They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
…………………………………………………
They Shall Not Grow Old Movie Review
They Shall Not Grow Old is a 2018 documentary film directed by Peter Jackson. It’s most certainly the finest documentary of the year.
………………………………………………….
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
This film recounts World War I and acts a centenary of that war. But it is not just another war film and is so much more than that. Yes, I’ve had a problem with it giving us no details whatsoever about the war and those speaking of it. However, instead we got something completely different and authentic.
This is what Christopher Nolan wanted to do with ‘Dunkirk’, but failed miserably. In a documentary format, this works splendidly. So basically Peter Jackson entirely got rid of the narration that would be the usual part of such an endeavor and instead put in countless recounts of the war from the war veterans and survivors themselves.
I could certainly hear that their interviews were old in sound, but they perfectly accompanied the imagery on screen as they are authentic and coming from the real people who participated in the war themselves. I cannot stress enough how important authenticity is when it comes to pictures such as this one. And this movie has it in spares.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
So those old voices are great, but what’s even better is the imagery that we witness here. Yes, this truly is a groundbreaking movie when it comes to its footage. They literally showed us here for the first time countless old footage, real footage shot in the 1910s of the war. Not only that, but they miraculously restored it to a crisp, modern look.
I certainly found the voices not fitting all that well to the actual footage, but still the fact that they also added sound and voices to the videos is beyond impressive. The colorization is terrific and everything looks so real. The film has a modern look to it and it’s wonderful that all of this footage is now available to the public for the ages.
Again, They Shall Not Grow Old is problematic for not giving us any details or facts in it. I realize that the approach they took is even better, but I need at least some facts in my documentaries. But otherwise this is a stellar film that is easily the best documentary of this year.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
The additional black-and-white footage is awesome and those animated excerpts are superb. What’s also great is the movie’s emotional investment as it really has an everlasting effect on the way you feel about this now very old and unfortunately not as dramatized war. Peter Jackson needs to be applauded for making such an impressive, one of a kind, ultimate World War I documentary.
They Shall Not Grow Old is not only impressive in its scope, but also in its miraculously restored WWI footage which is also colorized and even the sound is added. The result is an eerily modern, crisp look into what this war was really like and that authentic, more personal approach is further helped by the audio interviews from the real war servicemen themselves. It’s the best documentary of the year and the ultimate World War I doc.
