Educational Media Reviews Online

This video gives background and commentary on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel of World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front. Students will hear the insights of Remarque’s biographers and other scholars, while seeing footage of World War I (as well as portions of the 1979 movie version of the novel). The video examines the nature of industrialized warfare, Remarque’s own experiences, the circumstances that produced the novel, the events of the novel, and the Nazis’ hatred for the work and its author. The technical quality is very good, and the cinematography will keep students’ interest (no lengthy, unbroken monologues from the academics).

The “Video Index” and “Thematic Units” give the teacher the ability to play only a certain portion of the video. It would be easy to use only the material on Remarque’s life, or Germany circa World War I, for example. The pre-viewing and post-viewing questions (one each) that accompany the thematic units are appropriate for the intended audience (grades 6-12). “Teacher Resources” points to the Discovery Channel School Web site, and to the 12-page pamphlet of additional questions and activities that comes with the DVD.

Discovery Channel School’s All Quiet on the Western Front would be valuable for those who have read the work as well as those who have not, and would be equally fitting for the literature or history classroom.