Against Peter Jackson's “They Shall Not Grow Old” by Tim Carmody

Earlier this year I linked to the trailer for They Shall Not Grow Old, a film by Peter Jackson that used restored and colourised footage of the first World War.

It's one of those trailers that sends shivers down your spine. Seen like never before, the short clips in full colour were astonishing.

Little did I know, the BBC would be airing (I missed it) the film. Luckily I caught it on iPlayer the day it expired and I was completely underwhelmed with the result. Tim Carmody gives a detailed take on what was wrong with this film.

Perhaps my own take was clouded by what I thought it would be. I expected a minutes long short film with restored footage. Perhaps spanning the entire war or a particular conflict. Sadly neither of these and more about using a single narrative to cover the entire first truly World War.

Not to say it shouldn't be seen. Black and white video is fine, but film in colour and running at the right speed is going to be more compelling.