10 Most Ambitious War Films Ever Made

All Quiet on the Western Front premiered in 1930 and was one of the earliest anti-war films ever produced. The film tracks World War I in epic detail, especially for a movie of this era. It follows the story of a group of German schoolboys whipped up into a patriotic frenzy by their nationalistic school teacher. They are inspired to join the war effort. Of course, they soon find that war is a gruesome and violent affair, and they are quickly disillusioned. It's basically the Great War equivalent of Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers.

All Quiet on the Western Front practically invented the modern-day war drama, with many of its conventions having popped up in later films like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan.

It was also one of the first war epics to have the benefit of sound. The director, Lewis Milestone, used the haunting sound of exploding shells to drive his characters mad. We may not think much of sound effects these days. But, imagine only experiencing silent films then walking into this movie and hearing actual bombs exploding in the theater.

The film cost 1.25 million dollars to make. Doesn't sound like much, but remember this was 1930, and it was the height of the Great Depression. It would be around 19 million dollars today, and for the time it was one of the most expensive films ever made. Filmmakers cleared 20 acres of land on a California ranch to create the epic battle scenes. Milestone also hired over 2000 ex-servicemen to act as extras.