1. As the first sound film about World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front introduced innovations in its depiction of warfare. How does the soundtrack add to the movie’s impact?
   How does the music of the soundtrack echo the visual story?
   


2. Earlier U.S. filmmakers produced several significant silent films about World War I, including D.W. Griffith’s Hearts of the World (1918), King Vidor’s The Big Parade (1925), and William Wellman’s Wings (1927). How do these movies compare to All Quiet on the Western Front ?
   Compare this movie with later World War I movies, such as The Dawn Patrol (1938), Paths of Glory (1957) or Johnny Got His Gun (1971).
   


3. All the warring countries of World War I used government propaganda to further their political objectives. What does All Quiet on the Western Front say about propaganda? What form does propaganda take? Who benefits from its use? Who does not?
   How does the movie itself serve as an instrument of propaganda in the years after 1930?
   


4. Why was the film so popular in the United States?
   Why did the Nazi government ban the film in Germany?
   


5. From the film, how would you describe German society during World War I?
   Who are the authority figures? What values do they express?
   


6. How does the movie depict the German home front?
   The character Paul says, “It’s not home there any more.” Why would a frontline soldier not feel at home on the home front?
   


7. How does the film present Germany’s enemies?
   Who are the French characters in the film? Are they different from the Germans? How?
   


8. Who are the women characters in the film? What social roles do they play?
   How are gender roles (male and female) related to the overall point of the movie?
   


9. How does the movie present the practice of military medicine?
   


10. How does All Quiet on the Western Front compare to anti-war movies of other wars? For example, compare the film to Catch-22 (1970), MASH (1970), or No Man’s Land (2001)

http://movies.go.com/movies/A/allquietonthewesternfront_1930/index.html
http://www.worldwar1.com/pharc001.htm

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