A Must See Film for History Nerds

You know I am an all-out history nerd. So when I heard about the movie They Shall Not Grow Old, I knew I had to see it. Not only is it a documentary about World War I, the time period during which my full-length novels are set, but it was put together solely with actual footage from WWI and narration by WWI vets recorded up to sixty years ago! How cool is that? Add in a stellar director—Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit fame—using some amazing modern technology and I was hooked.

The film was absolutely fascinating! (Although I will admit that a non-history nerd would likely find it boring and an ear not already attuned to British accents might strain to understand all the words.) But even more than the actual movie, which basically details a “typical” soldier’s life from joining up to mustering out, I sat mesmerized during the 30 minute talk by director Peter Jackson after the credits. In the “extra,” he details how he put the movie together, the technical methods they used to restore the actual film and then colorize the Western Front footage, and the decision-making process of choosing what to use of the over 100 hours of film they were given by the Imperial War Museum archives. And he shares his personal inspiration for this project—his grandfather, a WWI vet.

Truly, Peter Jackson brings WWI to life—the sights, the sounds, the stories. The real faces of real men who fought in France. I love his attention to detail—be it the colors of each uniform or the regional accents of the men talking in the old footage. The way he matched words to lip movements so that even though I knew they couldn’t have recorded sound for those films it sure seemed as if they had. And I love that he told the story with no 21st century overlay, no modern commentary. He let the men who lived it do the talking.

This is an important film—and not just for its historical information. Peter Jackson reminds us in his after-movie talk that this is a historical moment in which our recent ancestors participated. For some this event is as recent as their grandparents’ experience. For me, it was my great-grandfather—a man I actually met, albeit when he was very old. And yet my dad remembers him well, can talk of him clearly. He is not an unknown, not simply a name on a page. Yet in one more generation the world will be completely removed from the impact of WWI on their families, the participants and those who knew them being long gone.

They Shall Not Grow Old is somewhat hard to find on a screen in the US, so if you want to know more or get a sense of the work, go to the BBC History Extra Podcast site for an article, clips of the movie and the podcast link for their interview with Peter Jackson and with those in the Imperial War Museum who commissioned the film. Definitely worth a look and a listen whether you see the movie or not!

What is the most intriguing aspect of this film to you? Have you seen it? If so, share what impacted you most.