's " All Quiet on the Western Front " released in 1930, there are two details that touched me the most:
's first scene is of course the end of the most classic scene in the whole film. The battle-tested Paul saw it. A butterfly, trying to catch it with my hand, was aimed at by the enemy, the gunshot sounded, the screen did not switch any more, but focused on the outstretched hand, stopped suddenly, and slowly relaxed.
There is no more facial image of Paul here, but the audience in front of the screen knows that the young Paul has already died on the battlefield. Although there is no bloody image, the audience can still feel the sadness and cruelty conveyed by the whole movie. ;
The second is Paul returning to his hometown for vacation, just to see that the teacher of that year is as enthusiastically encouraging the students to go to the front line bravely!
Then he walked into the classroom, "splashed cold water" in front of the teachers and students, told them that what the teacher said was simply "tell them to die", told them that if they went to the front line, their life was over, and told them "people Even alive, it's just an empty shell!", like this, like venting some emotions, and then shouting "I shouldn't be back for vacation, I'll go back tomorrow, I'll go back tomorrow!"
Watch this paragraph The seemingly simple scenes are actually very impactful and most powerfully clarify the anti-war theme of the film. Young people like Paul went to the front line at the instigation of that teacher, but they were refreshed by the cruelty and coldness of the war, and they even sacrificed their lives. From excitement, excitement to disappointment, shock, from fear, shrinking to numbness, hatred, and finally death, the film reflects the cruelty of war through Paul's changes, and also plays a good role in conveying anti-war emotions.
, a film shot more than ninety years ago, is enough to surprise me with its handling of war scenes (in those days, many war scenes were filmed so realistically and shockingly, which is really amazing!), and it is very The expression of anti-war is even more admirable - does not deliberately preach, nor does it have exaggerated slogans, but through a character's growth and battlefield experience, it brings out everyone's thinking about war, it does not give anti-war. The answer to the war, but raised the question in an invisible but powerful way, so that the audience will have their own thinking and come to the answer after watching it.
The 2022 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front" not only just removed the two plots mentioned above, but also made a lot of adaptations to the story and characters, making the overall dramatic look stronger and the audiovisual presentation It is also richer and more realistic, and the viewing experience is indeed strong enough, but after reading it, the inner feeling is not as strong as the old version - although it can also make people feel anti-war emotions and thinking, but the degree will be better than 1930. version is weaker.
So, isn't the 2022 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front" worth watching? Neither is
.
Of course many of us would compare it to the original and the 1930 film version, and then point out that the "new" work has changed too much, and even has "changed the flavor" in many places.
Because I haven't read the original novel, it's not very good to comment, but as far as the two versions of the movie are concerned, I can understand most of the changes in this version of "All Quiet on the Western Front" directed by Edward Berger Intent - mainly to create a richer drama, thereby enhancing the storytelling and visual impact.
I have to say that the movement, composition, and colors of the film fully demonstrate the director's careful expression in audio-visual language. He not only presented us with scenes of cruel beauty, but also created a very strong dramatic conflict.
For example, some empty shots in the opening stage, mountains, forests, sky, sleeping wolf, showing a sense of tranquility; but then, the camera is aimed at a cold ground where the soldiers' bodies are lying, and slowly shakes down, From a bird's-eye view to a head-up perspective, the cruelty of the battlefield is quickly presented, the sense of tranquility is instantly broken, and the conflict is directlyPressing. In particular, the picture of the soldiers falling one after another gave the audience a very intuitive feeling.
The core theme of the film has not changed much: Paul's final sacrifice is tragic and regretful, and the moments when his comrades leave one after another are equally sad; The moment of burning, the moment of bullets passing through helmets, the moment of soldiers laying on the ground, is so cruel and tragic, enough to make people hate or hate war! This is actually a manifestation of the film's "anti-war" effect, which allows the audience to have a deeper understanding of the war from some brutal and shocking scenes.
In fact, both the 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and this version of the work are good anti-war movies.
They can make the audience see the cold, cruel, tragic and even despair of war, and also make people realize that war will not change substantially because of the change of times: war will always be bloody and cruel , ruthless, icy, desperate, it is always the opposite of beauty!
Ironically, World War II broke out shortly after the release of the first edition of "All Quiet on the Western Front"; when the second edition was released, there was still war going on in this world.
As an audience, after watching the two versions of "All Quiet on the Western Front", there will be such a wish in your heart: May the world be peaceful.
PS: The text is original by the author, and the pictures are all from the Internet.
