They Shall Not Grow Old

From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “The Hobbit” Trilogy) comes the groundbreaking documentary “They Shall Not Grow Old,” presented on the centenary of the end of the First World War. Using state of the art technology to restore original archival footage which is more than a 100 years old, Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell this story: the men who were there. Driven by a personal interest in the First World War (his grandfather fought in it), Jackson set out to bring to life the day-to-day experience of its soldiers.

After months immersed in the BBC and Imperial War Museums’ archives, narratives and strategies on how to tell this story began to emerge for Jackson. Using the voices of the men involved, the film explores the reality of war on the front line; their attitudes to the conflict; how they ate; slept and formed friendships, as well what their lives were like away from the trenches during their periods of downtime. Jackson and his team have used cutting edge techniques to make the images of a hundred years ago appear as if they were shot yesterday.

The transformation from black and white footage to colourised images can be seen throughout the film, revealing never before seen details. Reaching into the mists of time, Jackson aims to give these men voices and investigate the hopes and fears of the veterans, as well as the humility and humanity represented by a generation changed forever by a global war.