Forgotten Silver (1995) (TV)

Directors:

Costa Botes
Peter Jackson

Writers:

Costa Botes (written by) &
Peter Jackson (written by)

Release Date:

3 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Forgotten Silver is a mockumentary which details the prodigious life of "lost" filmmaker Colin McKenzie...

Plot Keywords:

New Zealand | Mockumentary | Fake Documentary | Director | Film In Film

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Peter Jackson	...	Himself
Johnny Morris	...	Himself - Film Archivist (also as Jonathon Morris)
Costa Botes	...	Himself - Film Maker
Harvey Weinstein	...	Himself - Miramax Films
Leonard Maltin	...	Himself - Film Historian
Sam Neill	...	Himself - Actor / Director
Marguerite Hurst
John O'Shea
Lindsay Shelton	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Beatrice Ashton	...	Hannah McKenzie
Peter Corrigan	...	Stan the Man
Sarah McLeod	...	May Belle (research assistant)
Thomas Robins	...	Colin McKenzie
Jeffrey Thomas	...	Narrator
Davina Whitehouse	...	Herself

Runtime:

53 min | USA:70 min (DVD)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | France:U | Iceland:Unrated | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Company:

New Zealand Film Commission

Trivia:

The filmmakers consciously avoided putting lines through the faked film footage, particularly the scenes from Salome, since when important films are re-released they are often cleaned up and restored so that there are as few scratches as possible. When this happens, good quality prints usually have corrected contrast, so that hues and texture are easily visible, as is the case with the Salome footage.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Colin's synchronized sound film is supposed to have been released in 1908. If we are to believe that it was the first film to feature synchronized sound, we would have to discard the lesser known, but still earlier work of Arthur Gilbert and John Morland, and others, who had all produced and exhibited sound films at earlier dates.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Behind the Bull: Forgotten Silver (2000) (V)

Fabulous hoax

Peter Jackson and Costa Boeates decided to make this great mockumentary about a man called Colin McKenzie, a man who invented such things as color film, audio film and above all, made the first full length feature movie.

Apparently it was quite a successful hoax in New Zealand, people really did buy it. And I really can't blame them, as most of the fabricated film material really looks like almost hundred years old, almost destroyed film.

And there are some very convincing famous film people, like Sam Neil, telling their knowledge of this McKenzie.

Even the tone of the film isn't actually very funny, even thought there are some things in it that are so absurd, that they make you laugh.

Over all well made mockumentary.