The Experiences of British Servicemen During World War I Come to Life in 'They Shall Not Grow Old'

They Shall Not Grow Old is a World War I documentary film directed and produced by Peter Jackson, who is best known as the auteur behind the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic high fantasy literature The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  This is his first time directing a documentary.

I could totally understand why Jackson became interested on making a documentary on World War I.  After all, Tolkien fought in it and his experiences had an influence on his writing of The Lord of the Rings.  But it’s also probable that Jackson had already had strong, non-LOTR-related feelings for this subject matter as his grandfather was a World War I veteran, and he even dedicated this film to him.

Regardless of how he had come to the decision to make this film, it can be told from the finished product how much Jackson cared for this particular event in history, especially when it comes to honoring the sacrifices made by the British servicemen who fought in it.

This movie features original, century-old World War I footage from the Imperial War Museum (IWM)’s archives.  These footage were restored and colorized, and sound effects and voice acting were then added to them.  The procedure made the soldiers’ experiences being shown in the footage to visibly and audibly connect to the audience in a more authentic and visceral way.

Audio from interviews of 120 veterans – courtesy of BBC and IWM – were also used for this movie.  As footage of specific events play, interview excerpts relevant to the subject matter accompany it.  These interviewees are named during the ending credits, but during the film, they are anonymous.  It makes the focus of the film on the collective experience of the British servicemen rather than the historical event itself and the textbook facts attached to it.

On a trivial side note, one of the interviewees sounds like Jim Cummings, the voice of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, and it was extremely charming to hear him.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that Jackson and his team actually restored 100 hours of footage, but only a small fraction of it was used for the film.  Apparently, the primary intention all along was the preservation of IWM’s archive.  I also read that Jackson didn’t receive a dime for his work on this film.

The earnestness at the core of this film, the state-of-the-art restorative work done on its footage, and the unique presentation of the content make They Shall Not Grow Old a prime example of how the artform of cinema can bring history to life in a compelling, meaningful manner.