Forgotten Silver (TV 1995)

Forgotten Silver is a mockumentary which details the prodigious life of "lost" filmmaker Colin McKenzie and his incredible advances that were lost to history...until now. This supergenius ... See full summary »

Directors:

Costa Botes, Peter Jackson

Writers:

Costa Botes, Peter Jackson

Stars:

Jeffrey Thomas, Costa Botes, Marguerite Hurst

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jeffrey Thomas	...	Narrator (voice)
Costa Botes	...	Himself - Film Maker
Marguerite Hurst	...	Herself
Peter Jackson	...	Himself
Leonard Maltin	...	Himself - Film Historian
Johnny Morris	...	Himself - Film Archivist (as Jonathon Morris)
Sam Neill	...	Himself - Actor / Director
John O'Shea	...	Himself
Lindsay Shelton	...	Himself
Harvey Weinstein	...	Himself - Miramax Films
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stevan Eldred-Grigg	...	Himself (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Forgotten Silver is a mockumentary which details the prodigious life of "lost" filmmaker Colin McKenzie and his incredible advances that were lost to history...until now. This supergenius filmmaker, posthumously inducted into the pantheon of cinema greats, made incredible advances in filmmaking technology, supposedly making a talkie in 1908 and using color film in 1911, but madness and poverty and the usual industry tolls drove him into obscurity.

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Plot Keywords:

new zealand | mockumentary | world war one | spanish civil war | two word title | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

3 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Colin McKenzie

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, WingNut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

53 min 70 min (DVD)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The interview with Sam Neill was taken during the filming of Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill.

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Goofs

When the archeological group is digging their way through the brush, a concrete pillar is visible in the background. When some foliage brushes against it, it clearly wobbles, revealing it to not be made of concrete after all.

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Crazy Credits

Archive Footage Courtecy of The Colin McKenzie Trust

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Connections

Features The Suburbanite (1904)

User Reviews

Very, very good.

This hour-long documentary details the amazing work of the nearly unknown Colin McKenzie, the first man to film movies with sound or in color. He documented the first man to ever fly (before the Wright Brothers, even!) and filmed a biblical epic on a massive set he built single handedly in the mountainous forests of New Zealand. So why haven't you heard of him? It might be because most people are biased against New Zealand film-makers, or it could be because this movie is entirely fictitious.

The very real, very brilliant director Peter Jackson fashioned this very funny and touching film for New Zealand television, and it's worth checking out for many reasons. First of all, it's technically amazing- the vintage film scenes are very convincing and well thought out. Second of all, the movie is very funny, including the hilarious antics of Stan the Man, a mean spirited prankster who is kind of like Tom Green, only much less annoying because he's silent. Finally, this movie has real heart, and gets you to care about the eccentric MacKenzie. As a bonus, this movie also features (an was co-conceived by) the guy from "Bad Taste" who threw the pine cone at Derik.

This movie is kind of hard to find, but well worth hunting down, especially if you are a fan of Jackson's work (and everyone should be).