With a new film version of the classic All Quiet on the Western Front,

in this episode we look at a preview of the film.

Is it different to the original version?

And what understandings might it bring to a new generation

and connected to the Great War?

This week on the Old Frontline podcast, we're doing something different.

We're not reviewing a film that we've all been out to see.

We're actually previewing a film that is yet to be released,

and that is the new version of All Quiet on the Western Front.

And in that, I'm very grateful to podcast listener, Phil de Semlin from Time Out and the team at Netflix, UK,

for having the chance to watch the film before it's on general release via a limited cinema release in mid-October,

and then release on Netflix itself about 10 days later.

Now this is a film that I've been excited about for quite some time since I saw some of the first black and white stills from the production of it a few years ago.

The trench scenes depicted in those stills looked incredible, very realistic, very well done.

It was clear just from those that this was a serious film about the First World War

and now having had a chance to watch it, I'm even more convinced with that.

I think it's one of the most important Great War films that we've seen for some time

and it ranks up there with recent

productions like Journey's End and 1917. One of the problems that I always find with many First

World War films is not what the buttons are, not whether they're wearing something in the right

way, but often films and television productions connected to the Great War don't feel convincing. They don't

look as if it's set in that period. The men don't look like soldiers. It doesn't feel like this

...