Peter Jackson's They Shall Not Grow Old Is A Haunting And Moving Portrait Of The Forgotten War

       When discussing World Wars, the one that generally gets more remembrance and discussion is World War ll simply because of the large scope of it. There are far more movies that depict World War ll than the first World War. The most recent Hollywood film to depict the first World War was DCEU'S Wonder Woman which used it as a backdrop for its story. With They Shall Not Grow Old, Academy Award Winning director Peter Jackson gives the first World War a face as he explores the people that fought and lived in the trenches, while showing how difficult the living conditions were for the troops. Receiving zero money for this project, he creates a documentary using state of the art technology, that colorizes footage from the first World War using never before seen original footage from the Imperial War museum's archives. Combined with audio from BBC and IWM interviews, Jackson chooses to share the experience of the first World War from the perspective of the British. The end result turns out to be a fantastic piece of technological achievement that's worth seeing  while carrying with it it a feel that's both haunting and powerful that's sure to leave an emotional impact on it's audience. Directed with clear passion for the source material and coming straight from the heart, Jackson using the tools that create great cinematic filmmaking, creates a moving and genius cinematic tribute to the soldiers that sacrificed themselves during the first World War and paid the ultimate price upon returning home to be deemed unhireable.

Watch the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrabKK9Bhds

      One of 2018's most overlooked movies as the film failed to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Film, They Shall Not Grow Old feels as if it literally gives the voice back to the dead as the film is essentially about the life of a soldier during what was originally thought to be the war to end all wars. With the old footage being taken and cleaned up, the experience becomes one that's immersive and deeply moving as one can tell that a great deal of research went into getting the background on all the soldiers in the film. What this documentary does which makes it a deeply affecting experience is how Jackson shows the faces, the movements, and the lives of the British soldiers in a way that has never been shown before regarding their presence in the first World War. By restoring the footage along with making it sharper than ever, Jackson both shows and gives the soldiers back their humanity while connecting the audience to the souls of that generation. Dedicated to Jackson's grandfather who served during the first World War, Peter made the documentary not only to honor him, but also to be an immersive experience about what it was like to be a soldier in that War rather than create a fictional story or a recount of the events. The inspiration for the films title comes from a line in a 1914 poem titled "For The Fallen" by Laurence Binyon which says "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old."

      What makes the documentary hit home besides the coloring of the old footage is hearing the audio testimonies of the soldiers from the War in the 1960's and 70's recounting their time on the field. One can't help but appreciate that Peter Jackson simply didn't try to recreate any events from the first World War but rather had the actual voices incorporated into the film to help narrate the story as well as explain the conditions the soldiers endured in the trenches. While the documentary itself doesn't give much information regarding the first World War, it manages to tell a story about the men in the footage, who bravely went to the trenches to fight for what they stood for. Jackson makes a point by exploring life in the trenches showing it to be one of the most miserable and degrading experiences in the world for those who lived through that experience. Examples that the documentary shows are of such a harrowing experience such as the rats running rampant through the trenches, soldiers losing limbs to frostbite due to extremely cold and wet conditions with colored images that will shock the audience, and the bad teeth that many soldiers inherited. Despite the harsh conditions, Jackson shows that the men ultimately endured and their spirits remained high, showing the audience that they are people rather than just faces in clips from 100 years ago.

      The colorizing of the film was a beautiful and noble effort that is not only technologically brilliant but brings to life the soldiers faces, their expressions, emotions, their moments of humor, their friendships, and fears. Whereas the audience grew up in history classes watching the first World War in black and white, there is something special and ultimately powerful about seeing the images in color as we can imagine those moments happening now. By using the voice over narrations of the real people with the colorizing of the footage, Jackson takes us into the battlefield, making us feel the terror the soldiers felt right before they went to battle as well as the sadness they felt over the death of their comrades. The voice acting and sound effects are edited into the film so well and overlap the footage in a way where the audience feels as if the footage was shot in this era. The way that Jackson transitions the documentary from the old black and white footage into the new colorized version gives it a Wizard Of Oz type feel to it when Dorothy left Kansas to embrace this new world that's rich in color. Not only does the stories cover the soldiers experiences in the war, they also show the confusion they faced when the war was over as they weren't sure what to do next and the discrimination they faced as soldiers coming back from War were branded as being unhireable.

      Despite the film doing such a fantastic job with modernizing old footage that's a century old, audiences can't help but feel a tad disappointed at the scope of the documentary's focus on the first World War bring so narrow. Germany's involvement in the War is barely mentioned in the story with no mentioning of America's involvement at all. The film's pacing remains pretty steady for its 100 minute running time though some of the films shots were continuously used and the slowing down of the films footage tended to drag a bit at times. Regardless of the films minor flaws, this is probably going to end up being as close as audiences will get to the full experience of living through World War l even if it's from the British soldiers standpoint. Peter Jackson's reasoning for making the scope of the War in the documentary a personal one aimed at the British makes sense as his team wanted to have an open and close book type story arc of the soldiers living through the first World War in the trenches told from their standpoint. While the end result is a beautiful and mesmerizing piece of art, it also leaves out other experiences that the audience could've had such as the War's viewpoints of the pilots, the generals, the other countries involved. and the politicians back at home.

      They Shall Not Grow Old for all intents and purposes, succeeds as being an eye-opening experience that today's generation can view (Hopefully played in history classes in schools), and understand the bravery and sacrifice that so many soldiers gave for their country. Some may find the scope of the coverage of the war to be disappointing, others will unquestionably be blown away and appreciate the heart and labor of love that went into showing an important part of history that should not be forgotten. One cannot help but question why this film didn't snag a Best Documentary Film Oscar nomination at last years Academy Awards as this film proves to be more than worthy of being nominated. The film is not just a moving experience that gives people insight into the life of a soldier, Jackson almost literally takes the audience and place them in the trenches with these men showing their struggles to remain a unified front while showing the bond that the men as a whole generated upon fighting together. One of the most underrated and overlooked films of 2018, and that's a shame. Here's hoping that the film finds a second life on home video and becomes required viewing in history classes so that future generations understand the full effects of war. For history and war buffs, this is a must see.

Final Verdict: Absolutely worth the experience, a definite Redbox rental.