All Quiet on the Western Front Wins the Oscar for Production Design
It's official: All Quiet on the Western Front has won the Oscar for achievement in production design. For the war drama, production designer Christian M. Goldbeck and set decorator Ernestine Hipper were tasked with bringing the madness and incomprehensible scale of battlefield destruction to the big screen. "It’s not only about seeing the set, the scene—you should be able to smell it," Goldbeck said in a press brief.
Filming took place at a former airport from the Second World War in the Czech Republic’s Milovice. It currently operates as a sports airport but temporarily closed its operations for three months so that the film could be shot there. The production design team ended up creating several hundred meters of trenches and a battlefield the size of two soccer fields at the location. Other backdrops were created at Barrandov movie studio. "Don't ever forget: You're only as good as your team," Hipper said in her acceptance speech, thanking everyone who brought the production to life in Prague.
The other films recognized as nominees in the production design category include Avatar: The Way of Water, Babylon, Elvis, and The Fabelmans. Last year, among the event’s many controversies, the production design category was one of eight awards that were presented in the Dolby Theatre an hour before the live broadcast began. Those awards were then edited into the live televised show after the fact. Dune won the award with production design by Patrice Vermette and set decoration by Zsuzsanna Sipos.
We’re glad every category gets its well-deserved moment this year, and big congrats to all involved in All Quiet on the Western Front (which has already taken home several awards!). If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the film yet, this is your sign to set aside time for it or to give it a rewatch. It's currently available to stream on Netflix.
You love production design. So do we. Let’s obsess over it together.
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