“They Shall Not Grow Old”
I didn’t see the movie “They Shall Not Grow Old” in its limited 2-day run. In fact, I didn’t know what it was about until a few people recommended it in the recent movie thread here. It’s a documentary with a WWI theme, a subject already of great interest to me. But it’s the techniques used to make it that sound positively brilliant and even magical in bringing the past to vivid life.
Director Peter Jackson had access to 100 hours of old British black-and-white silent film of soldiers in the First World War, as well as interviews with WWI vets during the 1950s and 1960s when so many of them were still alive and kicking. But it’s not a conventional documentary. Instead of explaining what Jackson and his crew managed to do, I’ll show you.
Here’s the trailer:
And here’s a discussion by the director:
[NOTE: Here’s a review in National Review. And if you missed the first two screenings like I did, keep checking, because apparently there will be two more showings in limited theaters, one on January 11 and one on February 1.]
Apparently shown and to be shown only in AMC theaters, which owns Fathom Events, the film’s primary funder.
No AMC theater in my area.
Too bad. But an odd way to make money on a product.
“They Shall Not Grow Old” is not, strictly speaking, a documentary. It is merely original archival footage taken during the war of the experiences of the infantry. It doesn’t go into the history of the war; we don’t know (except for one clip in the “making of” afterword) where the soldiers were, or what battle they were fighting. Aside from the battles against the mud, the rain, the rats….
The “sound track” isn’t actually describing the film being shown. It was taken from the recorded interviews, long later, of the surviving infantrymen. At some points during the audio, the video is sort-of synchronized to the narration.
Peter Jackson’s crew has done miraculous work in restoring and animating the hundred-year-old film.
I was not aware of this movie until the past week and I am looking forward to seeing it, either in another release in the theaters or on TV. The Great War, WWI killed off so many on both sides, our US involvement was small compared to those in Europe and the world was a different place when it finally ended, the six month predictions on both side did not work out that way.
Seeing this event in color with the films reworked brings this pivotal event to life, 100 years later life but seeing those faces and knowing the loss of life and how many left home and did not grow old is moving. Thanks Neo for this posting.
Cicero said; “But an odd way to make money on a product.”
I think it was done more as a “labor of love” rather than a “movie”.
I saw it during a two-day run in Pittsburgh last week. It’s just spectacular, the most extraordinary documentary I’ve ever seen. It’s important to wear the 3-D glasses they give you to fully experience the film (I’m usually annoyed by 3-D, but it’s essential in this case). Also, be sure to stay at the end, after the credits roll, to hear Peter Jackson give a brief explanation (20-30 minutes or so) of the filmmaking techniques they used. Well worth it.
We saw it at the 12/17 showing. I think they were not certain of its appeal to American audiences. It was made and released for Remembrance Day in Britain.
My daughter and I once sat in Westminster Abbey on Remembrance Day with the Royal Army Medical Corps at the invitation of a retired RAMC doctor friend. We also went to Ypres with them in 2015, which was the 200th anniversary of Waterloo. Ypres is near Waterloo
The movie is terrific and I hope to see again when more showings are planned.
Ken Mitchell:
I don’t know your definitely of “documentary,” but the film certainly fits mine. The original footage was used, but most documentaries use at least some original footage of whatever it is they’re about. But much of the speech in it is not just reconstructions of what was said in that original footage. Much of the speech was very much in line with a documentary in that it was spoken in interviews many many decades after WWI, with surviving veterans of that war. Then the makers of the new documentary, “They Shall Not Grow Old,” spent years editing and choosing what they would run in the 90 minute film, and also improving the quality and all the things Jackson discusses in his interview.
No voiceover narration from the present is necessary in order for it to qualify as a documentary.
Here’s the definition of a documentary:
A documentary certainly does not have to be a complete history of an event in order to qualify, either. It can focus on an aspect of an event. This one does not purport to be a history of WWI. It is a look at the experience of the soldiers who fought it.
YES, please do see it if you can. It is simply amazing. Several yrs ago my best friend and I did a tour of WWI battlefields, from Ypres to Verdun. So seeing this film after the tour really brought into focus the men who fought there. One scene was in the Sunken Road and we actually walked that road, stood where they were.
Lynn, a family converted their farm into a museum after the battles of Ypres (There were two) as trenches and gear were all over it. Then grandchildren still run it. I have a photo of the trench they have preserved all these years in that post about the trip. They have a huge collection of gear recovered from the land.
There is a rumor that there will be a wider release in February. Anyone know more about that?
Anyone know more about that?
I’ve seen something about dates in February and wider release after that.
I recall criticism of “Dunkirk” for its lack of women and people of color.
I’ll bet Peter Jackson is just as misogynist and racist in “They Shall Not Grow Old.”
I hope a lot of young people see this movie. They need to see what real bravery and sacrifice is. Maybe it should even be a requirement for admission to college.
Mike K,
I saw Jan 11 somewhere.
I was glad to hear it will be re-released in Jan. (or Feb.); the closest theater on December 27th was 160 miles away.
I recall criticism of “Dunkirk” for its lack of women and people of color.
The left is crazy but the French did have black troops in WWI. Senegalese.
The Brits has “people of color” also. African, Sub continent India (before it was divvied up). And I believe there were also Black American troops. I think that the movie did show some of the British troops from their “colonies”, but I just can’t remember.
Jackson mentions (second video in the post) that the colored troops were not issued guns and were restricted to manual labor, except for some of the Sikhs, who the British valued as soldiers from an early date, IIRC.
I wonder if fewer of them died, because they weren’t participating in the insane attacks on the German fortifications. Of course, there was disease and shelling of their own positions.
I saw it in New York last week. A fascinating film. Unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to get into any of the three theaters with the 3-D version, so we went to one in Brooklyn: by the time we got there, that was also sold out, so we were glad we bought tickets in advance.
My one quibble is that I think the men’s reminiscences about the experience of being in combat would have been even more powerful if the audience had been given Some kind of frame: not least because modern audiences generally know little to nothing about the Great War. Also because it leaves one with the impression that it was even more pointless than it in fact was (and I believe it was a pretty crazy war).
The ones who know even a little about WWI are the ones going to the movie. The kids who have no idea are going to see “Battle Girl” or whatever the hell its title is.
It’s too bad that History is no longer taught in schools. When I was about 12, I found my cousin’s “World History” textbook from high school. It read like a novel, and I read it through several times., Its began with the Doric Invasion of Greece and the Punic Wars. Nothing like that is taught these days.
He had graduated the year I was born and did 50 missions in a B 17.
> It read like a novel
I remember history books like that. I have no idea what is taught in school these days, but whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to include events and dates. History without dates is an interesting concept.
Chuck: You gotta love that Howard Zinn!
I remember history books like that.
I think they are largely pictures these days. History, actual history , is optional.
Also politics. My freshman college daughter was taught (it was in her final exam study guide) that “The Silent Majority” was made up of white people who refused to accept the 1964 Civil Rights Act, No mention of Nixon or Vietnam. She was also taught that the Indians taught the settlers how to farm. There might have been some truth in Massachusetts with the Penobscots and Iroquois but the Plains Indians were hunter gatherers. This was US History Since 1877 at the U of Arizona.
I never figured out how to fight a 300dg fire.
https://news.usni.org/2017/05/17/the-attack-uss-stark-at-30
“The first missile punched through the hull near the port bridge wing, eight feet above the waterline. It bored a flaming hole through berthing spaces, the post office, and the ship’s store, spewing rocket propellant along its path. Burning at 3,500 degrees, the weapon ground to a halt in a corner of the chiefs’ quarters, and failed to explode,”
It didn’t explode. It incinerated. The USNI description almost bloodlessly talks about the Exocet boring through the ship’s hull. The thing was, it still had a nearly a full load of fuel.
“The second missile, which hit five feet farther forward, detonated as designed. The fire burned for almost a day, incinerating the crew’s quarters, the radar room, and the combat information center.”
Thirty-seven sailors died as a result of the missile strikes and the ship was sidelined for repairs for more than a year.”
I do know this. At these temperatures water will flash to steam before it hits the deck.
What I’m saying, I suppose, is that I also had the job once of turning scared children into Sailors.
Yes, they really want to kill you. But if you don’t let them get close enough they can’t. But sometimes not even the best Sailor can prevent that, And I couldn’t really prepare them.
Hate on me all you whish. I want to see this film. It’s just that I couldn’t see it in public as I’d see the image of my 17 y.o. Coastie dad at the tail end of WWII, and it’s unseemly for me to cry in public. I hope I can get it on DVC.
DVD
Mike K,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_soil_epidemic
Also known as a virgin land epidemic. The point being that one culture encounters another, and the encountered culture has nothing to prevent a disease to run rampant.
The thing is, your daughter is being indoctrinated to believe (I am not suggesting she’s falling for it, just that it is being attempted) that the dastardly Europeans caused disease deliberately.
They would never suggest this about the Kurds, who most likely transmitted the black death to Europe. Because of course the Kurds are brown and the Euros are white. So only white Europeans can be guilty.
https://nypost.com/2018/05/07/ex-schneiderman-called-me-his-brown-slave-would-slap-me-until-i-called-him-master/
The former AG of New York used to slap around his Sri Lankan girl friend, call her his “brown slave,” and demand she call him master.
I would never get away with this weird s*** in Texas. My girlfriend would shoot me. Moreover, I’d want her to shoot me if ever occurred to me to act like this. What, Schneiderman doesn’t have a mother? A sister? And, even weirder, lib dem fems tried to shut the “brown slave” up.
https://hotair.com/archives/2018/05/08/samantha-bee-hey-im-really-sorry-literally-turning-eric-schneiderman-superhero/
Sure, they stopped, after a while.
I have inhabited the world made infamous (unfairly) for Tailhook. I have never inhabited the world of New York Attorneys General and/or governors. Nor have I ever wanted to. I’ve spent nights in jail and met a better class of people.
A good friend will bail you out. A really, really good friend will be sitting in the cell with you saying, “Man, that was fun.”
Attention to oath of service:
I, Swabbie, in lieu of going to prison, swear to sign away four years of my life to the United States Navy because I want to hang out with Marines without actually having to BE one of them, because I thought the Air Force was too “corporate,” and because I thought, “Hey, I like to swim…Why not?”
I promise to wear clothing that went out of style in 1976 and to have my name stenciled on the butt of every pair of pants I own. I understand that I will be mistaken for the Good Humor man during the summer, and for the Waffen SS during the winter. I will strive to use a different language than the rest of the English-speaking world, using words like “deck, bulkhead, cover, and head,” when I really mean “floor, wall, hat, and toilet.” I will take great pride in the fact that all Navy acronyms, ranks and insignia, and everything else for that matter, are completely different from the other services and make absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
I further swear to drive forever more a 4×4 Ford Econoline van with shag carpet and tow gen-u-wine smokey-and-the-bandit Trans Am to every drag race in the Midwest for next twenty years, so help me gawd.
I apologize if, whatever. How does a Democrat in NY state avoid prosecution for this? What, are you running out of them? Last I looked NY state had plenty of lawyers willing to risk their careers slapping around brown women. And, plenty of brown and white women willing to throw themselves into volcanoes if that was what it took to beat Trump.
Well, back to “They Shall Not Grow Old.” Saw it in 2D and generally liked it very much. I was a bit dismayed by the fact that battles were non-specific (i.e., it seemed the experiences of the veterans were merged into what for me was a generic WW1 battle) rather than specific battles like Mons, Ypres, Somme, etc. but still, I would heartily recommend it and give Peter Jackson HUGE credit for doing this. If you get a chance — and it comes back — definitely go see it!
Well back to, “They shall not grow old,” just how many generations do you imagine need to pass before things become personal for a man? I would suggest, not as many as you might think.
It has only been a little over a century since my father’s family came off the boat. How hard do you imagine it will be to document my family’s record in the Coast Guard, Army, and Navy?
I have the USCG records that show he had two years of high school. Make me show it.
Steve57, thank you for your comments.
Neo, thank you for this posting.
Julie, I would hate to burst your bubble. It hurts me that you think I could be a good man. And, at least so far as I’m a dishonest man, that is true.I am not a dishonest man. I will try to better in the future.
I left it disambugous as to who is and who is not the honest man. Wonder why?
Julie, I need to restate my case. I think I am a good man. I just didn’t make the grade. I made a lot of grades. The last one was when I woke up at Master Air Base Oceana in Norfolk and couldn’t move from the neck down. I had been swimming a mile a day and G_d was punishing me. So I wake up, and the remote is lying next to me, and I can’t freaking reach it, and I look at the TV and it’s on what it was the night before, and I decide two things.
A) I guess I’m watching BET.
B) I’m not going to be a SEAL
LOL!
Still, Steve, I never accused you of being a “good man” man. Heaven forfend! Only the Great Frog knows for sure. –Are you by chance the Great Frog?
And if so, why, oh why, would the Great Frog think of becoming a Seal? Are you, or were you, polymorphous?
*Grin* you gots a great sensayuma there, Mr. Not-a-SEAL.
I think, however, that I takes yer point. :>)
I wanted to be an EOD diver. I wanted that kind of instant feedback. “I’ll show them,” I sez to myself.
They showed me.
You can’t go directly from Intel to what we in the Navy, who speak a language no other human beings speak, call Special Operations. SPECOPS. unlike anything you’ll hear in the Air Force or Russia, means you have to be certified to command a ship. A salvage ship or a submarine rescue ship. Bummer.
But, but, you can go SPECWAR, or Special Warfare. and blow out your shoulders which is the route I took.
Julie. I’ll leave it at this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=415HQ1t2ZNI
I’ve been laughing myself for over three decades.
Situation fatal. But not serious..
If I hadn’t lived my life until the USAF sorted itself out and the pararescuemen were a thing, and I hadn’t destroyed my body playing Rugby, and couple of other things like skiing on sprained/broken ankles just to prove I was a bad a##, I’d have joined the Air Force.
Not living life likely to damage myself is most likely to lead to success, how?
I think about the running of the bulls, and I pass out. The running of the oysters, maybe.
What is a good man? An honest man? Do you really want to know how you look in that dress? The honest answer is I picked you a long time ago, and it’s too late to back out now, so you’re perfect in that dress. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I am honest man. I can close my eyes and say you are exactly the woman I fell in love with. You haven’t changed a bit.
And I’d be right.
Well, Steve, I have worked unremittingly for seven decades and more so that I can fly with the Blue Angels.
But I have to tell you, nobody talks to me like that!
The Navy is just going to have to try to make do without me.
Thanks for opening my eyes!
I hope your shoulders are in reasonable shape today.
Steve57, on January 5, 2019 at 2:55 am at 2:55 am, edited for accuracy and honesty: