Criterion Collection: Westfront 1918 | Blu-ray Review

Criterion taps into the first wave of sound films from iconic German director G.W. Pabst which solidified the auteur’s reputation (and successful crossover from silent cinema) as one of the most prominent names amongst his contemporaries. Although he’s probably best remembered for his pair of Louise Brooks (the original It girl) starring titles such as the 1929 double whammy of Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, the Austrian born Pabst blazed into the new format with the WWI melodrama Westfront 1918, which focuses on four infantrymen stationed in France as they navigate surviving the trenches by day and frivolous revelries by night.

Of the four, we only learn the name of Karl (Gustav Diessl), who visits his family on leave only to discover his wife (Hanna Hoessrich) has been forced into sex work to get food. Treating her coldly and dismissively, Karl returns to the trenches, the sadness of his wife haunting him in the film’s tragic final frames. The others are known as the Bavarian (Fritz Kampers), the Lieutenant (Claus Clausen) and the Student (Hans Joachim-Mobis), each who have their own desires and worries briefly touched upon in their off-time. Pabst juxtaposes the extreme stress of the trenches with elated breaks in the village thanks to local entertainment. Clowns, musicians, and women provide the source of their distraction, while the battle sequences effectively convey the terror and destitution the men face (including one memorable sequence where they bury a Frenchman in the dirt after listening to his plaintive screams for hours prior).

An initial hit upon its release in 1930, Westfront 1918 was banned several years later by the rise of the Nazi propaganda regime, which found Pabst’s wartime realism to adversely affect morale (Pabst was one of the first to rightfully showcase war as hellacious). Historically, Pabst’s accomplishment provides a unique time capsule between the World Wars and from an oft blighted perspective considering Germany’s wartime atrocities in WWII.

Disc Review:

Criterion presents Westfront 1918 (the first Pabst title to join the collection since Pandora’s Box) as a new 2K digital restoration. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.19:1, the transfer was created from a 35mm dupe held by the BFI. The monaural soundtrack was also remastered from these same elements. Picture and sound quality are impressive considering the title’s age.

Les Dossiers de L’ecran:
Several French and German WWI veterans alongside two authors reflect on Westfront 1918 in this 1969 episode of the French television show Les dossiers de l’ecran, which aired on November 12.

Jan-Christopher Horak:
Director of the UCLA Film & Television archive, Jan-Christopher Horak reflects on the importance of Westfront 1918 in Pabst’s career during this seventeen-minute 2016 interview.

Jean Oser:
Jean Oser, who was the editor on Westfront 1918, recorded these audio responses to questions sent by film scholar Hermann Barth in 1988.

Restoration Demonstration:
An eight-minute demonstration shows how Westfront 1918 was restored.

Final Thoughts:

An early major accomplishment in sound cinema from Pabst (who would retain prominence throughout the 1940s thanks to several appearances at the Venice Film Festival), the exacting poignancy of Westfront 1918 transpires in its haunting final frames.

Film Review: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Review: ★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆