The WWI documentary ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ gives new life to some very old film footage.
This being a film from Peter Jackson--the wizard who won 3 Oscars, including best picture, for his final ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie--‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ is a technological marvel.
Jackson has taken original archival footage of the daily life of British troops from 1914 through 1918 and restored it to a point where it feels absolutely modern.
He also colorized the film, bringing the soldiers to life. The film’s narration comes mostly from interviews with WWI veterans recorded by the BBC several decades after the war ended.
While Jackson has built a production empire in his native New Zealand, we recently sat down with him on a visit to Los Angeles. He tells us about hiring forensic lip readers to interpret conversations captured on silent film so actors could perform the lines, and how the techniques used in ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ could be used on other old films, including some of his own.
Purchase tickets to ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’.