Movie Remake Kiss, Marry, Kill

As every man, I am a lover of war history. I love reading about it, I love watching movies and documentaries about it, and I love seeing how war presents itself in fiction and how war media changes over the course of history. Right now, I am researching this topic in my German Film class and focusing on "All Quiet on the Western Front". The original story was written by German author Erich Maria Remarque (read the Wikipedia for this guy!) and published in 1928. It follows a band of young German soldiers who are serving on the front lines of WWI. The novel was almost immediately banned as the Weimar Republic fell and the Nazi party came into power. However, the story was a smash hit as it became one of if not the most popular anti-war stories to date. America was quick to adapt it into a film, only two years later in 1930 did "All Quiet on the Western Front" come to life on the screen. In 1979 America released a remake, this time in color. Eventually, Germany released another remake in 2022 as a Netflix original. Since there are so many movies of the same story, I will be playing a game of "Kiss, Marry, Kill" to explain what I think about them as anti-war movies compared to the book.

Kiss: 1930 Version, Lewis Milestone

The original movie adaptation, the 1930 version, is full of Transatlantic accents and cartoonish reactions to old time bomb FX. Filmed in black and white, the pallid soldiers and lusterless landscape are really emphasized. Watching this was like flipping through a photo album of real stills from WWI. Despite the somber appearance, the characters are a bit unserious, almost caricatures of the people they play in the books. They really play into stereotypes, with the boys overacting in the beginning to show how young and naive they really are, jumping on desks and singing, acting like mice when they first get to the front, and so on. Wisdom and experience between characters is emphasized through age gaps as well as acting, especially in Kat's character, which was a bit jarring as rather than being the boys' friend, he is almost more like a grandfather. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the practical effects, the explosions and gun fire as well as the lighting in battle scenes, conveyed brilliantly despite the lack of color. I think this movie had the best cinematography out of all three (considering the time it was made), everything feels intentional; for example, the opening scenes of people parading the streets of their town turns into soldiers marching and storming the trenches. Another thing I think this version did well was balancing screen time between showing relationships and character interactions, as well as war action. It was able to flow fluidly between these two sides of the main character, showing just how much the war has become intwined with his personal life, which the book also does effortlessly. This version earns just a kiss because I found the acting to be a bit too obnoxious, reminiscent of slapstick comedy, which I don't think translates well into an anti-war film, but I understand that it is a product of its time and place (Hollywood), so it had to be highly censored and entertaining. P.S. A movie that is extremely similar to this version is Bernhard Vicki's 1959 film "The Bridge".

Marry: 2022 Version, Edward Berger

The special effects and realism set this version apart from the older versions. With a Netflix budget as well as modern technology, this movie is digital rather than film, which some may find artificial, but I think in the sense of a war movie it makes it more immersive. Real film makes it obvious that you are watching a movie, it has a nostalgic, dream-like quality that makes it feel like you are watching a memory play out. In the case of an anti-war movie, I think it's important to be realistic and high quality, so no details are left out. The makeup, set, and costumes are also very realistic and historically accurate, making for a gory atmosphere as the horrors of war play out in a way I imagine are as accurate to WWI as possible. The score is also beautiful, gracefully accompanying a heavy atmosphere with sweet, somber, and nostalgic sounds. This soundtrack includes a "Da Da Dun" bass sound effect that has become a popular sound effect. This marriage would probably end up in a divorce because this version has a heavy focus on warfare, and less on the characters and their relationships, something that is crucial to the depth of the book and an aspect that made it easier to get through despite all of the tragedy and horror. However, bonus points to this film for actually being German produced and directed, as it's interesting to see how a German perspective chooses to focus on the anti-war aspects of the story above all.

Kill: 1979 Version, Delbert Mann

My favorite thing about this version was the color grading and campiness of the cinematography, which seems unintentional but makes it so much better. Some of the scenes could be straight out of a Lady Gaga music video if it weren't for the warm tones (popular in late 70's-early 80's Hollywood) of hazy oranges, greens, and browns. This movie has a heavy focus on the individual characters and their relationships, emphasizing the theme of brotherhood. The main character narrates word for word from the novel and the plot plays out almost identically. What is exciting about watching movie adaptations is seeing how the director chooses to stylize and interpret stories, turning them into a unique works of art that explore certain parts of the story that can be brought out more through visual and audible media. This movie is a bit shallow in that sense, as there is no difference; the movie isn't worth watching if you've read the book. I would avoid watching it, so it doesn't ruin how the story looked in your head. My initial thought after watching the introduction scene was "wow, this was very clearly made to show in high school English classes so students who didn't read the book can still participate in the Socratic seminar," ultimately making this version a kill for me. Although, if you have read the book and are looking for a laugh (because of how unserious and ridiculous some of the scenes are), definitely give this movie a try.

Shout out Mick Clegg (DJ for Car Radio) as they asked me this question on Kiss, Marry, Kill the "All Quiet on the Western Front" movies. Who knows, maybe I will use this prompt again for a future blog...

Images sourced from Pinterest and films.