---
title: "Peter Jackson’s New Documentary Shows World War I As You’ve Never Seen It Before"
date: "2018-10-15"
modified: "2018-10-15"
authors:
  - name: "James Clark"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/james-clark/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/peter-jackson-wwi-documentary-colorized/"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "Entertainment"
  - "History"
  - "Past Conflicts"
  - "World War I"
---

# Peter Jackson’s New Documentary Shows World War I As You’ve Never Seen It Before

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/18990714-1.png>)

For the first time in a century, World War I can be seen, and heard, the way it was for those who waged it.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War, Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson (*The Lord of the Rings* trilogy) digitally remastered a trove of silent black and white footage from the war, bringing it to life with color and sound in the new documentary *[They Shall Not Grow Old](<https://www.theyshallnotgrowold.film/>).*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPlXlshA0Zc

The four-year project was commissioned by the [Imperial War Museum](<https://www.iwm.org.uk/>) in partnership with the BBC, which provided Jackson with 600 hours of footage to produce the film. The 90-minute documentary captures the realities of war on the Western Front, from combat, to life in the trenches, and those brief moments of respite during the soldiers' downtime.

Related: See 6 Incredible World War II Photos In Color »

“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," Jackson, who was drawn to the topic due to his grandfather's service in World War I, said in an [interview](<https://inews.co.uk/news/oscar-winning-director-peter-jackson-archive-footage-first-world-war/>) with the United Kingdom's iNews.

The documentary features commentary from 120 World War I veterans pulled from recordings of BBC interviews conducted in 1964, and moments of dialogue captured on film were recreated using professional lip readers, and narrated by professional actors.

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/image-placeholder-title-1184.png>)

"They Shall Not Grow Old" took four years to create and was pulled together from 600 hours of silent black and white footage.

In the [trailer](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPlXlshA0Zc>) we see and hear artillery firing into the distance, first-generation tanks rumble over trenches, as cavalry races along shallow riverbeds. In the next moment, British soldiers laugh, smoke, and grin at the camera — some with ash and mud still on their faces.

The newly colorized footage, while visually stunning, is only half the allure of the film — the real draw is in the soldiers themselves.

“There's been lots of documentaries made on the First World War … and I just decided for this one to strictly just use the voices of the guys that fought there," Jackson told iNews.

“It's not the story of the war. It's the story of the human experience of fighting in the war."

*They Shall Not Grow Old* makes its debut at the [BFI London Film Festival](<https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp>) on Oct. 16, and is scheduled to run on BBC on Nov. 11.

### DON'T MISS: 'For Heavens Sake Stop It': How A WWI Army Officer Stopped Friendly Fire From Hitting His Men

## Author
James Clark is the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JamesWClark>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jclarkjournalism/>)