It took author Erich Maria Remarque two years to find a publisher for his novel about the defeat of the German Army in World War I. Remarque himself had fought in the trenches and been wounded, so he knew whereof he wrote. It's curious that that horrifying and mis-managed war and its humiliating peace agreement generated disparate reactions in Germany. "Stabbed in the back" by politicians, said Hitler, who had also fought and been wounded, as he rose to power. Then there was Remarque, who represented the other path, which could be roughly summarized as, "It was pretty lousy. Let's not do it again." Hitler's attitude won, of course, and it was then claimed that Remarque's real name was Kramer, a Jewish name, which Remarque had spelled backwards to disguise his ethnic identity.
It's not surprising that this should be called an anti-war movie. What's surprising about it is that it actually IS an anti-war movie. Remarque was a German and Germany lost the war. Not through treachery, like Pearl Harbor, and without heroic last stands, like Bataan or Wake Island or the Battle of Little Big Horn, and without miraculous last-minute escapes, like "Dunkirk". It was written by a member of the army that lost and it depicts the declining élan and eroding resources of the civilization sponsoring that war.
Few producers are willing to bet on a genuine anti-war movie, one that lacks glory and makes viewers feel sad and uncomfortable. That's why we see movies like "Private Ryan" (we won) and not movies with titles like "The Java Sea" (we lost).
We're pretty generous with the term "anti-war" when applying it to movies, but there's a relatively simple way to judge whether it applies aptly. If we lose, without any excuses, it's "anti-war." "Blackhawk Down" is anti-war but there are few others, and for good reason. Producers like the audience to leave the theater glowing with satisfaction, as if they'd just seen their home team win a football game.
This is a television remake of the 1930 original with Lew Ayres. Richard Thomas has the lead. I never found Richard Thomas particularly appealing. His demeanor and appearance suggest a spoiled prep school kid, but he's quite good here. Make up has wisely left him and the rest of his infantry company pasty faced and ill groomed. In an adaptation of another of Remarque's novels, "A Time To Love And A Time To Die," the protagonist at the front is uber-handsome John Gavin whose bare, heroic figure sports a sun tan bespeaking Malibu, not Stalingrad. The supporting cast here is equally good.
In fact, as TV remakes go, Delbert Mann and his cast and crew have done an unexpectedly good job. Unlike the 1930 original, this is stretched out over several hours and the writers have declined the opportunity to pad it out with a love story involving Thomas and some luscious babe who was his high-school sweetheart. Instead the writers have included more of Remarque's incidents, including a terrifying and wrenching scene of a dozen wounded horses screaming and dying. Modern audiences rarely cringe when they watch a stranger blown apart on screen. But HORSES? Now that's REALLY anti-war.
It's not surprising that this should be called an anti-war movie. What's surprising about it is that it actually IS an anti-war movie. Remarque was a German and Germany lost the war. Not through treachery, like Pearl Harbor, and without heroic last stands, like Bataan or Wake Island or the Battle of Little Big Horn, and without miraculous last-minute escapes, like "Dunkirk". It was written by a member of the army that lost and it depicts the declining élan and eroding resources of the civilization sponsoring that war.
Few producers are willing to bet on a genuine anti-war movie, one that lacks glory and makes viewers feel sad and uncomfortable. That's why we see movies like "Private Ryan" (we won) and not movies with titles like "The Java Sea" (we lost).
We're pretty generous with the term "anti-war" when applying it to movies, but there's a relatively simple way to judge whether it applies aptly. If we lose, without any excuses, it's "anti-war." "Blackhawk Down" is anti-war but there are few others, and for good reason. Producers like the audience to leave the theater glowing with satisfaction, as if they'd just seen their home team win a football game.
This is a television remake of the 1930 original with Lew Ayres. Richard Thomas has the lead. I never found Richard Thomas particularly appealing. His demeanor and appearance suggest a spoiled prep school kid, but he's quite good here. Make up has wisely left him and the rest of his infantry company pasty faced and ill groomed. In an adaptation of another of Remarque's novels, "A Time To Love And A Time To Die," the protagonist at the front is uber-handsome John Gavin whose bare, heroic figure sports a sun tan bespeaking Malibu, not Stalingrad. The supporting cast here is equally good.
In fact, as TV remakes go, Delbert Mann and his cast and crew have done an unexpectedly good job. Unlike the 1930 original, this is stretched out over several hours and the writers have declined the opportunity to pad it out with a love story involving Thomas and some luscious babe who was his high-school sweetheart. Instead the writers have included more of Remarque's incidents, including a terrifying and wrenching scene of a dozen wounded horses screaming and dying. Modern audiences rarely cringe when they watch a stranger blown apart on screen. But HORSES? Now that's REALLY anti-war.