Lewis Milestone received an Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture for the 1930 film “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Few films afterward have been able to equal the way that the German novelist Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, which served as the basis for the film, presented the cruelty and waste of the Great War.
Richard Thomas and Navy veteran of World War II Ernest Borgnine starred in the television adaptation of “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
The primary characters in the Netflix version will speak in their native German for the first time. The episodes of the English-language series “The Terror,” “Patrick Melrose,” and “Your Honor” were directed by German director Edward Berger, well known for the spy drama “Deutschland 83,” and starred Jared Harris, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bryan Cranston.
In this version, Daniel Brühl plays a German ambassador engaged in peace talks (Baron Zemo in the Marvel world, Inglourious Basterds). Paul Bäumer, the main soldier battling for survival in the trenches, is portrayed by newcomer Felix Kammerer in the starring role.
The updated version of “All Quiet on the Western Front” will have its international debut on September 12, 2022, at the Toronto International Film Festival. It will then begin showing at the Paris Theater in New York City on October 7, and then on October 14, it will be released in some cinemas. On October 28, the film will be available on Netflix globally.
Since that is approaching quickly, Netflix has made the movie trailer available.
The clip alternates between the excitement and hope of military training and the frightening reality of the actual conflict. An updated version of this tale offers the chance to depict the battle, whereas the old classic version could only hint at it. We won’t know whether a more graphic form of battle will have the same effect until next month.