has anybody seen the original 1930 version ???

I will, thanks.

You have an obnoxiously long signature.

I saw the 1979 version first, and I like it a lot more than the 1930 version. The 1930 must have been very powerful for its time, considering it was made in a period when there weren't much large scale war films, and if there were, they used to portray war in glorified terms.

Today though the film is a bit dated. The Trench warfare scenes tend to get played out on high speed, making it look like a Benny Hill skit rather than a war film. The acting is also rather poor in some places (although the actor who played Kat was very good), especially the actor who plays Paul Baumer, who delivers lines in either a "Gee Whiz" fashion or speaks his lines in a wooden, stilted manner. It easy to understand why, because 'talkies' were rather new in 1930, having been around for less than 5 years. As a result, the actors tend to overact and shout their lines, as acting techniques had not yet caught up with the advances in filming technology. Plus sound recording was rather poor in those early days too. Essentially it was a modern sound film, acted out as if it were a silent movie.

I also prefered the way that the 1979 film was much more subtle. In the 1930 version when Paul returns to civilian life, he launches into these solioquies after having confronted his teacher and family about the war - witness the scene before he leaves his mother for the war - it's almost as if he's talking to the camera. In the 1979 version, its much more restrained, and as a result it's much more effective. In the newer version, Paul's face does the talking, while the infrequent voice overs don't seem to be as intrusive as the original's need to have Paul's every thought and feeling spoken out aloud.

I don't want to insult the original film, and I can appreciate that it was highly original and brilliant for its time, but today, as a work of entertainment, I much prefer the 1979 version over the 1930 one.

The 1930 version is a film classic, whose reputation comes far before it, and continues to influence filmmakers that watch it. The 1979 version owes immensely to the original film, and its even-more-revisionist style and presentation are the result of forty extra years of filmmaking and attitude adjustment. That said, the 1979 version is quite well done, and quite well-acted for a television movie of the late-seventies era. Its generally good production values ensure that it will continue to look good far into the future.