They Shall Not Grow Old

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''They Shall Not Grow Old'' is a 2018

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed and produced by Peter Jackson. The film was created using original footage of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from the Imperial War Museum's archives, most previously unseen, all over 100 years old by the time of release. Audio is from

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

and Imperial War Museum (IWM) interviews of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

servicemen who fought in the conflict. Most of the footage has been

colourised Film colorization (American English; or colourisation [British English], or colourization [ Canadian English and Oxford English]) is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia, or other monochrome moving-picture image ...

and transformed with modern production techniques, with the addition of

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

s and

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

to be more evocative and feel closer to the soldiers' actual experiences. It is Jackson's first documentary as director. Jackson, whose grandfather (to whom the film is dedicated) fought in the war, intended for the film to be an immersive experience of "what it was like to be a soldier" rather than a story or a recount of events. The crew reviewed 600 hours of interviews from 200 veterans and 100 hours of original film footage to make the film. The title was inspired by the line "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old" from the 1914 poem "

For the Fallen "For the Fallen" is a poem written by Laurence Binyon. It was first published in ''The Times'' in September 1914. Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (usually now just the fourth) have been claimed as a tribute to all casualties ...

" by Laurence Binyon, famous for being used in the

Ode of Remembrance "For the Fallen" is a poem written by Laurence Binyon. It was first published in ''The Times'' in September 1914. Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (usually now just the fourth) have been claimed as a tribute to all casualti ...

. ''They Shall Not Grow Old'' premiered simultaneously at the BFI London Film Festival and in selected cinemas in the UK on 16 October 2018, before airing on BBC Two on 11 November 2018 (the hundredth anniversary of the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

); it received a limited US release on 17 December. Following its box office success, the film received a wide theatrical release in February 2019 (the film's theatrical release was handled by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

). It was acclaimed by critics for its restoration work, immersive atmosphere and portrayal of war, and earned a nomination for the

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary This page lists the winners for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award, for each year. History The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts an ...

Production

The film was co-commissioned by

14–18 NOW 14–18 NOW was the UK's arts programme for the First World War centenary. Working with arts and heritage partners all across the UK, the programme commissioned new artworks from 420 contemporary artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers and perfo ...

and Imperial War Museums in association with the BBC, who approached Jackson in 2015 for the project. According to Jackson, to make the film, the crew of ''They Shall Not Grow Old'' reviewed 600 hours of interviews from the BBC and the IWM and 100 hours of original film footage from the IWM. The interviews came from 200 veterans, with the audio from 120 of them being used in the film. After receiving the footage, Jackson decided that the film would not feature traditional

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

and that it would instead only feature audio excerpts of the soldiers talking about their war memories, in order to make the film about the soldiers themselves; for the same reason, it barely features any dates or named locations. Jackson stated: "We made a decision not to identify the soldiers as the film happened. There were so many of them that names would be popping up on the screen every time a voice appeared. In a way it became an anonymous and agnostic film. We also edited out any references to dates and places, because I didn’t want the movie to be about this day here or that day there. There's hundreds of books about all that stuff. I wanted the film to be a human experience and be agnostic in that way. ... I didn't want individual stories about individuals. I wanted it to be what it ended up being: 120 men telling a single story. Which is: what was it like to be a British soldier on the western front?" In another interview, he stated "

he men He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

saw a war in colour, they certainly didn't see it in black and white. 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's own paternal grandfather,

Sgt. Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

William Jackson, to whom the film is dedicated, was British and fought in the First World War; Peter grew up with his father telling him his grandfather's war stories. Jackson stated that after making the film, he now had "a greater understanding of what my grandfather would have gone through". Jackson did not receive any fee for the making of the film. Although only a small part of it was used, Jackson's crew visually restored all 100 hours of footage the Imperial War Museums sent them for free, "just to get their archive in better shape". It was produced by

WingNut Films WingNut Films, Inc. is a New Zealand production company based in Wellington, with other offices in Hollywood, United States, London, United Kingdom, and Melbourne, Australia. It is notable for producing and collaborates predominantly with filmma ...

with House Productions as executive producers and was supported by the UK's National Lottery through the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

Music

The music was composed by New Zealand trio Plan 9, consisting of David Donaldson, Steve Roche and Janet Roddick. The closing credits of the film feature an extended version of the song "

Mademoiselle from Armentières "Mademoiselle from Armentières" is an English song that was particularly popular during World War I. It is also known by its ersatz French hook line, 'Inky Pinky Parlez Vous,' or the American variant 'Hinky Dinky Parlez-vous' (variant: ''Parlay v ...

", which was particularly popular during the war. Jackson decided late in the production to use the song and there was little time to assemble the performers. Rather than have non-British men try to sing in

British accent Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. For example, the United Kingdom has the largest variation of accents of any country in the world, and therefore no single "British accent" exists. This a ...

s, native speakers in service to the UK government were recruited from the British High Commission in New Zealand.

Release

The film premiered on 16 October 2018 as a Special Presentation at the BFI London Film Festival, in the presence of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, while also being released in several selected cinemas across the country; copies were also sent to UK schools the same day. The film was simultaneously screened in 2D and 3D at cinemas, schools and special venues across the UK. The

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

included a special post-screening Q&A with Jackson, hosted by the film critic Mark Kermode. The film was broadcast on BBC Two on 11 November 2018, the one-hundredth anniversary of the

. To accompany the film, a special episode of the documentary series ''

What Do Artists Do All Day? ''What Do Artists Do All Day?'' is a documentary series, airing on BBC Four. Film crews accompany various prominent artists as they go about their daily schedules and share insights into their working lives and creative processes. Episodes Seri ...

'' which followed Peter Jackson making the film aired the following day on BBC Four. The film received a special United States release through

Fathom Events Fathom Events is an entertainment content provider that broadcasts entertainment events in movie theaters throughout the United States including Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, the performing arts, major sporting events, and music concerts. Th ...

in 2D and 3D, on 17 and 27 December 2018. Warner Bros. launched a theatrical release in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, on 11 January 2019 with plans to expand to 25 markets on 1 February. Because it missed the 1 October 2018 filing deadline, the film was deemed ineligible for consideration for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosoph ...

at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, ...

; because it is still a 2018 film, it was also ineligible for the ceremony the following year.

Reception

Box office

''They Shall Not Grow Old'' has grossed $18 million in the United States and Canada, and $2.5 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $20.4 million. In the United States, the film was screened as part of a one-day presentation through

on 17 December 2018 and grossed $2.3 million, setting a record for a documentary showing through the company. Encore screenings were held on December 27, making $3.4 million from two showtimes at 1,122 cinemas. It was the highest-grossing single-day total ever for a documentary playing via Fathom, and one of the top-grossing single-day presentations of any kind from the company. On

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...

, the film grossed an additional $2.6 million from 1,335 cinemas. The film had a general release in 735 cinemas on 1 February 2019 and made $2.4 million, finishing 10th.

Critical response

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, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "An impressive technical achievement with a walloping emotional impact, ''They Shall Not Grow Old'' pays brilliant cinematic tribute to the sacrifice of a generation." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalised rating based on reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim"; it is labeled as a "Metacritic must-see". Giving the film a five-star rating,

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...

in his review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "a visually staggering thought experiment", saying "The effect is electrifying. The soldiers are returned to an eerie, hyperreal kind of life in front of our eyes, like ghosts or figures summoned up in a seance. The faces are unforgettable. ... The details are harrowing, as is the political incorrectness of what the soldiers recall: some express their candid enjoyment of the war, others their utter desensitisation to what they experienced." Guy Lode of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "a technical dazzler with a surprisingly humane streak", stating "if ''They Shall Not Grow Old'' is head-spinning for its jolting animation of creakily shot battle scenes—tricked out with ingeniously integrated sound editing and seamlessly re-timed from 13 frames a second to 24—its greatest revelation isn't one of sound and fury. Rather, it's the film's faces that stick longest in the mind. Through the exhaustive transformation completed by Jackson's team, visages that were all but indistinguishably blurred in the archives take on shape, character and creases of worry, terror and occasional hilarity. In conjunction with the film's intricately stitched narration, its soldiers turn from cold statistics to warm, quivering human beings, drawing us with renewed empathy into a Great War that, they all but unanimously agree, had precious little greatness to it." Stephen Dalton of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' stated that the film "suggests new cinematic methods of rescuing history from history books, humanizing and dramatizing true stories with a modest injection of movie-world artifice. Some critics may object to how Jackson streamlines and elides real events, stripping away specifics while offering no broader socio-political comment on the war. But as an immersive primer on the first-hand experiences of British soldiers, this innovative documentary is a haunting, moving and consistently engaging lesson in how to bring the past vividly alive." Mike McCahill of

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

gave the film a B grade, considering that "the filmmaker's extensive restoration project doesn't always provide new insights, but it succeeds at creating a fresh look at the horrors of WWI." The response was not universally positive however, and particularly among archivists and film historians some concerns were raised about the ways in which the film erased the original filmmakers, manipulated the image through colourization and other techniques and implied that the original footage (much of which had been extensively restored by the IWM archives) was in disrepair.

References

External links

* * * {{Peter Jackson 2018 3D films 2018 documentary films 2018 films British 3D films British documentary films Documentary films about World War I Films directed by Peter Jackson WingNut Films films 3D documentary films Warner Bros. films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films Films produced by Peter Jackson