{"id":24654,"date":"2022-10-27T12:31:29","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T10:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1729076"},"modified":"2022-10-27T13:01:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T11:01:13","slug":"all-quiet-on-the-western-front-star-on-fascinating-true-story-of-character","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-star-on-fascinating-true-story-of-character\/","title":{"rendered":"All Quiet on the Western Front star on \u201cfascinating\u201d true story of character"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 27 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Erich Maria Remarque\u2019s classic World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front is certainly no stranger to adaptation \u2013 having been turned into an Oscar-winning film in 1930 and then an acclaimed TV movie in 1979.<\/p>\n

But the new version which arrives on Netflix<\/a> this week\u00a0is different from previous adaptations in a number of ways. This is the first time the book has been adapted in its original German language, for one, but also the script includes a number of additional plotlines that don\u2019t feature anywhere in the novel.<\/p>

One of these storylines follows the very real historical figure Matthias Erzberger, a German writer and politician who had long spoken out against the war and was desperate to secure an armistice with the Allied powers.<\/p>\n

Erzberger is played in the film by Daniel Br\u00fchl, and speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a>, the MCU star explained that he found it \u201cfascinating\u201d to dig into his character\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI read his biography because I was shocked at how little we learned at school about this man who was so important in our history,\u201d he said. \u201cA very brave and admirable man from southern Germany, climbing up the ladder and ending up in high politics in Berlin, and very early on, you know, fighting and attacking the policy of the Reich, protesting against their colonial politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was targeted very early on, but was never intimidated and was persistent and had a lot of courage,\u201d he added. \u201cSo I read about this man and I found this biography to be absolutely fascinating \u2013 and it was important to capture that.\u201d<\/p>\n