They Shall Not Grow Old
 

I just saw a clip about this movie earlier today. It has limited run showings in the US today and again on December 27 before opening a bid more widely in mid- January. I doubt it will ever be seen in a great number of theaters.

The Director Peter Jackson was given access to the British War Museum archives to over 600 hours of film from World War I. Using modern technology they cleaned up and colorized these grainy black and white films. They also used lip readers to add voices where they could. They also used stories from the actual survivors from the "Great War" that had been recorded about 50 years ago to add context. The results are amazing.

We are not able to go today but will try and get tickets for a showing on the 27th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrabKK9Bhds

Should be a fascinating movie to watch. :thumbsup: Besides getting a much better look into the history now in vivid color, it will also serve as yet another reminder how a handful of people determine the fate of millions who dare not ask questions as to why but are expected to lay their lives on the line... With the assassination of one Duke, 16 Million people lost their lives.

Serge
Excellent point and so sad..

They Shall Not Grow Old
 

The assassination of one Duke was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The spark that ignited the fuse of the volatile powder keg that Europe had become at that time.

Even without this event the war probably would have happened anyway. The Order of that time was unsustainable.

What I find unsettling is that young people just don’t seem to care or are not even remotely interested in this period of our not too distant past.

You are so right about that “handful” of people. As it stands now there are some dark forces at work in Europe and it would seem people haven’t learned anything from the past.

I can recommend visiting Flanders Fields, for me it was moving and heartbraking...the loss is almost tangible and roams the fields like a spectre.

The irony is that many modern medical practices found their origin in these dark times.

Saw it today. Fantastic and remarkable. Absolutely worthwhile if you like history.

I agree, it’s prevalent a lot of history as horrible as this was is forgotten today, and perhaps not forgotten but more like no interest.

Can you imagine how things will be remembered in another 100 years at this rate?

Good post, and I agree.

It's a shame that so many American schoolchildren can only name that one event as the cause of that terrible conflict.

Perhaps the topic is too complex for schoolchildren to dive into details. :sigh:

Considering just a few of the real causes such as imperialism, militarism, nationalism and mutual defense alliances alone would probably take a year to study in detail. Maybe a college level course for History Majors. :D

I had the opportunity to see this today. As noted earlier so far this has been a limited run engagement with showings on Dec 17 and Dec 27. From what I have heard most of these were Sold Out several days in advance. I chose the 3D version and am pleased that I did. There were no floating objects to distract the audience rather added depth of field to make for a very lifelike presentation.

The movie itself ran for 99 minutes followed by a 30 minute "How It Was Made" extra narrated by the films director Peter Jackson. It was originally conceived to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the war.

The film's content was derived from over 600 hours of audio interviews from actual WWI veterans that had been recorded over 50 years ago. They then used modern computer technology to clean up and colorize actual British War Archive footage. They had over 100 hours of film to select scenes that matched the audio storyline.

Since the cameras of the time were very large and not easy to set-up there was very little actual battle footage. This was more of the stories of preparing for battle and its aftermath.

Well done and lots of applause from the audience when it was over.

Amen brother.