‘All Quiet on the Western Front,‘ ‘Argentina 1985’ and ‘The Quiet Girl’ Producers on the Importance of Focusing a Story on ‘Everyday’ Characters

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” has surpassed over 150 million hours viewed since its release on Oct. 14, 2022. The film, which dominated the BAFTA Awards in London with a record-breaking seven wins, including best film, director (Edward Berger), adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound, original score and non-English language film, climbed up to No. 2 on the global list, according to numbers released by Netflix. Berger’s World War I epic tells Paul’s (Felix Kammerer ) journey from being a young, enthusiastic school boy wanting to join the army to a tired, worn soldier. It has been on the global Top 10 Non-English Film list for 14 weeks and has reached the Top 10 Films in 91 countries, including Germany, the U.K., U.S., Australia, France, Mexico and South Korea.

Tim Gray Senior Vice President Oscar voters rewarded “All Quiet on the Western Front” with nine nominations, including best picture and international film. But aside from the great work seen onscreen, the film is notable for what it doesn’t do. There are no heroic acts, no sense of adventure, no cheering when the enemy dies. It’s a true anti-war film. Producer Malte Grunert says: “There are a lot of things that do not follow the normal dramatic structure that you would expect in a war movie.”  He and director Edward Berger discussed the depiction of violence, since Erich Maria Remarque’s 1927 novel about World War I vividly describes atrocities. “We wanted to keep it violent because a war film has to be. It’s about young boys, just out of school, going to the Western Front and being thrown into violence and pain,” says Grunert. “But we never wanted it to be exploitative. The violence was always to have a purpose, to show the horror through the eyes of our protagonists.”

Edward Berger says he didn’t realize the BAFTAs were going his way until the final award of the night, when Best Film became the seventh trophy to add to his film’s haul. If he’d known that All Quiet on the Western Front, his adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s First World War novel would do so well, he might have taken the next day off. Instead, he left the Netflix party at around 2am for a flight to Rome, in time for a 9am call at the historic Cinecittà Studios and a full day of shooting on his follow-up.

Andrew Weissmann We are in a unique moment in American history. There are currently four criminal investigations into the former president of the United States: two federal, one in Georgia, and one in New York. This novel situation has led to a debate not just in the walls of academe but amongst the citizenry as to whether prosecuting a former president will reduce our country to a so-called banana republic, or whether the very act of not prosecuting the former president would lead to that result. And just as important, how will Jack Smith, the designated Special Counsel in charge of the federal Trump investigations, weigh this issue in deciding whether or not to bring charges? Will the collateral consequences to the country be considered at all, and if so, which way will they cut, for or against prosecution?

A version of this story about “All Quiet on the Western Front” first appeared in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.   The first German-language adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic anti-war novel about World War I, “All Quiet on the Western Front” is second only to “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and tied with “The Banshees of Inisherin” for the most Oscar nominations, nine.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of Content The power of an important story told with passion and unflinching clarity always transcends the bonds of time. This explains the durability of Shakespeare’s plays when they land in the right hands, and it explains Edward Berger’s adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s fierce anti-war novel, “All Quite on the Western Front,” which is nominated for the best picture Oscar.  Nearly a century ago, director Lewis Milestone triumphed in one of the first Oscar competitions with his Universal Pictures version of the 1928 tome, filmed, remarkably, completely in and around its Hollywood Studio home.   Today, “Front” is registering with voters who are seeing the horrors of war in Europe live and in color as it sadly unfolds again with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

Todd Gilchrist editor Even with predecessors such as  “Paths of Glory,” “A Very Long Engagement,” “1917” and of course Lewis Milestone’s 1930 best picture winner of the same name, director Edward Berger’s adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s bestseller “All Quiet on the Western Front” conveys the meat-grinder brutality — the violence, the blood, and the mud — of trench warfare unlike almost any film in the history of the medium.  “These kids are chewed up by the merciless war machine,” says Berger. “They sign up for this war full of hopes and ideals, but very quickly they realize that they have lost everything in the mud, especially their innocence and their youth.”

Anna Marie de la Fuente Since 1961, Argentina has been sending films to vie in the foreign film race and Ricardo Darin, the country’s most celebrated actor, stars in at least seven of them, including this year’s nominee, “Argentina 1985.” That’s no mean feat but given his lifetime commitment to his craft, perhaps not surprising. Four of them: “Son of the Bride” (2001), “The Secret in their Eyes” (2009), “Wild Tales” (2014) and now the Amazon Studios-backed “Argentina 1985,” have either been shortlisted or in the case of Juan José Campanella’s “The Secret in Their Eyes,” taken home the golden statuette. Given its wins at the Venice Film Festival, the National Board of Review and the Golden Globes as well as the growing buzz, “Argentina 1985” may again clinch the honor.

The Quiet Girl, an Oscar contender for Best International Feature, opened to a robust $60k on six screens this weekend for a per-theater average of $10k. The film by Colm Bairead presented by SUPER LTD is based on the short story by Claire Keegan of a shy nine-year-old girl in rural Ireland. It led debuts in a specialty market that’s showing consistent signs of recovery amid a wider slate of films. Emily from Bleecker Street expanded to solid numbers and this year’s program of Oscar Nominated Short Films blew past last year with a $1.6 million cume in week two.

All Quiet on the Western Front‘s Daniel Bishop and Ozark‘s Dave Chameides and Cristian Trova were named Camera Operator of the Year in film and TV, respectively, by the Society of Camera Operators.

Super LTD presents Best International Feature Oscar nominee The Quiet Girl and, as the Academy Awards approach, RRR ramps up again and Navaly returns to theaters for one-week run.

Zoe Hewitt It’s not often in a career that having your hard work go by unnoticed is actually the ultimate compliment. Movie crews, almost uniformly across any filmmaking disciplines, find themselves in this nebulous zone where the less their work stands out, the more accolades they get from critics, peers and audiences. If costumes stand out, the characters feel a bit off. If set decoration draws attention, it doesn’t seem like the story is grounded in a real-life environment.   Stunts may be the only exception to the rule. Seeing daring escapades on screen becomes the bait to get audiences into seats. Who didn’t have great expectations of what Tom Cruise and company would pull off in “Top Gun: Maverick”? 

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Despite representing Germany at this year’s Academy Awards for best international feature, “All Quiet on the Western Front” writer-director Edward Berger doesn’t feel national pride for the country. “I don’t feel that because of the history,” Berger tells Variety. “I could never say I’m proud to be German. Those words don’t fit into our mouths, and rightly so. I would have a hard time thinking I would represent the country because I can’t speak for the entire country.” On this episode of Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, Berger discusses “All Quiet on the Western Front’s” nine Oscar noms — the second most of the year — and employing the most artisans of any non-English movie in history. Finally, he shares why he feels a responsibility to accurately portray Germany’s role in some of humanity’s most devastating wars. Listen to the full podcast below.

including Best Film, and many are wondering how they can watch the gritty World War I drama.Directed by Edward Berger, whom the British Academy named Best Director, the film is an adaptation of the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.A staple of many academic reading lists, the first English language adaptation of Remarque’s novel was made in 1930. The film netted Lewis Milestone his second Best Director Oscar and won Outstanding Production (later renamed Best Picture).

When I moderated a screening with you and Edward and Daniel Bruhl, I said, “Your music scares the hell out of me,” and the audience applauded. You must have known going into “All Quiet” that you needed something dark and foreboding and a little scary.Absolutely. But when you talk about dark and foreboding, it can easily get into an area where it’s detached suddenly from the movie, because it’s maybe too much horror or too heavy in a way that it doesn’t fit the picture.

All Quiet On The Western Front was the big winner at the 2023 BAFTAs.READ MORE: All the winners from the 2023 BAFTAsThe German-language film was heavily inspired by the anti-war novel of the same name by former German World War One soldier Erich Maria Remarque. It was nominated for fourteen BAFTAs at the 2023 ceremony and ended up winning seven of them.All Quiet On The Western Front won the BAFTA for Film Not In The English Language, Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Director, Sound and the biggest award of the night – Best Film.This run of awards makes All Quiet On The Western Front the first foreign language film to win more than four BAFTAs.“It’s just incredible,” said producer Malte Grunert while picking up the Best Film prize before talking about how the story of a generation “poisoned by right-wing propaganda into thinking war is an adventure” was as relevant today as it was almost 100 years ago.All Quiet On The Western Front was released last October on Netflix and is still available to watch on the streaming platform.A synopsis for the film reads: “All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I.

German language film All Quiet On The Western Front was the big winner at the EE BAFTAs, scooping a total of seven prizes.The Netflix anti-war epic, directed by German filmmaker Edward Berger and based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque, scooped top gongs including best film and best director. It broke the record for the highest number of Baftas for a foreign language film previously held by Italian coming-of-age drama Cinema Paradiso, which claimed five in 1988.Taking to the stage at the climax of the event at London’s Royal Festival Hall, cinematographer James Friend said the film showed how a generation of young German men were “poisoned by right-wing nationalistic propaganda” and he stressed that the film’s message remains “relevant” nearly a century on.

All Quiet on the Western Front became the big winner tonight at BAFTA, taking not just the awards for Best Film and Best Director, but a total of 7 prizes out of its 14 nominations.

BAFTA Awards in London on Sunday night with a record-breaking seven wins, including for Best Director, Best Film and Best Film Not in the English Language. The tally means the World War One epic now holds the record for a film not in the English language. The previous record was held by 1988 film “Cinema Paradiso,” which won five BAFTAs. Meanwhile Colin Farrell starrer “The Banshees Of Inisherin” won the second largest number of awards of the night, including both supporting actor categories with wins for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon (who emerged as the correct winner after fellow nominee Carey Mulligan’s name was initially called in error.) Writer and director Martin Mcdonagh also won for Original Screenplay and Outstanding British Film, although his swipe at the film’s producer Searchlight – when he quipped that he had landed an award for the script without any notes from the studio – prompted a mixed response from the audience, with some possibly perceiving the comment as arrogant. The director quickly made it clear he wasn’t being serious, saying “kidding, kidding.”

Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Sept. 8 after reigning for over 70 years.“Bafta’s relationship with Her Majesty was longstanding and Bafta would not be what it is today without her loyal support,” Mirren said during the ceremony.