All Quiet on the Western Front: A BBC Radio Drama

De: Erich Maria Remarque

Narrado por: Robert Lonsdale, Simon Trinder, Full Cast

A full-cast dramatisation of one of the greatest war novels of all time.

First published as a novel in 1929, All Quiet on the Western Front tells the story of a group of young German soldiers who are enduring, and then coming to terms with, the realities of the First World War.

At the age of 19, following the outbreak of the First World War, Paul Bäumer enlists in the German Army. He is deployed to the Western Front, where the experience of life and death in the trenches has an enormous effect on him. He begins to feel disconnected from his past life: his family, his love of poetry, and his feelings. As the war progresses, Paul becomes increasingly lost in battle.

Haunting yet comic, lyrical yet desperate, the novel became a best seller on its original publication. It inspired an Oscar-winning film of the same name, and has been adapted for television and stage. This powerful radio dramatisation stars Robert Lonsdale as Paul Bäumer, with a supporting cast including Simon Trinder, Stephen Critchlow, Carolyn Pickles, and Malcolm Tierney.

©2014 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2014 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Powerful and realistic.

There’s a reason this is recommended reading. This brief novel transports you into WWI trench warfare with all its fire and camaraderie. Some scenes are very like the movie 1917 which makes sense. I especially enjoyed the individual characters engaging with one another in the contrasting situations of tense battles and even fun youthful flirtation with local women.

Read the book before you listen to this.

It was really well dramatized but like in movies it was so condensed that the majority of the magic was muted because they sped through scenes that in my mind lasted hours.
This is really good if you want to refresh yourself on the events but not good as an introduction to the story itself.

Loved It!!

Should be required listening/reading! Amazing performance. Keep me mesmerized and transfixed. Will recommend it to my family.

Good Synopsis

As others have mentioned, this is really well done but is a poor substitute for reading or listening to the whole book. This is a good refresher, and it is performed well by the entire cast, but should not be used if you have not already read this book before.

Moving

The dramatization including the sound effects helped connect me with the reality. My father, a World War Two combat veteran who fought in Italy, was wounded at Anzio. Like so many veterans, he spoke little about the war. We keep having wars. The cost. We keep bearing the cost in suffering. So sad.

What were they thinking!?

This is the worst adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front I know about. Other reviews I've read say that it lacks the heart of the original novel and I couldn't agree more. One thing I dislike about this version is the language used. Every other word is a swear word, or immersion breaking British slang. The 1927 English translation has this issue as well, but it's to a far lesser extent and it's easier to suspend your disbelief with that. What made the few funny scenes in the novel actually funny was the clever writing and euphemisms. This version tries WAY too hard to be edgy and unnecessarily vulgar. Another thing I dislike is that the writing tells more than it shows. For example, Paul and his friends TELL us about Himmelstoss being a control freak, but nowhere in this version are we SHOWN Himmelstoss being a control freak at the training camp. Without proper context, it's like the boys are picking on him for no reason. I'm extremely grateful that I listened to this at my local library instead of wasting money or credits on it. I'm a huge All Quiet on the Western Front fan, so I'm familiar with almost every adaptation. I put off this one for a long time because judging by the short length and other reviews I mentioned, I knew it wasn't going to be good, and I was right. I had to write this review to warn people. If you're a mega fan like me, avoid this version. If this is your first time experiencing All Quiet on the Western Front, also avoid. Go read/listen to the original novel, or watch any of the film adaptations. This makes the disappointing Netflix version look like a masterpiece like the 1930 and 1979 adaptations before it.

Audio of a bad movie version

This sounds like the audio of a bad movie version. Do it properly and listen to the UNABRIDGED book version. This doesn’t have the diary style great writing NOR the famous line at the end! “Not a sound on the Western front”?! Are you kidding?!?!

Just listen to the book

Too much was cut, the voice acting is nice but not only is it shortened far too much but it butchers the final lines