seen in the original theater release, and the theatrical trailer. Picture quality is fairly crisp given the age of the film. The plastic DVD case contains a good-sized chapter index and a few scenes from the movie. ~ Craig Chalquist, All Movie Guide