World War One epic All Quiet On The Western Front dominated the 2023 BAFTAs, scooping seven Film Awards on the night.
The German Netflix hit took home the BAFTAs for Best Film, Director (Edward Berger), Film Not In The English Language, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, and Sound.
Headliner recently spoke to Volker Bertelmann, who composed the music for All Along The Western Front, about his work on the project and his wide-ranging career to date. Speaking of his work on the film, he explained how he worked with director Berger to achieve the perfect tonal and sonic textures for the score. You can read the interview in full here.
“[Berger said], ‘I want something from you that you've never done’. That helped me think about my approach, and I decided to work with an instrument from the 1915 time period. I remembered I had an old harmonium from my grandmother, which I’d never really used. (A harmonium is similar to the accordion in that sound is created by pumping air into the instrument, only it is much bigger and heavier). I rolled it into my studio.
“I remember realising the bass on that instrument is so humongous, when you mic it up properly, it felt like a big war horn. I went with little mics inside of the harmonium to record all the sounds it makes. I sent the first idea to Edward and the next day, he called me and said, ‘We're sitting here together, and it sounds like Led Zeppelin!’”
“The important thing is the conversation with the director,” he continued. “It's important that there is a common sense of how music is to be used. The minimal approach is one thing. I think what also was very important was for me to record the whole score with the London Contemporary Orchestra. Because of their work with other indie artists, their sense of sound is different from a lot of other ensembles.”
During his acceptance speech on the night Berger said that the filmmakers "grew up with a responsibility to tell the story" and were honoured the public had "accepted it with overwhelming love".
Here, BAFTA-winning production sound mixer Viktor Prášil explains how recording the sound for the film was the most challenging shoot he's ever been a part of.
The other big BAFTA winners at the London ceremony, which was hosted by Richard E Grant and Alison Hammond, were Elvis and The Banshees of Inisherin, which each won four BAFTAS apiece.
Elvis picked up the awards for Leading Actor (Austin Butler), Casting, Costume Design, and Make-up and Hair.
Meanwhile, The Banshees of Inisherin received the awards for Outstanding British Film, Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon), Supporting Actor (Barry Keoghan), and Original Screenplay.
You can see the full list of winners below.
Best film
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Elvis
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Tár
Outstanding British film
- Aftersun
- WINNER: The Banshees of Inisherin
- Brian And Charles
- Empire of Light
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- Living
- Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical
- See How They Run
- The Swimmers
- The Wonder
Leading actress
- WINNER: Cate Blanchett, Tár
- Viola Davis, The Woman King
- Danielle Deadwyler, Till
- Ana De Armas, Blonde
- Emma Thompson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once
Leading actor
- WINNER: Austin Butler, Elvis
- Brendan Fraser, The Whale
- Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
- Daryl McCormack, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- Paul Mescal, Aftersun
- Bill Nighy, Living
Supporting actress
- Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Hong Chau, The Whale
- WINNER: Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Dolly De Leon, Triangle of Sadness
- Carey Mulligan, She Said
Supporting actor
- Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
- WINNER: Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
- Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse
- Albrecht Schuch, All Quiet on the Western Front
- Micheal Ward, Empire of Light
Director
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger
- The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh
- Decision To Leave, Park Chan-wook
- Everything Everywhere All At Once, Daniel Kwan/Daniel Scheinert
- Tár, Todd Field
- The Woman King, Gina Prince-Bythewood
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
- WINNER: Aftersun
- Blue Jean
- Electric Malady
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- Rebellion
Film not in the English language
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front
- Argentina, 1985
- Corsage
- Decision To Leave
- The Quiet Girl
Documentary
- All That Breathes
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
- Fire of Love
- Moonage Daydream
- WINNER: Navalny
Animated film
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- Turning Red
Original screenplay
- WINNER: The Banshees of Inisherin
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- The Fabelmans
- Tár
- Triangle of Sadness
Adapted screenplay
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front
- Living
- The Quiet Girl
- She Said
- The Whale
Original score
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front
- Babylon
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Casting
- Aftersun
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- WINNER: Elvis
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Triangle of Sadness
Cinematography
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front
- The Batman
- Elvis
- Empire of Light
- Top Gun: Maverick
Costume design
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Amsterdam
- Babylon
- WINNER: Elvis
- Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris
Editing
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Elvis
- WINNER: Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Top Gun: Maverick
Production design
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- WINNER: Babylon
- The Batman
- Elvis
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
EE Bafta rising star award (voted for by the public)
- Aimee Lou Wood
- Daryl McCormack
- WINNER: Emma Mackey
- Naomi Ackie
- Sheila Atim
Make-up and hair
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- The Batman
- WINNER: Elvis
- Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical
- The Whale
Sound
- WINNER: All Quiet on the Western Front
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Elvis
- Tár
- Top Gun: Maverick
Special visual effects
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- WINNER: Avatar: The Way of Water
- The Batman
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Top Gun: Maverick
British short film
- The Ballad Of Olive Morris
- Bazigaga
- Bus Girl
- A Drifting Up
- WINNER: An Irish Goodbye
British short animation
- WINNER: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
- Middle Watch
- Your Mountain is Waiting