All Quiet on the Western Front, Netflix version

[knittinganddeath]

Apologies if this has been posted already. I did a search but might not have hit the right terms. Anyway...

 

[battle of loos]

good morning,

thank's for this information.

michel

[stripeyman]

Six French flamethrowers altogether on the German parapet, all projecting flame, most unlikely. I also note the ubiquitous cart wheels in no-mans land, burning trees trunks and  probably the the wheels and track of a BMP or MT-LB dating from the 1960's.

[knittinganddeath]

1 hour ago, stripeyman said:

probably the wheels and track of a BMP or MT-LB dating from the 1960's.

Oh dear.

I thought the flamethrower clip was visually stunning -- all that orange flame in an otherwise drab landscape! -- but even with my lack of knowledge it seemed quite unrealistic.

I will be interested to see how it is received critically given the politics of our times.

[Jervis]

3 hours ago, knittinganddeath said:

Apologies if this has been posted already. I did a search but might not have hit the right terms. Anyway...

Thanks for sharing, I’ll look forward to watching it. 

[squirrel]

2 hours ago, stripeyman said:

 I also note the ubiquitous cart wheels in no-mans land, burning trees trunks...

I have always wondered where these numerous cartwheels came from...as well as the barrels and the occasional 40 gallon oil drum...

[the_ageing_young_rebel]

3 hours ago, stripeyman said:

Six French flamethrowers altogether on the German parapet, all projecting flame, most unlikely.

Thats definately the moment that stands out as the most exagerated, although there are a few other reality bending moments. But overall, I'm looking forward to it and am always happy to see the Great War being used as a film setting

[charlie2]

Does the world really need another remake of an absolute classic? At least we don‘t have to suffer „John Boy“ 

[the_ageing_young_rebel]

6 minutes ago, charlie2 said:

Does the world really need another remake of an absolute classic? At least we don‘t have to suffer „John Boy“ 

In fairness there hasn't been a version of All Quiet since the 1979 tv one (43 years ago). And thats pretty hard to watch now as it feels really dated

[knittinganddeath]

I wonder if the director and cast being German will create a noticeably different tone and mood from the previous versions.

[Baushawat]

8 hours ago, stripeyman said:

Six French flamethrowers altogether on the German parapet, all projecting flame, most unlikely.

Even more than unlikely, completely nonsensical. Trench sweeping does not in any way shape or form resemble what is portrayed here. French flamethrower sappers were deployed in small teams attached to grenadiers or riflemen and would be sent in along trench sweepers in the 3rd wave of assault. Such concentrations of flamethrowers were not a thing. Seeing them along tanks and simply standing upright in front of the German trench is not only inaccurate but also stupid. They would enter the enemy lines and roll them up in coordination with the grenadiers, occasionally throwing incendiary cans/grenades inside deep shelters (or inside cellars/houses during village fighting) and would maneuver when needed inside dug outs and blockhouses. Their main purpose was to reduce resistance and take prisoners, not cruelly exterminate like what is shown in the trailer...

[RedCoat]

One word that's spells disaster....... Netflix. 

[the_ageing_young_rebel]

8 hours ago, RedCoat said:

One word that's spells disaster....... Netflix. 

Whats wrong with Netflix? They have a pretty good track record for drama. Better than most current production companies anyway

[RedCoat]

1 hour ago, the_ageing_young_rebel said:

Whats wrong with Netflix? They have a pretty good track record for drama. Better than most current production companies anyway

I'm tired of seeing diversity quotas shoehorned into periods, stories, legends etc that are culturally important to the west.

[the_ageing_young_rebel]

49 minutes ago, RedCoat said:

I'm tired of seeing diversity quotas shoehorned into periods, stories, legends etc that are culturally important to the west.

Have Netflix previously done that though?

[RedCoat]

52 minutes ago, the_ageing_young_rebel said:

Have Netflix previously done that though?

Yep

[RichardsProductions99]

1 hour ago, the_ageing_young_rebel said:

Have Netflix previously done that though?

He was slagging off Benediction (currently on Netflix) for being 'too woke', on here. I wouldn't pay him much mind.

There were people of all walks of life, race, and creed on the Western Front, so to include them is hardly 'shoehorning' diversity quotas...

Edited 8 September , 2022 by RichardsProductions99

[Moonraker]

I recall one former GWF member who several times dismissed one version of AQOTWF as "not worth the celluloid it was filmed on" - but never responded to requests to amplify his remark.

I suspect that some reviews of the latest production will complain of clichéd characters and plot lines. After a century of films about the Great War, it's impossible to avoid these. And as soon as something a bit different is introduced,there are howls about lack of realism.

[RedCoat]

36 minutes ago, RichardsProductions99 said:

He was slagging off Benediction (currently on Netflix) for being 'too woke', on here. I wouldn't pay him much mind.

There were people of all walks of life, race, and creed on the Western Front, so to include them is hardly 'shoehorning' diversity quotas...

Yep, God forbid someone has a differing opinion to yours. 

[RichardsProductions99]

15 minutes ago, RedCoat said:

Yep, God forbid someone has a differing opinion to yours. 

I feel that as soon as one starts misappropriating words such as ‘woke’ as an insult or to denigrate the open-mindedness and awareness of others, it becomes *potentially* suggestive of the person's own prejudices, and thus, their opinion should be treated with circumspect at best .

 

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing this new adaptation, and intrigued to see how it compares, or is different to those previous. The production value seems high, and the cinematography well done. Looks to be a very bleak, powerful look into the German experience of the Great War.

Edited 8 September , 2022 by RichardsProductions99

[the_ageing_young_rebel]

14 minutes ago, RichardsProductions99 said:

I feel that as soon as one starts misappropriating words such as ‘woke’ as an insult or to denigrate the open-mindedness and awareness of others, it becomes *potentially* suggestive of the person's own prejudices, and thus, their opinion should be treated with circumspect at best .

Well said.

[knittinganddeath]

There was religious, cultural, and linguistic diversity in imperial Germany even if this diversity did not have the same breadth as in the UK or US. The German census of 1900 noted relatively large minority populations that spoke French, Polish, Kashubian, Wendish, Danish, and Lithuanian. Between German speakers themselves, there can be mutually unintelligible differences in dialects. I have read accounts (but do not know how true they are) of regiments using dialect for passphrases because it was believed that spies would only be able to speak High German. I would love to see these aspects represented in the new version of the movie.

Specifically in AQOTWF, Stanislaus Katczinsky is Polish. Haie Westhus could be Frisian/Danish/Low German. Peter, one of the wounded men on Paul's ward at the hospital, is described as a "schwarzer Krauskopf" -- a curly-haired Black.

 

[AOK4]

One has to remember that the book is strongly based on Remarque's own experiences (he never made it to the actual front line, but was wounded as a recruit of the Felrekrutendepot 2. Garde-Reservedivision in the Flanders (Houthulst) region on 31 July 1917. The book is based on his own experiences mixed with stories that he heard later when working in a hospital in Germany.

Unfortunately, knowledge about WWI in Germany nowadays is extremely limited and political views are not such that one can expect to be given a more objective view of the war.

I would like to see perhaps Ernst Jünger's story as a movie, which would give a totally different view, but I don't think that will ever happen.

[RedCoat]

16 hours ago, RichardsProductions99 said:

I feel that as soon as one starts misappropriating words such as ‘woke’ as an insult or to denigrate the open-mindedness and awareness of others, it becomes *potentially* suggestive of the person's own prejudices, and thus, their opinion should be treated with circumspect at best .

You assume that because I've ended up with the opinions I have, I must be ignorant or ill-informed. I am open minded and fully aware, I also apply critical thinking which is why I'm comfortable with my conclusions. No prejudice here.

EDIT: Anyway, shall we get back to Herr Junger and his legacy. 

Edited 9 September , 2022 by RedCoat

[RichardsProductions99]

4 hours ago, RedCoat said:

You assume that because I've ended up with the opinions I have, I must be ignorant or ill-informed. I am open minded and fully aware, I also apply critical thinking which is why I'm comfortable with my conclusions. No prejudice here.

EDIT: Anyway, shall we get back to Herr Junger and his legacy. 

Your words, not mine. Few would actively admit ignorance, and there have been many people of questionable outlooks who claim, or appear to be, intellectuals.

At the end of the day, you have your views, I have mine, we have presented them and that's that. I think those who read this forum will come to their own judgments.

 

Now that really is enough. Back on topic. I think Junger's work would make an excellent biopic, or certainly a well-researched drama that does justice to the original text.

Perhaps All Quiet might increase appetite for views of the Great War that go outside the usual British viewpoint of the war, well-covered in recent times (with varying degrees of success).