Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St. in Wilton, will show silent version of the World War I classic “All Quiet on the Western Front” Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.
The picture took home the 1930 Academy Awards for Outstanding Production (the forerunner of today’s Best Picture award), as well as “Best Director” for Lewis Milestone. The silent version of the movie, shown in theaters not yet equipped for sound, will be shown with live music by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” is an anti-war epic based on a 1929 novel by German writer Erich Maria Remarque. The film follows a group of German schoolboys who are talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War I by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young German recruits, and highlights the tragedy of war through the eyes of individuals.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” uses an ensemble cast featuring Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray, Arnold Lucy and Ben Alexander. Considered a realistic and harrowing account of warfare in World War I, the movie opened to widespread acclaim in the United States, but it was banned in several countries, including Germany, because of its pacifist message.
Because the film was released during the transition from silent films to “talkies,” a silent version with intertitles was also made, to be shown in theaters that did not yet have equipment for movies with sound. The silent version was also distributed in non-English-speaking countries.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1990, and made the American Film Institute’s first “100 Years…100 Movies” list in 1997.
Admission is free, and a donation of $10 per person is suggested to help defray expenses. For information, visit wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call 603-654-3456.