A true pioneer in war movies, Lewis Milestone paints a
ghastly portrait of the lives of touched by war. Filled with gripping action on
the battlefield and attempts to grasp at the reasons for war, I think Katczinsky
puts it best “…take all the kings and their cabinets and their generals, put
'em in the center dressed in their underpants, and let 'em fight it out with
clubs. The best country wins.” The cinematography and editing create tense, suspenseful
action scenes that purposely blur the war, making each side unrecognizable.
Milestone captures the raw tragedy and suffering of World War I and of all wars
in an epic film that would inspire both a new generation of filmmakers, and
anti-war sentiment. Variety’s 1930
review holds true even now ”The League of Nations could make no better
investment than to but the master print, reproduce it in every language for
every nation to be shown every year until the word War shall have been taken
out of the dictionaries.”
Outstanding Performance- Lew Ayres (Paul Baumer)
Ayres gives an
(unearned) Oscar-winning performance as the young, patriotic recruit that becomes
a seasoned soldier, embittered by the ignorance of the horror of war he
experiences back home and a constant search for whom and why the war is fought.
His grief-stricken pleas for forgiveness to a French soldier he kills in battle
are chilling and try to reconcile with the need for war and his off-screen
scene with the young French woman, Susan, echoes with a cry for peace. His final
scenes, astounded by the blind patriotism he finds on leave and the pangs of
tragedy carrying Kat’s unknowingly dead body back and at his own eventual
death, shock and paralyze the audience.
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