I know it's a late comment but this is blowing up recently so I just wanted to say, I originally saw it in german since that's how it was on Netflix! But for KZfaq, it was switched to english so people could enjoy it without having to read subtitles :)

The book was written by a man who was a German soldier. The main character was inspired by him specifically. And if I recall correctly, the scene with Paul in the hole with the Frenchman was a real thing that happened.

It's important to note until more recent wars like the Korean and Vietnam war, people had no idea what war actually looked like, that's why these boys were so excited to go off to war, they saw it as a chance for adventure and all their friends were going so it was part of peer pressure too.

If you notice, Kat, Tjaden, Albert, and Franz were the only ones keeping him sane throughout the whole movie. Once all of them are gone, Paul becomes vicious and merciless throughout the final battle.

This is the first war movie I've ever seen that felt like a horror movie. This one absolutely devastated me, as it should. Its a masterpiece and deserved every award it received.

If you notice at the end, the rookie soldier collecting the dog tags didn't grab the main characters due to being distracted by the scarf....it's supposed to represent all the fallen soldiers who were NVR identified

You definitely should have watched the actors perform in their natural language

This is the first movie EVER that I watched that wouldn't let me go. To this day, I sometimes still sit in my room and just think about this movie, especially the scene where Paul was in that hole with the French soldier. It's the perfect depiction of how humanity is both incredibly beautiful and horribly cruel. Paul was terrified for his life, then his instincts and his training kicked in and he stabbed the man. And then he broke down when he couldn't take the gunshots, the explosions and the wheezing and choking from the soldier anymore, so he stuffed dirt into his mouth to silence him. And ultimately, we got a glimpse of the person Paul was before all of this. Kind-hearted, warm, empathatic, caring, nurturing and loving to everything around him, always trying to stay positive and preserve the beauty and life in everything. He tried to undo the damage, he cleaned the man's mouth, he gave him water, cleaned his face, tried to get rid of the blood that would just keep coming, tried to bandage the wound even though it was clear to see that it wouldn't work. We've seen Paul lose everything, but even in his darkest moment, deep down he still kept his humanity. Underneath it all, he was still this pure, innocent and naive boy that went to war with his friends, thinking it was just some vacation spent with pretty girls, good food and songs by the fire until he'd return and be welcomed back a hero. Also, the moment he saved the new recruit was so impactful to me, because the boy is just the same as Paul was at the beginning of the movie. It's a great way of Paul essentially saving himself in the last moments of his life. He saved a boy that was just like him from becoming just another dead body in a senseless war, just like him. He saved the boy, so he can live the life that Paul dreamt of, or atleast hoped for in the end, but never got to have. And the worst scene that always makes me ball my eyes out, is when he stumbles out of the trench, bleeding from his stab wound, and he's looking up, eyes searching...the camera follows his gaze...and he cannot even see the sky in his final moments. Not even the sky. Just ashes and smoke. The sky is usually so symbolic in moments when people die, representing tranquility, serenity and peace. It makes their world stop for a moment, giving them an end where they don't have to worry about anything. Just look at the sky, and the tranquil blue and the fluffy, pure white white clouds. Let the fresh and crisp air fill your lungs and carry your soul and spirit away with the wind, becoming one with peaceful nature and the cycle of life. Even that was taken from Paul. All he was left with was dead bodies, the taste and the smell of blood and gunpowder, screams, ashes and smoke. Even in his final moments, he had nothing that could've brought him peace. Nothing but a scarf, that used to be of a pristine white color and smell like flowers and his friends. Now drenched in his own blood. Beautiful representation of all the people who were lost to time and were never remembered by name, because their tags were never discovered or simply left behind.

"A true soldier does not go to war because he hates what's in front of him, he goes to war because he loves what's behind him"

VKunia: "The thing that I'm really liking about this movie so far is--" Movie: DUN DUN DUUUUN

You gotta watch it in the original German now! The emotion in the actors’ voices make a huge difference, such as at 22:30, and them speaking in German makes it a more authentic experience.

“1 death is a tragedy. 1,000 deaths are a statistic.” -Joseph Stalin, 2nd leader of the Soviet Union

In any war it doesn’t matter what side you are on. Each side experiences hell

The friendship between Paul and Katt is so good.

I am from Germany and my great uncle from my fathers side was a soldier in WW1. He went missing somewhere in the Somme area in France at the beginning of October 1918, about 6 weeks before the end of WW1. He never was found. This movie gets me everytime watching it.

“It’s the old powerful men that declare war, but it’s the youth that fight in it”

As well made as this version is, the 1930 version that won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director resonated with me because it almost looked like real combat footage made at the time. Plus that version has the character of Himmelstose, a kindly mailman who becomes a sadistic drill instructor, illustrating how war brings out the worst in people.

First time seeing it in english and I must say in german its way more emotional and everything. A lot is lost in the english Version.

The boy at the end wasn't a friend of Paul's. He was a raw recruit who was new and scared and Paul in that last battle was the grizzled vet like how Kat was when Paul was the new guy, it was the story coming full circle hence why the boy started collecting dog tags like how Paul did, Paul saved that boy's life so he could live the life that Paul himself became an empty shell of.

I watched the movie to it’s original language, which is German (with subtitles), and it was the most impactful movie I have watched. I feel bad for the men who died on that field.

The hardest part of this movie to watch, was when he stabbed the frenchman. He first tried to kill him, and then he was trying to help. So that was the hardest part for me.

This film deserves its 4 Oscars (including Best international film and Cinematography)

On the topic of Anti-War films, especially ones where the cast is German, I HIGHLY suggest "Das Boot" from 1981. The best, in my opinion, submarine movie ever made. Since you have a fear of boats and sunken ships, it'd be amazing to watch you react to a movie that's all about claustrophobic underwater operations. If you do end up watching it, please do so with subtitles instead of the English dub. The dub is by no means bad, as almost all of the actors dubbed their own lines in English, but it doesn't capture the same feeling as the original German dub.

war is war: you cant escape it if you try your dead or set to prison you have live or death war is the place where you die or survive but lose a limb i watched this film with me grampa he had flashbacks i fell sorry for him

The german helmets are so well shaped it literally looks the best out of all

A little note: while tanks had been designed in 1915, they didn’t truly see combat until 1916 and even then in smaller numbers. From 1917 onwards the production numbers finally allowed them to be used on a large scale. So even at the beginning of 1917, and the war ended in November 1918, unless you were at the real big battles you probably didn’t see many tanks if any. Many german soldiers were horrified having to confront a metal monster like that and some were so terrified that they surrender at the mere sight of tanks on occasions.

The blonde boy that took the handkerchief in the end was not one of his friends. He was one of the new recruites. Paul directed him from their arrival until the charge. He probably otherwise would have been shot for objecting too.

I think this excerpt from battlefield one can sum up a lot of the ambition the youth had to fight in the war, and the grim reality of it all too “We came from all over the world. The innocent, the arrogant, and the brave. We thought the war was to be our right of passage, a grand adventure that would make us all equal in our quest for glory. But instead of adventure we found fear, and in war, the only true equalizer, is death.”

An easter egg is that the uniform that Paul Bäumer or the main character is using is the same uniform that the guy (Heinrich) used, i have a theory that he served frkm 1916 - 1917 and died late in the war, one year later like Paul Bäumer, basically like a curse.

Most war movies about the German perspective are made in German language, only with subtitles or a mostly not that good english dubbing. But great movies overall. Some even nominated for Oscars in the past. Some movies come to my mind who had international success. Downfall was a masterpiece, same for Das Boot or Stalingrad(1993). Generation War was a three movie series about German soldiers on the eastern front in Russia. With that said, All Quiet on the Western front often makes me think about my own families past. My great grandfather died in France late october 1918, two weeks before the end. Survived the entire war since 1914, just to die so close to the end.

I watched this when it first came on Netflix and it was a horrible masterpiece. It really showed what people went through and it was just magnificent and horrifying at the same time. I hate that we are the “smartest” entity on earth, but yet this is the sh*t we have put people through.

Don’t hate the leader of Germany, hate the dude who assassinated Archduke Frans Ferdinand.

In movie's, I never cry, but I actually shed a small tear..

As for the German raid right before 11 o'clock on November 11... I think most nations did something simillar (trying to gain terrain/honour/prestige in the last hours of the war). I know for a fact that the Canadian Corp (then part of the British Empire) raided (and re-captured) the town of Mons, Belgium a few minutes before 11 o'clock. The British army had their first defeat of the war at Mons in 1914, so the Canadian commanders tought it would "clean Imperial honour" to retake it before the war ended. So they requested the "honour" to attack... And British Field Marshal Douglas Haig was way to happy to allows it. Giving the British (or even Allies ?) their last victory of the war. War is hell... Sometimes it is needed to protect your country/freedom (like WWII or the Falkland War) some other times it is useless (like WWI, the Vietnam War or the Afghanistan War) but it always leaves deep traces on a generation... and thousands of dead bodies.

That part where the French leader was all pooped up about the croissants not being fresh made me almost as mad as Kats senseless death. Fantastic movie and reaction.

"The war might be over‚ and Those leaders might be shaking hands‚ but that mother is still waiting for her son to come back..."

We need more strong men like this❤

After watching the german version, the english syncro seems weirdly calm."Gettin' shot at, best keep your noggin' down bruv" is the general idea.Not horrible, but odd.

Should've watched it in German with subtitles. I learnt that lesson after going through Squid Game with the English dub.

That is a really great reaction. Another anti-war movie I wholeheartedly can recommend is "Das Boot" (The boat), about a german submarine crew in the second war. It is... tense and an equally unusual perspective maybe. There exist multiple versions, but recommendable are the 1984 BBC miniseries (300 minutes) ideally, or the 1997 "Director's Cut" (208 minutes) as second best pick. But missing 100 min of impression really makes a difference in atmosphere and depth of impression.

I’ve never cried harder when Kropp was burned. That whole battle scene made me bawl with my jaw dropped wide open. The tanks, the pyro-people with the flame throwers. I legit felt like Paul did, dead, after that movie.

When Paul first got the uniform, it originally belonged to a friend named "Heinrich", who was sent to fight and whose friend died. The name of the first user, namely "Heinrich Gubert", is written on the tag that the officer threw.

The score, and sound design for this was incredible. And the cinematography was superb, from the gritty war scenes to the calm, beautiful landscapes which provided a break from the war and some purely abstract studies with light that added dreamy quality. We saw this at home but I really wished we saw it in a theater.

thats why he put his friend mask on before him because he was struggling and when they are in the under ground bunker 1 or 2 have shell shock It is a reaction to the intensity of the bombardment and fighting that produced a helplessness, which could manifest as panic, fear, flight, or an inability to reason, sleep, walk or talk. Shell shock. Other names. Bullet air, soldier's heart, battle fatigue, operational exhaustion.

I read the novel in 10th class (germany "gymnasium") and the scene when he stabbed the french and tried to save him afterwards was much more cruel there. They fought for life and death at first, then he stabbed the enemy, but in constrast to the movie where the scene was rather short, it took hours. Paul (the main character) was even sleeping in this artillery-crater this night before he got back. Furthermore the french man didnt die as quickly, he layed there for hours, gasping for air as he slowly bled out. And Paul heard that the entire time.

One of the best films ever watched. It does sound better and realistic in German.

The” fire burning “ sound is what I love about The movie , it feels is so raw and it plays after every bad thing that shows what war is about happens , it’s like a “ see ,this is war “ kind of sound

The movie is actually very popular in germany

Loved this great reaction ty👍🏻

Fun fact: even after 11 AM skirmishes still happened between armies, for example, a German sniper attacked a truck with french soldiers returning home, another is when fifty American soldiers charged at a German trench at 11:25. And yes, the general would in fact get in trouble, since he recieved orders not to attack and leave the men to enjoy their last minutes on the front,.plus he knew exactly well that his troops wouldn't be able to capture the territory in just 15 minutes

Thats why there is a saying, "War is young people dying, and old people talking".

As someone who wants a career as an AFSOC (air force special operations command) Combat Controller this stuff makes it a really hard choice for me knowning im volunteering for the worst horrors of any war I am involved in but I think it's the right choice for me. Humanity has fought each other for centuries. It will never change. I think it's good to prepare for war but to try and keep peace. Peace through superior firepower.

Even for me, who has seen a lot of war films and played shooters, this film was really tough and impressive in equal measure

One of the best movies from 2022! It’s best in its original language, but the english dub isn’t the end of the world.

Other "anti-war" WW movies I can recommend are *"Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)"* and *"The Eternal Zero (2013)".* Both from Japanese perspective. And please reupload your reaction to *"Grave of The Fireflies".* Thanks. 🙂🙏

The most brutal thing that the german soldier Got crushed over by the first tanks is brutal

Goddammit I love “Remains”. Like I absolutely felt like it was a masterpiece of a composition, now I will only see it like that 😂😂😂😂

"I'm very excited to jump into it" Really setting yourself up for tears with that one

Hi I just wanted to say i really love seeing your view and emotional connection to these films. As a British Veteran and now military historian it is really amazing to see that such films bring forward so many questions of war. Most are to either enthral or show horrors through violence but what all Quiet on the Western Front showed more arguably than any other is the emotional toll such activity plays on the average person

Fun fact. The French first signed an armistice but then the Germans also demanded a ceasefire and since it was 1918 the Kaiser resigned and so the Germans turned the armistice into a surrender. So, on the whole, without William's resignation the war would have continued and France would had surrendered

"He fell in October, 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front"...

I also had to cry a lot with this film , all these many young men who had lost their lives there. It hurt my heart. The film is played so realistically and you had a picture of how things had turned out on the war front in WWI. My grandfather fell as a young man in WWII at the Battle of Stalingrad/ Russia. Unfortunately we don`t know where he is buried there . It`s very sad.💞🙏 RIP

And you have to remember this is what the war in Ukraine has become, trench warfare in some places.

That thing they brake off the uniform was metal with their names on, to inform the leader from the group

I love how passionate you are

Glad you reacted to this. Kind of prefer seeing these foreign films with the original live dialogue in the particular language with English subtitles, but whatever floats your boat.

when I watched this movie with my mom she was crying because they were all only a few years older than me. 34:30 it's not that Paul isn't afraid, he is they all are, in the book Remarque wrote "We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation." they are so full of fear that they fight in order to stay alive for it is the only option in combat. this fear turns to hate anger and rage. It is what allows a man to kill another. when the fear of death leaves them, they return to themselves, and it is why Paul can go from stabbing a man in the lung and to desperately trying to save him and begging his corpse to forgive him.

This movie does not make me cry it just makes me cold and depressed

VKunia I loved you reactions for years. I wish there were more people around as thoughtful as you. My great great uncle died in October 1918 in the Western Front and it had a massive impact on his family. He was in his 20s. Millions died like him for nothing. My grandfather died at the end of world War 2 because of tuberculosis caught in Italy, and never saw his son, my dad. This film teaches people they should not do this. Sadly humanity never learns. I love your heartfelt reactions and wish for better things for people.

Nice reaction! "Generation War" is a 3-episode series showing the German side of World War 2. I enjoyed it a lot!

My German friends were lost there! Don't cry be happy they sacrificed their lives for THE FARTHER LAND and you shouldn't cry to all people that didn't cry join me and Hanz!

he first tanks were used in battle during World War I. The British were the first to deploy tanks in battle, at the Battle of the Somme in September 191612. The tank was originally designed as a special weapon to solve an unusual tactical situation: the stalemate of the trenches on the Western Front1. The great weakness of the tank predecessor, the armoured car, was that it required smooth terrain to move upon, and new developments were needed for cross-country capability1. The tank was intended to be able to protect against bullets and shell splinters, and pass through barbed wire in a way infantry units could not hope to, thus allowing the stalemate to be broken

Winner of 4 Oscars: Best International Film Best Original Score Beat Production Design Best Cinematography

Watched it the first time in a theatre and it was the first time nobody was moving or saying anything during the credits. I had goosebumps all over my body.

Im watching this reaction months later, so don't know who im writing this for. Tanks were the most terrifying addition to the weaponry in world war I. They were designed and developed mid WW1 in the 1915s to 16s. They were designed pass trenches and kill anyone inside them. For the boys in this movie, tanks weren't even something they had imagined, and to see these unstoppable metal machines was for certain the most nightmarish situation.

Remember war is hell... people make hell(war) 1 bullet 2 wars 80 mil+ deaths (if you know you know)😢

Its been said multiple times but i feel films should be watched in their original language, dubbed versions are never as good. Loved this film, really shows the horror that is the meatgrinder of war.

I think the song they use is because World War 1 is the first large scale industrial war with machinery. So the music is meant to sound heavy and industrial. It might sound kinda jarring and strange, but that's how a lot of soldiers and people felt when they first came in contact with tanks, airplanes and machine guns. It's very fitting imo.

What I really like about this story is it shows the times of lull as well, not just non stop fighting. Most of war is really just sitting around bored out of your mind. I forgot the exact quote but someone once said war is 90% sheer boredom filled with 10% terror.

The Armistice was actually a lot sicker if you think about it. The Germans wanted an immediate ceasefire but the Allies demanded a ceasefire at 11. Contrary to the movie, the Allies were actually the ones doing most of the attacking during that time between the signing and the Armistice taking effect due to wanting a better positioning during the treaty talks. The common consensus is that the last person to die was American Henry Gunther at 10:59. He had recently been demoted and it’s believed he attacked to regain honor or get his rank back. He charged the Germans and they tried to wave him off to stop attacked but inevitably was shot

In classical Western history, Hannibal was the last commander to do so. A big problem is that doing that risks losing your commander, which then tends to end the battle (if not the entire war) in defeat. See the Norman Conquest - when Harold was killed at Hastings, their success was all but guaranteed. Even at the tactical level, I was trained (by US Marines who taught “military” disciplines to sailors) that a LEADER should NOT be fighting: a leader should be observing, thinking and giving orders. In a large battle, often things are very confusing. Against a well organized peer enemy with enough forces to put up a good fight, often the best a general can do is either decide when (and perhaps where) to commit his reserves, or when to give up the fight and retreat to preserve his forces from being routed. Contrary to a lot of assumptions about modern warfare, skilled Western troops ARE taught to retreat, it is not entirely about dishing it out in a one sided contest. We have had an easy time for a long time in high tech warfare - but it is unclear we can dominate it against a peer. [A DoD review finds we may well lose against a peer opponent] I remember suspending air operations because we lost every tactical action we engaged in. I participated in a naval battle you never heard of directly which was a strategic defeat: you DID hear about the Army “incursion into Cambodia” to block enemy supply lines - but no one told you it was because the Navy FAILED to cut those lines by sea. We suffered another STRATEGIC naval defeat at the hands of Iraq in the “first” Gulf War - to its mine warfare campaign. [Saddam executed every service chief except the Navy one - since he had done his job successfully, preventing the Marines from coming in along the coast] A famous consultant and simulations expert thinks 1945 vintage Japanese propeller plans could deliver ordnance against our ships today. I - a Navy air defense specialist - think he might be right. Things can go very wrong - and the boss of a fight needs to be somewhere he can get good information and figure out what it means as soon as possible. The idea of the boss going in with the troops is close to idiotic - too counterproductive to contemplate seriously.

This one and the original 1930’s one both show really how bad war is without having a really good hero story. Instead of making Paul a cool badass war hero, it makes him a scared young boy. 10/10 remake in my opinion.

I'd never seen the 2022 version of this movie, didn't even know it existed until now. When I was a senior in High School, 1983, my history teacher made us all watch the 1979 version of this movie. It was very moving, I still remember watching it to this day, about 40 years later. You should watch the 1979 version.

The fact they didn’t grow older it just sad rest in peace for the people who fought in the war

If you want another one from the German perspective, you should watch "Das Boot" Director's cut (The Boat) in German with english subtitles. The best submarine movie ever imo.

This version of the film is really good! If you are interested, you should check out the 1930 version, the extras are veterans of WW1 and did the battle and bootcamp scenes. For a 1930 film it's pretty graphic, very well done from start to finish.

In west: All quiet in western front In east: Literal hell

You guys know this movie got 3 awards and Netflix spent over 1 million or 1 billion for this movie that means it is the most expensive Netflix movie ever made.

Downfall (Der Untergang) is a good WW2 movie from the German perspective

I saw this film yesterday and I thought it was very good as well. The hardest part for me to watch was the scene in the shell crater. You are right that the movie is told in such a way that it is very personal compared to other movies. I remember reading the book a long time ago. Even though this film diverges from the book a lot, I thought they did a great job at recreating the sense of regular people being trapped in a horrible, neverending nightmare. Another good anti-war war film is The Thin Red Line about the Battle of Guadalcanal during WW2.

I love her explanation on the german hire ups as well, they really put to much pride in their country when the war was already a lost cause

Adrian Carton De Wiart: "Frankly, I enjoyed the war."

The coats and boots ended up being more valuable to the german high command than the men wearing them.

Some people really recommend watching the older (1930) film (also an Oscar winner) for the realism, many of the actors actually served in the war and knew how to carry out drills etc.

38:06 There’s this scene from the movie that not everyone talks about. A Diplomat (I think French) complains about stale croissants before the armistice signing

Watched this with my family yesterday

what i learned long ago is that it seems all the best novels of war are the ones that show not only how absolutely horrible it is, but no matter how it changes and the circumstances, it's always the same. The feelings and utter destruction of the inner human that was and can never be again. Red Badge of Courage, All Quiet on the Western Front, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Homage to Catalonia and others. Great works, devastating works.

2 scenes stick with me. the recycling of uniforms. showing a little of the mundane logistics of waging war, but knowing each name patch is a son, father, brother, cousin... and kat's letter from his wife.

Heyy Vicky New to the channel... this is great content 👏

The first one that was made had me in tears in the end because the one that survived at the end he was reaching out for a butterfly and one of the French saw him and he died:(