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Westfront 1918

Westfront 1918: Vier von der Infanterie

1930·97 min·DE
Director: G.W. Pabst
WarDrama
The Arrival of Sound

A group of German infantrymen of the First World War live out their lives in the trenches of France. They find brief entertainment and relief in a village behind the lines, but primarily terror fills their lives as the attacks on and from the French army ebb and flow. One of the men, Karl, goes home on leave only to discover the degradation forced on his family by wartime poverty. He returns to the lines in time to face an enormous attack by French tanks.

A group of German infantrymen of the First World War live out their lives in the trenches of France. They find brief entertainment and relief in a village behind the lines, but primarily terror fills their lives as the attacks on and from the French army ebb and flow. One of the men, Karl, goes home on leave only to discover the degradation forced on his family by wartime poverty. He returns to the lines in time to face an enormous attack by French tanks.

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Explore Further

Westfront 1918 — Criterion Collection

Criterion release with essay on Pabst's pacifist war film and its innovative sound design.

Article
Westfront 1918: War Is Hell — Criterion Collection Current

Essay on Pabst's intimate depiction of WWI trench warfare and its immediate Nazi ban.

Article
MoMA | G. W. Pabst's Westfront 1918 — Museum of Modern Art

Analysis of Pabst's effective realism and brilliant use of sound in this anti-war film.

Article

Where to Watch

Watch on Criterion Channel
Streaming data by JustWatch

Cast

Fritz Kampers

Fritz Kampers

Der Bayer

Gustav Diessl

Gustav Diessl

Karl

Hans-Joachim Moebis

Hans-Joachim Moebis

Der Student

Claus Clausen

Claus Clausen

Der Leutnant

Gustav Püttjer

Gustav Püttjer

Der Hamburger

Vladimir Sokoloff

Vladimir Sokoloff

Proviantmeister

Jackie Monnier

Jackie Monnier

H

Hanna Hoessrich

Else Heller

Else Heller

Carl Ballhaus

Carl Ballhaus

Schlachtergeselle

A

Aribert Mog

A

André Saint-Germain

Ilse Trautschold

Ilse Trautschold

E

Emil Wabschke

Crew

Peter Martin Lampel

writer

Charles Métain

cinematographer

Alexander Laszlo

composer

Ladislaus Vajda

writer

Fritz Arno Wagner

cinematographer

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