Forgotten Silver (1995)

The film deals with the career of a supposedly forgotten pioneer of international cinema, Colin McKenzie, who was allegedly born in rural New Zealand in 1888.

Directors:

Costa Botes, Peter Jackson

Writers:

Peter Jackson, Costa Botes

Stars:

Peter Jackson, Jeffrey Thomas, Costa Botes

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
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

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 | filmmaking | directed by several directors | 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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,740, 3 October 1997

Gross USA:

$26,459

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

According to the DVD commentary by Costa Botes, he wanted to put the real credits at the end, but Peter Jackson wanted to "keep with the lie", so most of the end credits are fake. But, the real actors who play the "fake real people" are credited with their real names in "For their generous assistance with research thanks to".

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Goofs

The film implies that Colin invented the close-up around 1912, but the earliest close-ups date from around 1903, nine years earlier.

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Crazy Credits

Archive Footage Courtecy of The Colin McKenzie Trust

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Connections

References Alexander Nevsky (1938)

User Reviews

A loving and comic tribute to the Silent Screen

Peter Jackson has a big heart, I think. Even for all the gore and grossness of his films (i.e.; Dead Alive aka Braindead) he always has a very heartfelt moment of sentiment. In this film, it's the loving way McKenzie is treated and the seriousness of his death scene, captured on film. While much of the film has very tongue in cheek chuckles, this part is played very seriously.

Also, as someone who works every day with "forgotten silver", I admire his treatment of the whole subject. For, while McKenzie and his films may be bogus, the plight of old movies is not. I'm amazed at how much footage shows up in attics and basements and garden sheds every year. In just the eight months so far of 1999, we have received at least 30 "new" films; rare and unique items all. And we have films done by people very much like Colin McKenzie. Private, personal projects, most of which never saw the light of day or vanished quickly after their initial release. So much "forgotten silver."