Life changing

Watch how Peter Jackson is helping bring our history to life with new film.

Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings) has created a new film, using original footage from Imperial War Museums’ First World War film archive - thanks to National Lottery players.

Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, and Imperial War Museums, THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD received its world premiere on 16th October 2018, at the BFI London Film Festival. During the festival, he sat down to talk about this amazing project.

Renowned director Jackson combined his personal fascination with the period and his Academy Award winning directorial skills to bring the First World War to life in a way never seen before. They Shall Not Grow Old uses the voices of the veterans combined with original archival footage to bring to life the reality of war on the front line for a whole new generation. Footage has been colourised, converted to 3D and transformed with modern production techniques to present never before seen detail.

Peter Jackson, Director of They Shall Not Grow Old comments: "I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world, so they can regain their humanity once more – rather than be seen only as Charlie Chaplin-type figures in the vintage archive film. By using our computing power to erase the technical limitations of 100 year cinema, we can see and hear the Great War as they experienced it.”

They Shall Not Grow Old will be broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday 11th November at 9.30pm.

1st November 2018

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