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WW I documentary that includes archive footage from the Imperial War Museum in England, of which a fair bit has been painstakingly restored and colourised, and voiceover commentary from some of those actually involved to decent effect.
One of the primary marketing aspects was that restoration and colourisation of footage and for the most part it is done well, with only odd aspects here and there looking somewhat less than realistic, and the transition to colour is managed really nicely. By bookending that reworked footage with original black & white segments, detailing the initial run-up to the war (with some amusing tales of recruiting shenanigans) and demobilisation following the armistice, it does make the footage from the front that little bit more impactful imo and hopefully enables the work to be viewed by a larger audience than it otherwise might have.
The synchronisation of commentary and images is generally nicely done and some of the colourised footage even has added vocalisation (the dialogue being ascertained by reading the lip-movements of those in shot) which works really well in bringing those pieces to life. The footage is periodically supplemented by use of images (such as cartoons) - mostly feeling pertinent and perfectly in keeping, though for me sadly one did feel a little out of place (with modern stills) but thankfully it's relatively brief and doesn't detract much from the overall experience.
Certainly life in the trenches and war at the front line is depicted as the abject horror it undoubtedly was but it's nice that there is also adequate footage of the troops away from that environment that helps reaffirm them as just normal, everyday folk thrust into a hellish situation that they could never have imagined when willingly responding to their country's call.
They Shall Not Grow Old is technologically rather impressive and obviously a labour of love that details a war which should never be forgotten in quite absorbingly fashion and I'm very happy to give it a
They Shall Not Grow Old
Peter Jackson
2018
Peter Jackson
2018
WW I documentary that includes archive footage from the Imperial War Museum in England, of which a fair bit has been painstakingly restored and colourised, and voiceover commentary from some of those actually involved to decent effect.
One of the primary marketing aspects was that restoration and colourisation of footage and for the most part it is done well, with only odd aspects here and there looking somewhat less than realistic, and the transition to colour is managed really nicely. By bookending that reworked footage with original black & white segments, detailing the initial run-up to the war (with some amusing tales of recruiting shenanigans) and demobilisation following the armistice, it does make the footage from the front that little bit more impactful imo and hopefully enables the work to be viewed by a larger audience than it otherwise might have.
The synchronisation of commentary and images is generally nicely done and some of the colourised footage even has added vocalisation (the dialogue being ascertained by reading the lip-movements of those in shot) which works really well in bringing those pieces to life. The footage is periodically supplemented by use of images (such as cartoons) - mostly feeling pertinent and perfectly in keeping, though for me sadly one did feel a little out of place (with modern stills) but thankfully it's relatively brief and doesn't detract much from the overall experience.
Certainly life in the trenches and war at the front line is depicted as the abject horror it undoubtedly was but it's nice that there is also adequate footage of the troops away from that environment that helps reaffirm them as just normal, everyday folk thrust into a hellish situation that they could never have imagined when willingly responding to their country's call.
They Shall Not Grow Old is technologically rather impressive and obviously a labour of love that details a war which should never be forgotten in quite absorbingly fashion and I'm very happy to give it a