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All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

War · Drama · TV Movie · 1979

At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.

Movie details

All Quiet on the Western Front

“They left for war as boys, never to return as men.”

1979 War · Drama · TV Movie 2h 30m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.1 / 10

11.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

100 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over All Quiet on the Western Front?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Delbert Mann

Written by

Paul Monash

Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas

Paul Bäumer

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

Stanislaus Katczinsky

Donald Pleasence

Donald Pleasence

Kantorek

Ian Holm

Ian Holm

Himmelstoss

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Paul's Mother

Paul Mark Elliott

Paul Mark Elliott

Josef Behm

David Bradley

David Bradley

Albert Kropp

Court is in session

Put All Quiet on the Western Front on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.