All Quiet on the Western Front

1  EXT. WOODS, FRANCE 1917 - DAWN 1 
Softly LAPPING WATER. A creek running over roots, grass swaying in the stream. Ferns softly RUSTLE in the wind. 
THUMP. A pine cone falls on the ground. Another one. And another one 
A peaceful, mild spring morning. Peaceful. LOW RUMBLE OF THUNDER in the distance. It's very quiet. Too quiet. 
INTERCUT WITH:

2  INT. FOX DEN - DAY 2 
A narrow shaft of light falls into the fox den, from the entrance of the tunnel. The dirt is damp. And a soft noise. 
SCRATCHING. SMACKING. SOFT WHIMPERS. 
The vixen feeds her young, who greedily suckle at her teats. The twigs and berries beside them. 
Then, we hear it again. A distant RUMBLE OF THUNDER, followed by a noticeable TREMOR. A little dirt trickles from the ceiling. Light falls on the young family, like a painting of the Madonna. 
The vixen ignores it, wholly absorbed by her litter. She licks their fur and lets them suckle. It's soft and fuzzy and full of love... 
... when suddenly: A SHORT, SHARP, SHRILL tone. 
BOOOOM! The world explodes. Everything goes BLACK. The fox den has ceased to exist.

3  EXT. LATIERRE / TRENCH - DAY 3 
A trench -- about 8 feet deep. Walls of earth and clay. The bottom is mud and dirt. 
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. 
Deafening NOISE. A hellish barrage of gunfire. Metal shrapnel perforates the wood posts like butter. 
Hundreds of shells explode around the GERMAN SOLDIERS, hurling piles of dirt into the air. Ruthless. Destructive. Random. 
We pan over dozens of bodies: Young SOLDIERS lying in the dirt, hugging the walls of the trench. 
They hope against hope they will survive the next seconds. That's all it's ever about: Surviving the next seconds.

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 2. 3 CONTINUED: 3

BOOM! A DIRECT HIT.
The trench explodes in a cloud of dirt, smoke and death.

Bodies fly through the air, landing in the reeking water. Over the SCREAMS of the wounded -- amid a crescendo of noise and chaos -- we hear barked orders across the front lines:

SERGEANT (O.S.)

ATTACK... ATTACK!

ANGLE ON the frightened face of a SOLDIER: HEINRICH GERBER -- no older than 18. His hands clutch a rifle, his knuckles stand out white as a ghost, his bayonet is mounted.

The SERGEANT appears, drags Gerber to the ladder.

SERGEANT (CONT'D) Come on, Heinrich!!! Let's go!

BOOM! A shell hits the trench. Soldiers hurry by.

SERGEANT (CONT'D) On my orders. Charge!!!

A shrill WHISTLE and WAR CRY arises along the front line. A young 16-YEAR-OLD RECRUIT, looks at him, trembling... Heinrich nods at him.

HEINRICH GERBER It'll be OK!

Before we can catch our breath, HEINRICH climbs up the ladder behind the RECRUIT, out of the German trench, right into the MG barrage whipping at them from the French lines.

RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT!

The RECRUIT and a dozen other men are hit and hurled back into the trench like dominos.

Heinrich stands at the top of the ladder. Trembling, he turns around to see the young RECRUIT bleeding to death in the mud, shot in the head.

SOLDIERS (O.S.) Keep going!

SERGEANT Go on, Gerber. Go!

The next wave of Soldiers throngs up from below, forcing Heinrich up the ladder, onto the the roiling battlefield. The Sergeant drives him onward.

SERGEANT (CONT'D) Go, go, go!

(CONTINUED)

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Heinrich fights his way through the heavy mud which sucks at his boots and slows him down. Past the tentacles of barbed wire, in which disfigured bodies hang.

BOOM! A shell hits a few yards off, hurling dirt and mud over us. Heinrich keeps on running.

He staggers and runs, bowing low, shitting bricks. He fights against overwhelming nausea as shells blow new craters around us. A No Man's Land of death and madness, pocked with craters like the moon.

Heinrich runs, ducking low, his bayonet in his hand, searching for cover where there is none, as his FELLOW SOLDIERS are fall in a hail of bullets.

He ducks behind a blasted tree stump, tries to catch his breath.

SERGEANT (O.S.) (CONT'D) Gerber... Gerber!

The Sergeant's voice reaches us weakly through the BATTLE NOISES... The NCO lies in the mud, hit, reaching his arms out toward us, imploringly.

Heinrich crawls back toward him.

He reaches his hand out to him and drags him along, but then MG FIRE riddles the ground, first the tree stump and then hits the wounded Sergeant in the cheek.

Blood spatters in Heinrich's face. He fights back his panic, while there's a WHISTLE behind him, as the second wave of GERMAN SOLDIERS charges out of the trench.

BANG. BANG. BANG. CLICK. Heinrich empties his clip and drops his bayonet. He desperately grabs a trench shovel, summoning all his courage.

He charges at the enemy trench, SCREAMING, from where HUNDREDS OF FRENCHMEN charge at us with bayonets out.

Heinrich raises his shovel, PANTING. Unleashes a primeval WAR CRY. Like a wild animal.

The enemy comes closer and closer. Then Heinrich STRIKES. Right at his enemy's neck.

WHACK!

SMASH TO BLACK:

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 4.

4 EXT. BEHIND GERMAN LINES / MASS GRAVE - DUSK

4

An open-bed truck on the edge of a makeshift cemetery, SOLDIERS are unloading the bodies of German recruits. One of them is Heinrich Gerber, a bloody wound in his chest.

They unbutton his uniform jacket and toss his uniform the pile. The boots land on another pile.

Coffins of a mass grave piled up in BG.

5  EXT. BEHIND GERMAN LINES / TRAIN TRACKS - DAY 
A freight train along a railroad embankment. The dead uniforms in bundles in a boxcar. WOUNDED SOLDIERS are on beside them.

6  EXT. TEXTILE FACTORY, GERMANY - DAY

onto

5

men's loaded

6

An open-bed truck, piled high with military uniforms, pulls up outside a factory. Bundles of dirty uniforms are tossed on a hand cart.

7  INT. TEXTILE FACTORY WASH ROOM, GERMANY - DAY 7 
A load of uniforms is dumped into a huge trough full of hot soapy water. The suds turn red. A strong WOMAN stirs the vat.

8  INT. TEXTILE FACTORY DRYING ROOM, GERMANY - DAY 8

A pile of half-dry, washed uniforms hang

Water drips into puddles beneath them. A and collects the uniforms.

from a drying line. WASHERWOMAN comes

9 INT. TEXTILE FACTORY HALL, GERMANY - DAY
...which are wheeled down the hall in a hand cart.

9

10 INT. TEXTILE FACTORY, GERMANY - DAY 10 ...into a room with SEAMSTRESSES at sewing machines.

A young SEAMSTRESS (14) takes a pile of clothes and returns to her sewing machine. She examines a uniform jacket: A narrow slit stabbed into the chest.

She starts sewing. WHIRRRR. The sewing machine RATTLES. CLOSE ON: The collar name tag reads HEINRICH GERBER.

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11  EXT. COUNTRY ROAD, GERMANY - DAY 11 
A bicyclist pedals along the road: PAUL BÄUMER, 18 years old. A skinny young man with a sincere face and a school book bag on his bicycle cargo rack. 
The textile factory truck roars up from behind, HONKS briefly, swerves and passes the young man. 
Uniforms piled up on the back of the truck -- laundered and neatly folded. A VETERAN with a cigarette beside them, missing an arm and half his face. 
Paul Bäumer watches him go, a shadow of doubt on his face seeing the broken man. He gets a grip on himself and keeps pedaling.

12  EXT. SMALL TOWN / ALLEY - DAY 12 Paul rides his bike through town.

13  EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 13 
Paul pedals down an alley and parks his bike against a wall. With lowered gaze, he takes his school bag and follows the throng of STUDENTS to the auditorium. 
A few of his FRIENDS call to him among the hullabaloo. 
KROPP Paul...? Paul! 
ALBERT KROPP (19), a farmer's son who made it to the college- track Gymnasium prep school. He may be a little thick, but he's full of verve for life. Strong, tough, down to earth, with rough milking hands. He's very traditional. 
FRANZ MÜLLER (19) is more oriented toward the future. He likes progress and the finer things in life. He's well-spoken and a Ladies' man, always has a comb in his pocket. 
Then there's LUDWIG BEHM (18), the runt of the gang. A pale, skinny, somewhat fearful guy. A dreamer with glasses. 
KROPP (CONT'D) 
Well?
Paul shakes his head in resignation. Kropp and Müller GROAN. 
KROPP (CONT'D)
Now what? Does he know we're all 
going? 
PAUL Sure.

(CONTINUED)

13 CONTINUED:

13

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 6.

BEHM
Are you staying home?

KROPP
For Christ's sake, are you supposed

to stay here hugging your mommy's apron?

MÜLLER Gimme that.

Müller sticks his hand out for the school bag. Paul is shaken by what Kropp said. He's a lot of things, but definitely no mama's boy.

MÜLLER (CONT'D) Give it to me. I'll sign it.

BEHM
His parents have to sign.

MÜLLER
But they didn't, so gimme that.

BEHM
You can't. They'll notice.

KROPP
How? Is your daddy their pen pal?

Paul seems to hesitate for a moment. He finally opens his book bag. CLACK.

He gets out a pen and paper -- his Army volunteer form. He places the form on the book bag and starts to sign... nothing. Out of ink.

He turns to his friends, cursing.

PAUL Gimme your pen.

Kropp doesn't have one. Neither does Müller. Behm eyes him skeptically.

BEHM
You're gonna be in hot water. He'll

give you a thrashing.

KROPP
Oh, shut up, Ludwig.

PAUL
You got a better idea? I'm not

gonna be the only one to stay behind!

(CONTINUED)

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13  CONTINUED:
(2) 13 
Behm SIGHS and hands him a pen. Paul quickly kneels and scribbles a signature on the piece of paper. 
He stands up again quickly. A weight falls off his shoulders. Kropp puts an arm around him. 
KROPP Congratulations, Private Bäumer. 
You're headed to the front. 
PAUL (mumbles) 
I'm a dead man. 
The gang of friends heads for the staircase, where the truck is parked at the cargo ramp. The veteran is unloading the uniforms with two other soldiers.

14  INT. SCHOOL / STRAIRS - DAY 14 
A big staircase. The STUDENTS crowd the steps, Paul and his three buddies among them, holding their marching orders to the front lines, a sense of grand adventure on their faces. They can't wait to become soldiers. 
The teachers stand at the back in the hall, looking proud. The PRINICIPAL (61) stands on the top flight, a short, wiry guy with a big handlebar mustache, giving a fiery speech. 
PRINCIPAL
You stand on the threshold to 
becoming men. This is a moment you will always remember. It's a great moment, by which you will be judged for the rest of your life, what you have dared to become today... the Iron Youth of Germany! 
The Principal scans the young men's faces. From the corner of his eye, he sees two pupils shoving each other around. 
PRINCIPAL (CONT'D)
My dear boys! We're fortunate to 
life in such a great time. Your deeds will form the ground water for a strong new root to grow, carrying the flowers and fruits of a glorious future. 
(to the two quarreling kids) 
Stand still and listen, Leinemann! 
The Kaiser needs soldiers, not children. 
The two pupils snap to attention. The Principal's authority is beyond doubt. He continues with his speech -- the little interruption fills him with even more verve.

(CONTINUED)

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14  CONTINUED:
14 
PRINCIPAL (CONT'D) I'm sure I will see most of you 
again soon, your sword returned to its scabbard with honor, an Iron Cross on your pride-filled chest. 
Paul Bäumer. Albert Kropp. Franz Müller. Ludwig Behm... The friends stand side by side. They all listen to their Principal with bated breath.

15  INT. SCHOOL / HALLS - DAY 15 The Principal's voice echoes down the halls. 
PRINCIPAL
But have no doubt: In the darkest 
hours before an attack, you may also be haunted by doubt.

16  INT. SCHOOL / CLASSROOM - DAY 16 
Through empty classrooms, where open books wait for eager students. 
PRINCIPAL
But this is no time for weakness of 
character! Any doubt, any hesitation is treason to your homeland.

17  INT. SCHOOL / CELLAR - DAY 17

...through a bare cellar, where the tired veteran with the smashed face SMOKES his cigarette.

PRINCIPAL
Absolute obedience is the most

important thing of all in modern warfare, which is like a game of chess, which is never about the individual, always about the whole.

18 INT. SCHOOL / STAIRS - DAY
BACK TO STAIRS: The Principal wraps up his speech.

PRINCIPAL
You will prove yourselves worthy of

wearing this uniform and break through the enemy front in Flanders. And within a few weeks, you will finally be marching on Paris!

18

(CONTINUED)

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18  CONTINUED:
18 
The boys can't hide a proud smile. The Principal looks them in the eye. 
PRINCIPAL (CONT'D)
Our future -- the future of Germany 
-- lies in the hands of its Greatest Generation... My dear boys: That's you! Off to battle you go! For our Kaiser. Our God. And our Fatherland. 
ROARS OF APPLAUSE from the pupils and teachers -- it was a good speech. The young men toss their caps and leaflets in the air, which sail down the stairwell. Paul and his friends hug in joy.

19  INT. SCHOOL / AUDITORIUM - DAY 19 
OFFICERS sit at a row of desks. Long lines of students in underwear, volunteering for war. The piles of uniforms in BG.

Next!

ARMY RECRUITER (O.S.)

The line of pupils advances. Paul has a hard time hiding his excitement, while Franz Müller and Albert Kropp are already proudly carrying off their uniforms. Then the line finally advances.

Next!

ARMY RECRUITER (O.S.) (CONT'D)

Then it's Paul's turn. Excited, he presents his draft notice to an OFFICER, who reads it without looking up.

ARMY RECRUITER (CONT'D) (without looking up)

Bäumer, Paul. Meadow Vale 53, born 18.11.98. Is that right?

PAUL Yessir, Officer Sir!

The Officer flips over the form and checks the parents' signature. He takes an ink stamp. WHAP. All good.

ARMY RECRUITER Chest size?

Paul gapes at him, dumbstruck. The officer shrugs, hands him a uniform off the pile and notes the size in a list.

ARMY RECRUITER (CONT'D) Here. Your father can be proud of

you.

(CONTINUED)

19 CONTINUED:

19

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 10.

PAUL Yes, he can.

ARMY RECRUITER Are you okay?

PAUL
Mmhm. I just wanna get going.

Paul takes his uniform and is just leaving, when he sees the name tag sewn into the collar.

He quickly returns to the desk, where the recruiter is already busy with the next RECRUIT.

PAUL (CONT'D)
Excuse me, Sir, this uniform already

belongs to someone.

The officer takes the uniform jacket from Paul the name tag. Then he hands it back.

ARMY RECRUITER
Didn't fit him right. Happens all

the time.

PAUL Thank you, Sir.

Paul heads off, relieved. The name tag remains floor: HEINRICH GERBER.

20 INT. SCHOOL / STOREROOM - DAY

Paul enters a storeroom off the hall, carrying uniform.

and tears off

behind on the

20 the new

He puts on his uniform: It fits, even if it's a little big. Ludwig Behm stands beside him, with his bare, scrawny chest. He can't entirely hide his doubts.

CHURCH BELLS RING in the distance.

21  INT. SMALL TOWN / CHURCH TOWER - DAY 21 
DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG. The church bells ring in the belfry... a grand send-off.

22  EXT. SMALL TOWN / CHURCH SQUARE - DAY 22 
The church square of the small town. It's empty, except for a few PASSERS-BY, mostly WOMEN and CHILDREN with a few OLD MEN. We spot the young RECRUITS in the distance, in a crack between two houses.

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23  EXT. SMALL TOWN / STREET - DAY 23 
They march out of town in lockstep, rifles slung over their shoulders. The CHURCH BELLS drown out their MARCHING SONG. 
RECRUITS 
Tomorrow we march
To the farmers night quarters. A cup of tea, sugar and coffee, A cup of tea, sugar and coffee, and a glass of wine, and a glass of wine! 
Franz Müller looks at a few GIRLS, waving among the onlookers by the side of the rod. He grins and dances out of line, full of excitement, adventure and joy. 
MÜLLER 
A cup of tea, sugar and coffee, sugar and coffee... 
Paul, Müller, Kropp and Behm -- ruddy-cheeked, booming voices. Everyone sings along with their fellows. They all march off to war together... what an adventure.

24  EXT. POPLAR-LINED AVENUE, GERMANY - DAY 24 
A poplar-lined avenue along the road, their tips swaying in the wind. The recruits march down the road. 
RECRUITS 
Tomorrow we march
To the farmers night quarters. And when I leave, my girl will grieve, And when I leave, my girl will grieve and will cry, and will cry.

The young men march into the distance. Their the fields.

25 EXT. TROOP VAN, WESTERN FRONT - DAY 25 Behind the lines of the Western Front, Northern France.

An open troop transport truck rumbles down the muddy road to the front. Paul and his friends sit in the back, with their rifles and knapsacks, amid two dozen new recruits. Expectation is written all over the young men's faces. The bright spring sun pierces the clouds.

KA-CHACK. LIEUTENANT HOPPE (37) has planted himself before them, a Prussian officer with a dirty mouth, a tough guy with a heart of gold.

song wafts over CUT TO:

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 12. 25 CONTINUED: 25

He pushes his way through the recruits and inspects one rifle after the other. Müller's rifle is spotless. He hands it back wordlessly.

Albert Kropp is next. The Lieutenant pulls back the bolt -- KA-CHAK... He stares. Dirty. He holds it under Kropp's nose.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE What's your name, Private?

KROPP
Kropp. Albert Kropp, Lieutenant,

Sir.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
Do you like dirty girls, Kropp?

KROPP
...? No, Sir, Lieutenant, Sir.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (indicates the bolt)

So why do you sleep with one...? Report for guard duty at 3 a.m.!

The Lieutenant tosses the rifle to Kropp, who only barely catches it. Ludwig Behm is next. KA-CHAK.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Gentlemen! You are fighting in a

God-forsaken pile of sh*t, so you better do it with a clean Mauser!

Paul digs out a handkerchief and cleans his barrel quickly. The Lieutenant stands before him already.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Your life as you knew it is over.

Your rifle is your girl now. You are married to your rifle. You will pamper your rifle. You will love your rifle. And God damn it, you will keep it spotless as the thighs of the Holy Virgin! You got it?

Yes, Sir!

RECRUITS ON TRUCK

LIEUTENANT HOPPE Welcome to the 78th Infantry

Reserve Regiment. You are now on the Western Front.

RECRUITS ON TRUCK Welcome to Paris!

(CONTINUED)

25 CONTINUED:
(2)

25

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 13.

Albert Kropp clutches his rifle in his arms, grinning. He licks it... The soldiers are brimming with enthusiasm. They laugh and nudge each other.

Hoppe lets them and hands his Mauser back to Paul. Clean. KA- CHAK.

26 EXT. FIELD HOSPITAL - DAY 26

A temporary field hospital set up behind the front in a bombed-out farm house. SOLDIERS are unloaded from individual trucks, bloody and mutilated: Ambulances, horse carriages, cars.

NURSES and MEDICS place the wounded in rows in the mud. The hospital is overcrowded. The only ray of light are a few FEMALE NURSES.

An ARMY DOCTOR (50) comes out of the gate with his ASSISTANT to the street, looking exhausted. He flags down the arriving truck and waves it toward --

THE YARD.

The truck pulls up. The ARMY DOCTOR marches back toward the Lieutenant in charge.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
What's up? My orders are to deliver

this company to the front by 6 pm.

ARMY DOCTOR
Which you will, but on foot. We

need this vehicle, Lieutenant!

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
I'm sorry, but my orders are --

ARMY DOCTOR
You can shove your orders where the

sun don't shine. I've got forty men here dying in the mud. Get off that Goddamn truck!

The Lieutenant stops objecting and turns to his recruits.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE Dismount! Double time! Let's go!

Your heard the Doctor.

ARMY DOCTOR
Thank you, Lieutenant. You're

saving people's lives. We'll take the wounded back to Laon.

Lt. Hoppe jumps off the truck and nods. He goes to the back of the truck, where the men are climbing off.

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 14. 26 CONTINUED: 26

They clutch their hands to their mouth and nose, against the smell of carbolic and gangrene. Behm stares at the injured. Paul drags him off.

PAUL Come on, Ludwig.

He looks around for reassurance from a NURSE, kneeling among the wounded soldiers.

Lt. Hoppe grabs a dismounting recruits's bayonet -- the blade is saw-toothed on the blunt side.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE What the hell is this, Soldier?

RECRUIT FIELD HOSPITAL A bayonet, Lieutenant, Sir.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
Are you shitting me? What are you

gonna do with this?

RECRUIT FIELD HOSPITAL Stab the enemy, Lieutenant, Sir?

The Lieutenant loses his patience and hisses at the man.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
This is a saw blade, Soldier. If

the enemy catches you with one of these, they will mutilate you. First they will saw your nose off. Then they will gouge your eyes out. And they they will stuff your throat with sawdust, so you slowly suffocate.

The recruit stares at him in shock. Hoppe gives the bayonet back to him and indicates his own bayonet -- with a smooth blade.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Trade it in for one of these as

soon as you can. Guarantees a quick end. For both sides.

The Lieutenant turns to the whole company again.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Take a leak, grab your backpacks,

we leave in five minutes. Dismissed!

The recruits shoulder their backpacks and pair off. Paul takes his eyes off the nurse with an effort. Franz Müller combs his hair.

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27 EXT. MUDDY ROAD TO FRONT - DAY 27

The sky is overcast. It looks like rain. An ammo supply convoy passes them on the road. The soldiers march toward the front. Clay sticks to their boots, a dead dog lies in their path.

Lt. Hoppe eggs them on.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
Step lively, Soldier! Don't fall

asleep!
He marches along beside Müller for a beat.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) You, Müller! The commander in chief expects you to survive at least six

weeks. Do you want to be alive in six weeks?

MÜLLER
Yes, Sir, Lieutenant, Sir.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE Then get a move on! March!

Müller staggers on, a little faster.

Suddenly:
a WHISTLE and HOWL. BOOM! BOOM! Two shells land in the distance, hurling up a gush of mud. Most of the recruits hit the dirt. Hoppe SCREAMS at them.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Gas! Gas! Gas!

The recruits frantically get up and dig out their gas masks. While most of them are still struggling with their satchels, Hoppe already has his mask on and fastened.

The Lieutenant marches along his squad, his voice muffled by his gas mask. He's using the forced march for a drill.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Gentlemen, that was what you call a

"Fat pig". If the Frogs could aim, they'd be scratching us off the road with a spatula and burying us in a mess kit. But one thing is as sure as hell: "Fat pigs" don't carry poison gas.

Paul helps Behm, who dropped his mask in the mud, so he's the last to put it on.

Hoppe continues his speech stoically.

(CONTINUED)

27 CONTINUED:

27

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 16.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Poison gas shells come in groups of three and land with a dull thud. So if you see someone putting on their

mask, put on yours. You've got six seconds before you start spitting clots of blood the size of beets back home on the farm.

Lt. Hoppe stops before Paul. Very calmly, he watches the young recruit still struggling with his gas mask.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Eyes front!

The recruits snap to and look straight ahead -- except Paul, who frantically wedges his gas mask between his knees, trying to adjust the leather straps.

Hoppe's glasses fog up, a first drop of rain falls on them. His ominous breathing behind the mask. In. Out. In. Out. A bit like Darth Vader.

Paul finally got it on. He puts the mask on and looks straight ahead.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Are you deaf, man?

PAUL
No, Lieutenant, Sir. I was just

trying to put my mask on. Hoppe eyes him for a beat. Then:

LIEUTENANT HOPPE You're almost certainly gonna be

dead by dawn, boy. You better have something to eat.

Paul swallows the insult. Hoppe takes his mask off and turns to the squad.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) Attention! Masks off! Two abreast,

forward march! (to Paul)

Not you. You leave it on until your guard duty tonight.

(turns to Kropp) With that shithead there.

PAUL
Yes Sir, Lieutenant.

The recruits stow their masks and march to the front. Paul has a hard time breathing and can hardly keep up.

(CONTINUED)

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27  CONTINUED:
(2) 27 
The weight of his knapsack is crushing... Artillery RUMBLES in the distance.

28  EXT. LATIERRE HILL / ACCESS TRENCH - DAY 28 
Rain beats down. Lt. Hoppe leads the exhausted recruits down an access trench to the front. 
Shells WHIZZ by. A DRONE drowns everything out. BOOM! The shell explodes. 
The young recruits duck. Clumps of dirt pelt down on their backs. Hoppe waves them onward.

Go. Go!

LIEUTENANT HOPPE

Bullets ZING over their heads. MG FIRE RATTLES in the distance. WOUNDED MEN come toward them, two SOLDIERS drag an empty soup cauldron back from the front.

Paul is in the back along with Müller. He has a hard time keeping up, hardly able to breath under his mask.

MÜLLER
Give me your backpack, Paul... You

can take mine next time.
Paul knocks his hand away and staggers down the trench.

29 EXT. LATIERRE HILL / TRENCH - DAY 29

Rain keeps beating down, as SOLDIERS fire an MG. RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT. Beyond, the squad turns onto a wide trench. Water is backed up knee-high on the ground -- the RECRUITS wade through it.

They finally reach their unit at the front: Gaunt, ragged, hollow-eyed SOLDIERS, mainly trying to keep dry. Some try to sleep. They all look miserable.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE Congratulations, Soldiers. Welcome

to your new home. (to all)

Helmets off!

The veterans GROAN. They know what this means. Groaning, they pick up buckets and start bailing out clay muddy water from the trench. Some of them have tied sandbags to the tops of their boots to keep the water from running in.

SERGEANT STEINBERGER appears to greet the Lieutenant.

(CONTINUED)

29 CONTINUED:

29

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 18.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) I see the men have been enjoying my

absence, Steinberger.

SGT. STEINBERGER We've been under MG barrage all

night. Their nerves are bare.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE
Dry boots are a good remedy for

that.
(to recruits)

Everyone pitch in, bail out the trench!

The young recruits follow the veterans' example and use their helmets and food pails as bailing buckets. You can see the shock in their faces, the gleam in their eyes is gone. Tiredly, they bail water out of the trench. Constant COUGHING.

Lt. Hoppe turns on his heel and disappears in his bunker. In passing, he yanks the gas mask off Paul's face and presses it hard against his chest.

LIEUTENANT HOPPE (CONT'D) What are you waiting for?

He leaves him standing there, disappears inside.

Paul WHEEZES and gasps for air. Even if it's raining, the fresh air is good for him.

Suddenly, a figure emerges from a shelter and offers him an open canteen. Paul looks up, SNORTING, staring straight at... STANISLAUS KATCZINSKY.

KAT is 40 and still a Private, which says a lot about him. Tough, sly, smart, with a dirty face, with blue eyes, drooping shoulders and a good nose for danger and good food, where there usually isn't. He's a shoemaker in real life. In which he has a sixth sense. He's the secret commander of the company.

KAT
Give a dog a piece of meat, and it

will always snap at it. Give a person power...

He shrugs, chewing tobacco in his mouth.

KAT (CONT'D) Man is a beast... drink.

Paul gratefully accepts the canteen. He drinks. Finally, he wipes his mouth off.

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 19.

29 CONTINUED:
(2)

PAUL Thanks.

29

A silent nod, then Kat screws his canteen shut. BOOM. A fountain of mud shoots up nearby. Kat looks up at the sky, longingly.

KAT
There's gonna be a blanket tonight.

He turns and goes over to his comrades to help them bail. Paul gets up and goes out. Kropp, Müller and Behm are in the middle of it. Behm is plagued by guilt over the gas mask.

BEHM I'm sorry.

PAUL Forget it.

BEHM
This isn't what I expected.

KROPP Oh, shut up.

In a row, the men bail the cold muddy water out of the trench, occasionally GAGGING as they find feces in it. A VETERAN straightens up a support beam and presses it back into the wall of the trench. Another SOLDIER pulls off his boots, revealing his gangrenous feet.

Behm starts bailing like crazy to make up for his mistake. Paul tries to calm him down.

PAUL
Ludwig... Ludwig! It's okay.

Behm suddenly pauses, exhausted. His fingers are red and frozen.

BEHM
My hands... I can't feel my hands.

KAT
Stick 'em in your drawers. That's

what I do.

Behm wipes his hands off and sticks them in this underpants. Paul, Müller, Kropp -- they all do the same thing: It gets better after a few seconds. Their expressions are relieved.

KAT (CONT'D) Like I said.

They resume bailing. Only Behm is still standing there with his hands in his pants. Kropp turns his nose up in disgust.

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 20.

29 CONTINUED:
(3)

KROPP The water stinks.

TJADEN
That's the innards. Of the dead.

Fermentation agents, you know. Like Bavarian beer. Only that it tastes like death.

29

TJADEN STACKFLEET (20) is an old hand despite his youth. The biggest eater of the company, but skinny, a peat digger by trade.

Paul and Kropp stare at him blankly. Tjaden reaches for a clump in the water beside them. He lifts it up: A soldier's rotting CORPSE. A last SIGH of gas escapes from the corpse's lungs, forming a bubble in the water.

Tjaden wordlessly drops the body and lets it sink into the maw of the mud. Kat turns to Paul and indicates the folding trench shovel on his belt.

KAT Hey. Gimme that.

PAUL What? My shovel?

KAT Quick.

Paul hands him the trench shovel. Kat wades a few steps into the water, then rams it into the ground in a flash. And again.

He digs in the mud for a beat, then drags a dead rat out by the tail. He flings it out of the trench unmoved and starts looking for the next cadaver.

He finally hands the shovel back to Paul.

KAT (CONT'D)
You can split someone's chest with

one of these, but you really have to hit him hard, between the shoulder and the neck... right here.

Kat places the edge of his hand on Paul's neck. Paul GULPS. he looks at the shovel in his hand, unsure of himself. Albert Kropp whispers to them.

KROPP Like a butcher.

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 21.

30 EXT. LATIERRE HILL / TRENCH - NIGHT 30

The middle of the night. It's still raining. It's cold, wet, and dirty. A flare illuminates the battlefield, strewn with corpses.

Paul and Kropp huddle in the trench, their uniform collars closed tight around their necks, pulling guard duty.

Kropp's head sinks to his chest. He has a carving knife and a piece of wood on his lap -- he's fallen asleep over his carving.

Paul is polishing his rifle again, then he listens up and looks out at the deep darkness -- a RUSTLE in the dark. He nudges his friend.

PAUL Albert... Albert!

Albert Kropp wakes up again.

PAUL (CONT'D)
Soldiers who fall asleep on guard

duty are court-martialed and shot.

KROPP Leave me alone.

Kropp straightens up tiredly and watches Paul cleaning his rifle.

KROPP (CONT'D)
You think it will shoot better that

way?
Paul listens up. There it is again: The RUSTLE in the dark.

PAUL Did you hear that?

KROPP What?

PAUL That noise. Listen.

KROPP It's nothing.

PAUL Psst --

Albert keeps carving his block of wood, delicate work for his rough hands. Paul listens to the dark and raises his rifle, excitedly.

(CONTINUED)

30 CONTINUED:

30

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 22.

PAUL (CONT'D) Our first Frenchman.

KROPP Settle down.

There it is again. A soft RUSTLE, not even ten yards away. Paul and Kropp exchange looks. They both pale.

KROPP (CONT'D) Now I heard it too.

PAUL (loud whisper)

Who's there?

No answer. The RUSTLING suddenly stops, then resumes a few seconds later. Paul aims his rifle into the dark.

A shadow flits by in the dark, looking like a man.

PAUL (CONT'D) (louder)

Halt, who goes there? (in broken French)

Montrez-vous!

Nothing. The shadow crawls toward them...
Paul SHOOTS. The muzzle flash illuminates the night:

Two rats, the size of a loaf of bread, skitter a few steps to the side. Their faces are bloody; one of them has human entrails dangling from its mouth.

Suddenly -- CLANG! A bullet hits Paul's helmet and knocks it clean off his head. Paul falls off the ladder and lands in a puddle at the bottom of the trench.

PAUL (CONT'D) I'm hit! I'm hit!

He frantically feels his face and head to see where he's hit. Then he inspects his helmet and discovers two bullet holes.

PAUL (CONT'D) They shot me. Twice!

KROPP
Well, there were two rats, after

all.

Who shot?

KAT (O.S.)

Katczinsky comes out of the covered path and approaches up the trench. Paul shows him his bullet-riddled helmet.

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 23.

30 CONTINUED:
(2)

PAUL
They shot me. Two of those bastards

shot me.

KAT With one shot?

Kat looks at the damage: One entry hole, one exit hole.

KAT (CONT'D)
They saw your muzzle flash. Next

time, don't stick your head out.

30

He hands Paul back his helmet. The boy dons it, awkwardly and returns to his original position.

KAT (CONT'D)
If you don't wanna catch the next bullet with your teeth, I suggest

you moved ten meters down the trench.

The two recruits stare at him.

KAT (CONT'D)
Shoot, move, shoot, move. Got it?

Kat heads off, shaking his head. Paul and Kropp head along the trench and take their positions again. Paul reloads.

Two FLARES are shot into the sky, gliding down on parachutes. Paul and Kropp gape at the spectacle. It would be beautiful if it weren't so deadly.

We now have time to scan the battlefield: A landscape pocked by craters, dark black dirt, crisscrossed by barbed wired.

Two FRENCHMEN looking for wounded in no man's land are surprised by the bright flare. Kropp raises his rifle and aims. Paul pushes his barrel down.

PAUL Those are medics.

KROPP
So? They're Frenchmen!

A sudden throaty ROAR. BOOM! Just a few yards behind the trench, an artillery shell hits, pelting them with dirt.

BOOM! BOOM! Two more hits, in quick sequence. Katczinsky hurries up.

KAT
You two. In here! Quick.

Paul and Albert stumble over to the bunker.

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 24.

31 INT. LATIERRE HILL / BUNKER - NIGHT

The SOLDIERS sit in the bunker, huddling tight. It's dark. Earth and wood walls.

31

Paul and Kropp find themselves a spot, near Müller and Behm. Kat and Tjaden are with them.

Shells hit outside. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. It doesn't stop. The recruits are in panic. They shut their eyes, shaking, as the veterans sit there, stoically waiting for the end of the barrage.

Behm holds his ears shut, sweating and and gasping for air.

BEHM
"You are what you eat..." My mother

always said.
Paul smiles. Behm looks at him.

BEHM (CONT'D) We'll stick together, Paul.

PAUL Yeah.

A shell strikes nearby. BOOM. A roof beam breaks and collapses, sending dirt raining down on the soldiers.

A desperate recruit pukes in a corner. Ludwig Behm wants to * get up and flee, but Paul is holding him back. *

PAUL (CONT'D) * Don't, Ludwig. Everything will be * fine. *

BEHM * I can't do this, Paul. I can't. I * wanna go back home. *

PAUL * Ssssh. *

The barrage gradually recedes to behind the front. A few * clodsofdirtraindownfromtheceiling.Behmgetsagripon *

himself. The soldiers are listening.

TJADEN Creeping barrage.

PAUL What?

TJADEN
The artillery barrage moves forward

every few minutes, as the infantry advances behind it.

*

* *

* *

* * * *

(CONTINUED)

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021 31 CONTINUED:

KROPP What does that mean?

KAT
It means they're coming.

25. 31

He grins into the silence. The men await the impending attack. Behm chews his lip in fear. Paul and Kropp clutch their rifles...

* *

* *

* * *

But nothing happens. There's no attack. The air is
suffocating, Behm yanks open his uniform collar. The men sit * there, as if sitting in their graves. *

BOOM! The walls shake. A SCREAM and FLASH. Smoke. Sulfur. * Dirt. Dust. The bunker creaks under the hit, all the beams * straining, but they hold. *

A frantic recruit, 19 years old, climbs over the men and * heads for the exit. Kat and Tjaden try to stop him. *

KAT (CONT'D)
Where are you going? You are * staying here. *

SOLDIER
No. Let me out. I wanna get out of * here! *

KAT
Settle down. Clam down, god damn * it! *

The SOLDIER breaks free and runs towards the exit, when a * HUGE EXPLOSION hurls him back, ripping the young soldier * apart. *

Blood spatters Tjaden's face. Shrapnel and bits of uniforms * everywhere. Ludwig Behm is hitting his head against the wall * like a billy goat, over and over again. Paul almost has to * puke for a moment, then the next shell hits the top of the bunker. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

KAT (CONT'D) Out! Out! Out!

BOOM! A direct hit. The beams burst over their heads. The soldiers leap up with their rifles and try to flee out of the bunker...

It's too late. The earth SHAKES. BLACK.

(CONTINUED)

*

Goldenrod Revision 22.4.2021

31  CONTINUED:
(2) 
Silence. DEATHLY SILENCE.

32  EXT. LATIERRE HILL / UNDERGROUND - DAWN

CUT TO:

26. 31

32

A quiet SCRATCHING and SCRAPING noise. Flat breathing.

Suddenly, a first ray of dawn light pierces the dirt: Paul lies buried beneath. He gasps for air, hears the SOLDIERS' muffled voices.

SOLDIERS:

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