The First Significant Anti-War Movie

All Quiet on the Western Front is still considered one of the best films ever made in the war movie genre. 

Released in 1930, All Quiet on the Western Front was a reflection of the profound disillusionment with war in the post-World War I (WWI) era. It was the first significant anti-war movie, exploring the war’s physical and psychological impact on a generation lost to war. 

The film follows the experience of a young German infantryman who enters the conflict as an idealist. After months of shelling and brutal death in the trenches on a massive scale, he is convinced that, “when it comes to dying for your country, it is better not to die at all.” 

Based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque, the film was directed by Lewis Milestone for Universal and stars Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, and Ben Alexander.

Setting the Stage for Future War Movies

Director Lewis Milestone contributed much to developing a realistic feel to war movies. Steven Spielberg cited Milestone’s work as an inspiration for his 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, acclaimed to be one of the most powerful depictions of combat ever put on screen.

Casting Real World War I Veterans ... and a Future Acclaimed Director

A number of WWI German Army veterans living in Los Angeles during the making of All Quiet on the Western Front were recruited as bit players and technical advisors. 

Approximately 2,000 extras were used during production. Among them were future acclaimed director Fred Zinneman. Zinneman would later made such landmark movies as From Here to Eternity, High Noon, Julia, and A Man for All Seasons. 

Filming for Global Distribution

All Quiet on the Western Front was shot with two cameras side by side, one as a sound film and the other for an “International Sound Version.” “International Sound” was a technique in the early talkie period where the English dialogue was replaced with music, sound effects, and foreign language subtitles in an effort to avoid the expense of reshooting the film in another language for distribution in other countries.

Receiving Acclaim in America and Controversy Abroad

All Quiet on the Western Front opened to tremendous praise in the United States. It won Academy Awards for both Best Picture and Best Director—the first movie to do so. 

However, it was not without controversy outside America. Because of its anti-war and perceived anti-German messages, the Nazis banned the film in Germany. Other countries also were concerned about the dark nature of the movie. It was banned in Australia, Italy, Austria, and France for decades. 

Now universally recognized as a classic, All Quiet on the Western Front offers a timeless reminder of the cost of war in human terms, and how individuals are impacted in the sweep of historical events.

This blog was originally written in 2017 by Peter Jakab to promote "Hollywood Goes to War: World War I on the Big Screen," a 2017 film series at the Museum. It was updated in 2025 to make it more evergreen and improve the search engine optimization. You can read the original via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.