Lasting between 1914 and 1918, World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Counting both military and civilian casualties, estimates put World War I's death toll at somewhere between 15 and 22 million. During World War I, cinema was in its infancy as a viable form of mass media. By the late 1910s, filmmakers first began producing movies about World War I. The 1920s and 1930s saw many cinematic masterpieces about the war, but by the 1940s, World War II films completely overshadowed movies about World War I. Over the years, films about World War II and the Vietnam War have remained highly popular, while World War I movies have become more of a rarity. Nevertheless, World War I movies such as Lawrence of Arabia, Paths of Glory, and All Quiet on the Western Front rank among the greatest war films ever made.
