They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of the end of the war.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Stars:

Thomas Adlam, William Argent, John Ashby

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Thomas Adlam	...	Self - Bedfordshire Regiment (voice) (as Capt Thomas Adlam VC)
William Argent	...	Self - Royal Naval Air Service (voice) (as LM William Argent)
John Ashby	...	Self - The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (voice) (as Cpl John Ashby)
Attwood	...	Self - British Army (voice) (as Cpl Attwood)
Walter Aust	...	Self - East Yorkshire Regiment (voice) (as Pte Walter Aust)
Donald Bain	...	Self - Seaforth Highlanders (voice) (as Pte Donald Bain)
Thomas Baker	...	Self - Chatham Battalion, Royal Naval Division (voice) (as Pte Thomas Baker)
George Banton	...	Self - 50th Division Headquarters (voice) (as Sig George Banton)
Walter Becklake	...	Self - Northhampyonshire Yeomanry (voice) (as L Cpl Walter Becklake MM)
Arthur Beeton	...	Self - Royal Navy Air Service (voice) (as POM Arthur Beeton)
Robert Bell	...	Self - British Army (voice) (as Mr Robert Bell)
William Benham	...	Self - Hawke Battalion, Royal Navy Division (voice) (as Sub Lt William Benham)
Joseph Biglin	...	Self - Durham Light Infantry (voice) (as Pte Joseph Biglin)
Edwin Bigwood	...	Self - Worcestershire Regiment (voice) (as Pte Edwin Bigwood)
Horace Birks	...	Self - Tanks Corps (voice) (as Capt Horace Birks)

Storyline

Through ground breaking computer restoration technology, filmmaker Peter Jackson's team creates a moving real-to-life depiction of the WWI, as never seen before in restored, vivid colorizing & retiming of the film frames, in order to honor those who fought and more accurately depict this historical moment in world history.

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Plot Keywords:

world war one | restored film | film restoration | archive footage | male rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

A ground-breaking documentary directed and produced by Peter Jackson.

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing war images

Did You Know?

Trivia

The crew reviewed over 600 hours of interviews with over 200 soldiers, and 100 hours of original footage. Peter Jackson claimed a full year was spent just reviewing the material.

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Goofs

Several shots of tanks appear in the film, both Mark V (Mark Five) and Mark V* (Mark Five Star). They have been colourised green. In reality, tanks of these types were painted "a neutral brown colour". See the article by the British Tank Museum which states that. "Surrendering to the inevitable, towards the end of 1916 it was ordered that the tanks should be painted in a 'neutral brown colour' all over." These tanks entered service in 1918, and were factory-painted brown.

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Quotes

Soldier: You don't look, you see. You don't hear, you listen. You taste the top of your mouth. Your nose is filled with fumes and death. But the veneer of civilization has dropped away.

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Crazy Credits

"Filmed on location on the Western Front, 1914 to 1918"

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Connections

Featured in Savage Builds: Dogfight Derby (2019)

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Soundtracks

I Want To Go Home
Traditional Trench Song
Performed by Plan 9

User Reviews

A harrowing new perspective on 'The great War'

I was lucky enough to bag a ticket to the one off showing of Peter Jackson's They Shall Not Grow Old, having watched a lot of World War One documentaries and made countless visits to historic sites across France and Belgium I was keen to see what was being marketed as a 'new' perspective on The Great War, it did not disappoint. Jackson chose to create a narrow focus narrative for this 1 hour 30 minute documentary to allow the viewer to delve into the fine details often missed in more sweeping documentaries trying to cover all aspects and areas of the conflict. Jackson chose to look closely at the lives and experiences of British native frontline troops in Belgium. The documentary follows a linear timeline beginning with the breakout of war and the initial volunteering of thousands of young men excited and ready for an adventure for King and Country and ends with the great sense of loss and uncertainty of the future the troops had by the end of the war. The entire documentary is narrated by records of surviving troops recorded in the 60s and 70s, this was an intentional move by Jackson that definitely adds to the ability for the viewer to connect and relate to the survivors. I especially found the stories and anecdotes about the goings on behind the lines during down time and R&R for the troops captivating as it is often over looked in other documentaries solely concentrating on the combat and horrors of war. The pain staking effort and lengths Jackson and his team went to to restore this footage not only with colour but with frame rate, sharpness and especially sound is breath taking. Taking the time to have professional lip readers painstakingly review all the footage so allow us to then know and hear what was being said truly brought the footage to life. My only issue with the film, something that is made note of by Jackson is of course because of the time in history and available cameras there is no actual combat footage available so you do spend a large amount of time just watching still hand drawn cartoons of the battles from the time, something that cannot be avoided but does detract from the immersion the rest of the film creates. I highly recommend this film to everyone, it is important we see the true perspective of what our ancestors went through and never forget these brave men and women.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

UK New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

They Shall Not Grow Old

Box Office

Gross USA:

$17,956,913

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,433,798

Company Credits

Production Co:

House Productions, Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London, WingNut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1