They Shall Not Grow Old

[Jims5543]

I missed the 17th showing but snagged tickets for the 27th showing. 

Just a heads up if you are a history buff, this is well worth taking the time to see.

http://www.theyshallnotgrowold.movie/

[BruceK]

Thanks for the reminder!  I've been looking forward to seeing this documentary, and I just purchased my ticket for the 27th.  My brother and I were discussing this last month, and decided that we'd both go see it.  He's in St. Louis and he saw it on the 17th.  He said it was absolutely incredible, and moving too.  We don't know much of our family history (both my parents were only children, so we have no uncles/aunts/cousins) but we recently learned that our paternal grandfather fought in WWI, suffered exposure to a gas attack, was sent home to the US, was able to father my dad, and then he died soon after.   

[Jims5543]

Wow! That was heavy!

Peter Jackson did an amazing job and turned out an amazing documentary, after the credits they ran a 30 minute documentary on how it was all done, when you consider the 100's of hours of footage they sorted through. Then throw in the 100's of hours of audio interviews on BBC radio from the 60's and 70's that they sorted through as well, what a daunting task.

From a geeky techy perspective it was extremely interesting to see how they did what they did, restore 100 year old film, add color and sound to it, tastefully and bring it to life.

Our showing was in 3D, I would have preferred it to be just a 2D showing, you take what you can get.

The entire documentary is narrated by use of the BBC radio interviews, they matched footage up with words and told a small story about the British troops on the northern front vs. Germany.

They took you from the moment England knew they were going to get involved with the war, through basic training, to the battle field, then through the big push and finally the end of the war and how it was to return home.

Sobering is probably not a strong enough word.

Jackson could easily turn this into a series of stories, he alludes to the fact there he had to choose this one story line, yet there were dozens of stories that could be told.

I hope this comes out on video, I would watch it again in a minute.

[BruceK]

I watched the documentary 2 days ago, and I agree with Jim it was sobering and thought-provoking.  The fact there was no narration other than the actual soldiers telling their individual stories and recollections was really effective.  There was a separate "making of" documentary following the showing at my local theater too, and Jackson explained that he wasn't trying to produce an historical reference volume of the war showing the causes and effects and context, but he wanted instead a film that would work to explain what it was like for an average guy to experience it.  One thing that was clear in the making-of documentary is that there was so much more that could have been covered - the affect of the first aircraft in war, the first use of submarines, the contributions of other parts of the British Empire and its allies, including the US and Canada.  I am hopeful that these other stories will receive similar treatment in future documentaries.  And, yes, I could have done without the 3D effect too.

I also learned that Jackson's grandfather's story of being in the war and becoming disabled, then fathering Jackson's dad in 1920, and dying later on, pretty much mirrored what happened with my grandfather and dad, also born in 1920..