They Shall Not Grow Old

Peter Jackson’s deep interest in the First World War is widely known and includes his Vintage Aviator company restoring/rebuilding classic aircraft from the period, and his Wingnut Wings company. This astounding film is impossible to over-praise and worthy of every superlative bestowed upon it: the focus is very specifically the experiences of British Army volunteers, and later some conscripts, on the western front from 1914-18 and we see WW1 through their eyes and memories.Jackson selects from hundreds of hours of veterans’ recollections recorded in the 1960s and stored in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, and uses these voices as the narrative soundtrack to the film. These recollections cover recruitment, training, fighting and R&R on the western front, and mixed with the squalor and matter-of-fact accounts of death and injuries is a surprisingly large dose of humour. Many survivors state that they are actually glad they went through these experiences which were the defining events of their lives.The meticulous film restoration and colourization is what brings the war to life. Restorations of this quality which are obviously now possible – with enough care, patience and expertise - point the way to a future film landscape bringing more immediacy to countless miles of surviving archive film from the early 20th century.Whether you see ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ in 2D or 3D (a minority of reviewers seem obsessively hung-up on the current unavailability of Jackson’s 3D version), this is a film like no other and should be seen. It’s a truly epic and deeply moving piece of work which engages attention from start to finish. Bravo, Mr. Jackson: you are one of New Zealand’s national treasures.

This film is one of the most stunning and evocative films. Peter Jackson and his whole team should be highly praised for the work they put into this hugely important documentary.Though the change from black and white takes nearly half and hour to happen after the start, the effect is truly amazing. It brings the people and soldiers to life; and for a moment you think it might be been re-shot with modern actors- but it wasn't.Also; though no doubt a bit 'sanitised';,they obviously couldn't film actual advances towards the enemy-other than the beginnings of, the sound track of soldiers voices and 'stills' make up for it and the full horror(s) of what they faced on an almost day to day basis and it all becomes far clearer in full colour.The surviving soldiers stories also relate just how most of them went from being gung-ho for war at the start right through the horrors and their feelings at the end ranging from was it all worth it to would they still have jobs to go to. The final comment from a soldier who does return to his work place and the 'comment' from a prewar former colleague speaks volumes for the lack of knowledge & understanding of those who did not have to go ( too old etc).

Even taking away the colourisation of the film itself and the voices added for effect, listening to the stories interwoven with the footage is heartbreaking, the dead bodies littering the fields of war a painful reminder of the human costs not felt by those who declare war in the first place.The fact that most recollections recall both how brave the Germans were in the trenches and how nice the surrendered soldiers were and their joint desire for it to all just be over.This is an appalling and ugly reminder that wars are not romantic and death is an almost inevitable outcome for most of the participants, we should never forget the horrific price paid by young men who lied about their ages to fight for the honour of their country and for the lives they were leaving behind to be able to carry on as they always had.This is such an essential watch for those who cannot understand due to the distance of time what war was like when we started becoming really good at killing each other, horrific and heroic in equal measure this really is a tragic and fascinating look back at a time that I pray is never to come around again.

Full marks for the technological restoration work on this Blu Ray disk of such an important historical subject matter from over 100 years ago.Viewers should be advised that this film does contain graphic scenes of mass human and animal slaughter, but I guess it must do to highlight and drive home the full impact of the true realities of modern warfare.I couldn't help but notice the veterans who each briefly narrated on their own personal memoirs in this film were unusually upbeat giving an impression that they had been specially selected for purposes of patriotism. ( hence I deducted 1 star for that )I think it's a shame that director Peter Jackson didn't follow through on the fate of those who were lucky enough to have survived that period of hell on earth after they returned home regarding the chronic hardships most veterans had to endure due to disability, most returned home as mentally broken men unable to readapt back into society with next to zero help & assistance from the very state who sent them to war. ( Rudyard Kipling's famous Tommy Atkins poem ring any bells ? ) Some of these brave veterans ended up as tramps wondering the road as a way of life to the very end of their days. You see, for veterans of conflict the horrors of war do not simply disappear when the guns fall silent..... We would be wise to remember that.

They Shall Not Grow Old is a remarkable film, and unlike anything you will have seen before. Old archive film from the Great War, that would have previously been lost to the general public has been lovingly and respectfully restored and colourised. This has been done with an amazing eye to detail and in a very sensitive way. It brings the soldiers alive again and gives a new perspective on this terrible conflict. My grandfather and great uncle both fought in the war and passed away many years ago. I now feel I know them better, which I didn’t expect. It is very moving and stays with you, even writing this review several weeks after watching it has brought back the emotions.I’ve noticed a few reviewers have been critical because they expected the film to be in 3D. This surprised me because I’ve never seen any mention of 3D anywhere else apart from in these reviews. It’s certainly not mentioned on the accompanying documentary. 3D would have been wrong as it would be too gimmicky for this subject. This film is an act of remembrance not a video game, and it is perfectly placed as it is.

If you truly wish to remember those who died in the Great War, those who survived but never really recovered and those who came back to lead normal lives, this film is all you need. The use of modern technology to colour the film footage, slow the action down to normal speed and fit authentic sound and voices to it brings these men much closer to us. It makes them much more real, including some very minor misbehaviour which shows them to be much more like lads nowadays than we might expect. And it's enough to break your heart, more than any solemn ceremony at a war memorial could. I've watched it a few times and I don't think I could ever get through it without shedding a tear, but you can also laugh with them and having read umpteen books on the subject, I can say that there is no better representation of what it was really like for soldiers on the Western Front than this.

Missed out on seeing this on the big screen as we are living in the US at the moment and I never saw it advertised here. Purchased this as soon as it was released on DVD and had it sent over. This is such an extraordinary piece of work and an absolute credit to everyone who painstakingly restored the images. It is also an outstanding tribute to the men who were part of the WW1 fight in the trenches. Whilst we have all seen footage and photos that exist, and movies that have been made telling the story, this was just unbelievable to watch real footage that was so realistic. What these people endured made me cry and how anyone survived is a miracle. For us now 100 years on it is so hard to comprehend that this is actually all factual and not a figment of someone's imagination. This should be shown to every single person in the UK, every gender, race and creed to ensure that everyone knows what the meaning of war is and the absolute futility of people not being able to compromise and live alongside each other in harmony. The sacrifice of this generation should not be forgotten as we hope that no future generation will ever have to face the choices these men did to protect what they believed in.

This fantastic DVD, brings to life, old black and white footage of our forefathers and in my case, my grandfather, who fought in Two World Wars. Like most people, we have only ever viewed the hell of the trenches in black and white, now it has been transformed into colour, as if it was last week.Images of our fallen forefathers, lying dead in the trenches, with blood oozing out of them, previously not noticeable in black and white, really brings it home to you. We can never know what the hell of the trenches was like, in our cushy 21st century lives, but this is the nearest we can come to empathizing what our hero ancestors went through - the colourised images of trenchfoot, the lice and other hellish ways of day to day life in the trenches, such as watching your mates being blown to bits. Like many other of our brave men who lied about their age to enlist, as did my grandfather, who fought in the trenches with the Royal Irish Rifles and later with the Royal Irish Fusiliers. At the end, we hear that very old, famous, but bawdy song, The Mademoiselle From Armentieres, which would have kept up the moral of our forefathers. It is one of those songs, that once it gets embedded inside your head, you can't get it out.When we see the state of our country today and what is happening every weekend, with hate marches taking over London, we find ourselves asking - is this what they fought for? The same hate marchers, climbing up on war memorials and placing Palestinian flags on them and showing total hatred, never mind any respect for our brave forefathers and nothing is done to stop this abominable behaviour.Lest we forget. At the going down of the sun and in the morning - we will remember them.

Ajouter des couleurs et du son, ralentir l’action a transformé ce film. Avec ceci et le nouveau film 1917 on peut vraiment comprendre de près le courage de tous ces soldats.

I have to say, slapping this disc in my computer took me for a helluva ride. The (re)production quality was absolutely immaculate, considering they were dealing with footage from the early 20th century and how they implemented the added on voicelines and sound effects made this once series of fully silent films into a bonafide documentary movie. While I had to rerun some of the scenes due to waning interest and multitasking (which I am very horrendous at for the latter), it was worth rewinding to that part where I left off just to make sure I captured every moment. (As you could probably tell, I was that engrossed in the movie.)I recall a notable scene (that might have been shown in another documentary) where it had a British battalion waiting for the command--the whistle--to go out and charge against the German Empire opposition, only to be gunned down with a marginal success, seconds later.You will be taken to hell and back as this entire movie takes you into the frontlines where the Brits fought during the Great War. You will face Britain's triumphs and failures; you will face, firsthand, the many troops who were there in their encampments trying to make the best of it all, when they're in the frontlines, still trying to keep the mood up despite their imminent deaths, and the aftermath of it all. Especially if you are buffed with the history involving these wars, it adds to the overall emotion and grittiness that these massively bloody battles had contributed to the entire planet.It's like terror, only it is one aspect of the war that unashamedly reflects the realities of how World War I went on; it wasn't glory, nor successfully winning every fight with injuries or fewer deaths; it is unlike how most of their nations would typically view it under propaganda. It is gritty, horrible, perilous, and excruciating, and it only made me empathise with these past soldiers without ever having to be there.As for the physical product, itself: based on the seller I bought this from, the entire casing was mostly intact with one small part of the disc holder (albeit most DVD cases were made very cheaply, sadly) being completely broken off, but the disc worked just fine, to my surprise. While I'm not exactly sure why the seller did not attempt to put more packaging material for the entire product, as I do know that DVDs can be very fragile and very much prone to scratching and being unreadable, I was, again, surprised that the entire disc media was not destroyed or rendered unreadable, nor scratched, at the very least.Like I said, vehemently: you will love this movie, especially if you just want another glimpse--perhaps another perspective--of the Great War.

この映画はぜし多くの人に見て貰いたい！戦争の悲惨がカラーで、生々しく描かれた記録映画で、本当にあった事なので、見ごたえがあった。

Me ha encantado la película y la entrevista que viene como extra. Como único problema pondría el hecho de que los únicos subtítulos son en inglés.

A not to be missed, brilliant retelling of some of the 1914-1918 conflict using restored and enhanced, archival movie footage of the front lines and recruitment processes. It clearly illustrates the pointlessness of war and the tragedy of sacrificing millions of young lives in senseless conflict. It also shows the devastating effects of the development of modern weapons and the methods of mass killing on an unprecedented scale. The restored movie footage, coloured and supplemented with sound brings the conflict into stark reality for a modern audience. Everyone should see this video.