Erich Remarque He was just 18 years old when he was drafted into the German army to be on the front lines of the war. First World War. The horrors and his experiences in the trenches of the first global conflict marked him for life. Years later, in 1929, he would write the emblematic novel “No news at the front”considered one of the first anti-war best sellers of the 20th century, which was translated into more than thirty languages.
The latest adaptation from literature to film of the book premiered this week on the Netflix platform. The film directed by Edward Berger is starring felix kimmer, Michael Witterborn and has the special participation of Daniel Brühl (“Inglourious Basterds” and “Falcon and the Winter Soldier”). The film recounts life in the trenches of Paul Baumer, from the initial camaraderie, close to euphoria, before the battle, until the moment he experiences his first contact with death, fear and despair.
It is not the first transposition of the pacifist novel to the screen. Over the decades, the work of Erich Remarque had two previous adaptations, in different formats and at different times. In 1930, a year after the publication of the book, the first film based on the author’s story was released. Realized by Lewis Milestone and starring louis wolheimthe box office success allowed this film to obtain the Oscar for Best Film Y Best Directorin the third edition of the renowned awards.
However, the second adaptation of the best seller was not in theaters but on the small screen in 1979. The telefilm “No news at the front” of Delbert Mannstarring Ernest Borgnine and Richard Thomas , remained very faithful to the novel with excellent reviews. The TV movie was the award winner Golden Globe for Best Movie for TV and received a Emmy for Best Editing in 1980.
On the other hand, the life of the writer Erich Remarque (pseudonym of Erich Remarke) apart from the war, literary and cinematographic experiences, it was not calm either. The resounding success of her first work catapulted him to international fame, but also to political persecution. The consolidated Nazi party positioned him as an enemy of the German cause, he burned his books, and he was forced into exile, along with his wife, the actress Ilse Zambona, to Switzerland. In 1939, they decide to flee the old continent and settle in the United States.
In American lands, the personal life of the German writer takes an unexpected turn. His fame for some of his books taken to movie theaters as “Triumphal Arch” Y “Time to live, time to diewithout surpassing the success of his first novel, I place him in a privileged place within the jet set.
It is at that time, he divorces his wife and begins to have notorious affair with renowned movie stars from the golden age of Hollywood. Marlene Dietrich, Dolores del Rio, Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman, according to the tabloids, were the women who were romantically linked to the artist.
His most enduring relationship was with French actress Paulette Godard. The ex-wife of the actor and filmmaker Charles Chaplin, maintained the courtship with the writer until 1958, the year in which they married. The relationship continued until the novelist’s death in Locarno in 1970. The writer’s legacy still endures in the seventh art, in literature and in these times, so complex for humanity.
Image gallery
