THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD – Review

A before-and-after shot from Peter Jackson’s WWI documentary THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD. Courtesy of Fathom Events and Warner Bros.

When director Peter Jackson was asked if he could do something with old archival footage of World War I to mark the 100th anniversary of the war’s end, the visual effects wizard behind the LORD OF THE RINGS series was unsure what he could do. He told the historical foundation he would try to come up with something. Boy, did he!

That “something” was the documentary THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD, an eye-popping documentary about the ordinary British soldier’s experience of the war, through the transformation of old faded, scratchy black and white images into glorious 3D color images with sound. The images that bring back to vivid life the British soldiers pictured in these mix of home movies and newsreel footage. The transformation is so remarkable that the documentary has become a huge popular hit in Britain, and plans are developing to bring it across the pond to us.

Local audiences will get a chance to see this miraculously transformation in 3D at a special Fathom Events encore screenings on Dec. 27 at AMC Chesterfield, West Olive, Creve Coeur and Edwardsville, IL at 1pm and 4pm. A regular theatrical run is also planned for later in January. Tickets are available through FathomEvents.com. You really want to see this remarkable documentary in 3D as that is part of the “wow” in seeing Peter Jackson’s magic with this old archival footage.

This goes far beyond colorized black and white film, and Jackson lets the audience see enough of the unrestored film that when he makes the switch, there are gasps. Jackson used his technical resources to correct the expose of too-light or too-dark film stock, clean up and restored scratched images. He also found the right running speed for the film, which was variable in that early time of hand-cranked cameras, a step that eliminates that too-fast movement one often sees in only silent footage, so that the movements become natural. He colorized the footage, matching the color of uniforms and even local foliage. Then, he transformed the film to 3D and added dialog. Yes, the soldiers speak, thanks to lip-readers and actors reading the transcribed text in the correct regional accents.

The film is astounding, but be sure to stay after the film for Jackson’s making-of short documentary, which reveals his production tricks and all the other amazing historical touches he added to make these long-gone soldiers spring back to life in the muddy trenches of France and Belgium. Even if you don’t think you are a WWI buff, this remarkable film is an experience, one you do not want to miss.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars