Westfront 1918

(Westfront 1918: Vier von der Infanterie)

Made in 1930, it’s the strongest war—and anti-war—film I’ve seen since Ingmar Bergman’s Shame.

Nora Sayre, New York Times
featuring

Fritz Kampers, Gustav Diessl, Claus Clausen, Hans-Joachim Möbis,

G. W. Pabst’s first sound film focuses on four soldiers stationed in France in the final months of World War I, juxtaposing life on the battlefield with the home front’s blind ignorance of the harsh realities of war. Long unavailable, the newly restored Westfront 1918 is a visceral, sobering antiwar statement that is as urgent today as when it was made. “Westfront 1918 has little dialogue but gives tremendous dramatic force to natural sounds (Pabst refused to use music). . . . Released to tremendous international acclaim, it still must be included among the finest war films ever made” (Georges Sadoul, Dictionary of Films).

FILM DETAILS 
Screenwriter
  • Ladislaus Vajda
  • Peter Martin Lampel
Based On
  • the novel Vier von der Infanterie by Ernst Johannsen

Cinematographer
  • Fritz Arno Wagner
  • Charles Métain
Language
  • German
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • B&W
  • DCP
  • 96 mins
Source
  • Janus Films

Event Accessibility

If you have any questions about accessibility or require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at bampfa@berkeley.edu or call us at (510) 642-1412 (during open hours) with as much advance notice as possible. More information on accessibility services.