Last month Netflix quietly released new images for their upcoming remake of All Quiet on the Western Front, and finally, ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the streamer has unveiled when moviegoers will be able to watch the German film in theaters and from the comfort of their own homes. The film, which Germany is sending to the Oscars, will arrive in theaters in Germany on September 29 and select global markets in October, before arriving on Netflix on October 28.
All Quiet on the Western Front is an adaptation of German author Erich Maria Remarque's novel by the same name, which was released in 1929 and promptly banned across Europe for its anti-war messaging and hailed by pacifists for that very reason. The novel has been adapted a number of times, including 1930—a year after the book's release—and in 1979. The story details a soldier's viewpoint from the trenches of World War I, which Remarque experienced firsthand. The film will follow the same premise as the novel and the Academy Award-winning adaptation from 1930 which starred Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray, Arnold Lucy, and Ben Alexander.
The new adaptation is directed by German filmmaker Edward Berger, who penned the screenplay with Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson. It stars Felix Kammerer as Paul Bäumer, the soldier at the center of the story who volunteers for the war effort alongside his classmates, which would have been expected of them. He quickly comes face to face with the horrors of war, and the never-ending tragedy that plays out in the midst of trench warfare. The cast also includes Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Moritz Klaus, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, Adrian Grünewald, Devid Striesow, Andreas Döhler, Sebastian Hülk, Alexander Schuster, Luc Feit, Michael Wittenborn, Michael Stange, André Marcon, Tobias Langhoff, and Anton von Lucke
The images that were released last month seem to indicate that Brühl will be appearing as Matthias Erzberger, who was the Minister of Finance in German from 1919 until 1920 when he was forced to resign from his position. He spoke out against the war and due to signing the armistice, which ended the war between Germany and Allied Powers, he was believed to be a traitor and assassinated in 1921. Given that the original novel was inspired by Remarque's own experiences during World War I, it makes sense that the film will incorporate real-life figures from that era.
All Quiet on the Western Front will premiere next week at TIFF, before arriving in German theaters on September 29, select global markets in October, and streaming worldwide on Netflix on October 28.