Documentary Movie 🎥 Review: “They Shall Not Grow Old". Critics gave it a 98% the users an 100%. Rated: R with a running time of 1hr and 39mins with an IMDb of 8.6/10. 

NOTE: This documentary has a limited showing of December 17th and 27th at the AMC 18 (Rave theater). You can purchase your tickets in advance for the 27th via this link — They Shall Not Grow Old

Using state-of-the-art technology and materials from the BBC and Imperial War Museum, filmmaker Peter Jackson allows the story of World War I to be told by the men who were there. Life on the front is explored through the voices of the soldiers, who discuss their feelings about the conflict, the food they ate, the friends they made and their dreams of the future.

They Shall Not Grow Old is a 2018 British documentary film directed and co-produced by Peter Jackson. The film was created using original footage of World War I from the Imperial War Museums' archives, most of it previously unseen, alongside audio from BBC and IWM interviews of British servicemen who fought in the conflict. Most of the footage has been colourised and transformed with modern production techniques, with the addition of sound effects and voice acting to be more evocative and feel closer to the soldiers' actual experiences.

It is Jackson's first documentary as director, although he directed the mockumentary Forgotten Silver in 1995, and produced the West Memphis Three documentary West of Memphis in 2012. Jackson, whose grandfather fought in the war, intended for the film to be an immersive experience of "what it was like to be a soldier" rather than a story or a recount of events; the crew reviewed 600 hours of interviews from 200 veterans, and 100 hours of original film footage to make the film. The title was inspired by the line

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old" from the 1914 poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon, famous for being used in the Ode of Remembrance.

They Shall Not Grow Old premiered simultaneously at the BFI London Film Festival and in selected theaters in the UK on 16 October 2018, before airing on BBC Two on 11 November 2018 (the hundredth anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918); it received a limited US release on 17 December. It was acclaimed by critics for its restoration work, immersive atmosphere, and portrayal of war.

The film was co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums in association with the BBC, who approached Jackson in 2015 for the project. According to Jackson, the crew of They Shall Not Grow Old reviewed 600 hours of interviews from the BBC and the IWM, and 100 hours of original film footage from the IWM to make the film. The interviews came from 200 veterans, with the audio from 120 of them being used in the film. After receiving the footage, Jackson decided that the movie would not feature traditional narration, and that it would instead only feature audio excerpts of the soldiers talking about their war memories, in order to make the film about the soldiers themselves; for the same reason, it barely features any dates or named locations.

I was absolutely engrossed in this film from beginning to end. This was equal parts funny, exciting, moving, harrowing, horrifying, upsetting. There are some harrowing scenes in this that will, and should, upset you. The first 25 minutes are of original black and white, speeded up footage with the original voices of troops telling their story over the top of it.

Then something amazing happens. The screen widens, the footage smoothes out, the colors shine through and in an instant your and seeing everything in so much more detail.

That said this was the first time I've seen footage from The Great War that didn't feel that you are disconnected. It feels real. Seeing the color on their cheeks and eyes, the dirt, the mud, the blood brings the old footage to life. Occasionally the colorisation takes on a slightly animated feel but never enough to draw you out of the engrossing scenes laid out before you.

Then the frame rate adjustment is amazing. Having computers generate the missing frames to adjust the variable 15-18fps to the regular 24-26fps is a visual marvel that smoothes out the jerky footage.

Having the soldiers talk sounds like a mistake but it's done in such a subtle and sensitive way it never feels false. They've been lip synced perfectly and apparently even with the right accent for the infantry units depicted.

This was powerful viewing. Computers and technology being used for something so important, to allow 100+ year old footage to look so modern and yet not feel sanitized is amazing.

This should become compulsory viewing for every one, all schools too. With footage thats this accessible there's no reason history should be forgotten.

HEADS UP: Immediately following the credits is a 30 minute segment that shows (in great detail) how they accomplished this amazing film. I found it to be every bit as interesting as the documentary itself……..be sure and stay for it!!

As I say in large print above go to the link and order your tickets for the next and final showing on December 27th…….you won’t regret it!