shovel pass said:

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Saw this tonight and thought it was very impressive. The making of feature after the movie was as interesting to me as the documentary itself. When Jackson talks about the sunken road footage and then points out that most of the soldiers shown were likely killed within 30 minutes of being filmed it really hit home.

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that was my thought...knowing that everyone from the footage is deceased (albeit from the war or after) really sank in for me.

it is very well done.

Well, I watched it with my son last night. His history teacher was giving 10 extra points on an exam if they showed her a ticket stubb. I thought that was cool.

We both fell asleep for about 5 minutes each. They put something in those Studio Movie Grill burgers. I know that sounds awful, but I typically fall asleep during documentaries.

For the life of me, I could hardly understand what was being said by the survivors/story-tellers. The thick English accent combined with age made it difficult for me to follow. The stories I could follow were hilarious (humor got those guys through hell), frightening, and fascinating all at the same time.

I recently finished Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast on WWI--all 15 hours worth. I may have been expecting more of a story--perhaps Dan's ability to describe those scenes were even more vivid than what Peter Jackson was able to accomplish.

If/when you watch it, make damn sure closed caption is turned on.


Edit: I was incredibly surprised that no WWI memorial exists in DC. I will certainly honor those men when the memorial is finished.

After listening to Dan Carlin's Blueprint for Armageddon, I thought life in the trenches must have been absolutely horrible.

Watching They Will Not Grow Old, I realized that although war was horrible it was also... fun.

One of the most surprising takeaways for me was that despite the entirely gruesome aspects of the war, many of the soldiers regarded it as a giant scouting expedition. Perhaps it says something about human nature that they could turn some of the most hellish conditions imaginable into a somewhat playful environment.

I so wanted to see this in the theater, but my local had it on a small screen and all the decent seats except for the front row were gone.

In reply to Bobcat...many people were really quite excited to go off to war when it all began, not nearly as much later in the war. And, it's not surprising to know that soldiers back then liked to have fun as much as they do now. So, yes, you are correct. It is a testament to our spirit that we can find humanity in the most desolate places and circumstances.

So upset I missed this completely. Is it streaming anywhere yet?

Cactus Jack said:

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So upset I missed this completely. Is it streaming anywhere yet?

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There's a good chance you'll get another opportunity. Looks like they're re-releasing it to more screens next Friday, Feb. 1.

https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1030673-peter-jacksons-wwi-documentary-they-shall-not-grow-old-expanding

It'll be playing at the Cinemark in College Station starting Thursday.

Bobcat06 said:

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After listening to Dan Carlin's Blueprint for Armageddon, I thought life in the trenches must have been absolutely horrible.

Watching They Will Not Grow Old, I realized that although war was horrible it was also... fun.

One of the most surprising takeaways for me was that despite the entirely gruesome aspects of the war, many of the soldiers regarded it as a giant scouting expedition. Perhaps it says something about human nature that they could turn some of the most hellish conditions imaginable into a somewhat playful environment.

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Without getting too much into things, I will say I miss being in Iraq and Afghanistan. Had some damn good times with some damn good people. Absolutely there were some rough times (nothing even close to WWI, WWII, Korea, 'Nam). We made the best of ****ty situations, living conditions, missions etc.... odd how quickly you get used to things and accept that life's going to be like this for a certain amount of time, so you might as well make the best of it.

I had lots of fun overseas. Shooting guns, blowing stuff up, playing spades, watching movies, playing baseball with a stick and balls of duct tape. It was just like an extended weekend with the boys that lasted over a year. Coming home was a definite adjustment.

Excited to see that it's on the screens again, but it will not be showing anywhere near me! I sure hope it comes to Netflix or something.

For those who have seen it, how gory is it? I'd assume not very, but don't know. I don't really care, but the wife isn't a fan.

I didn't feel it was overly gory, but if she can't handle the sight of dead and wounded soldiers she should skip it.

Agree with above.

Just saw it. Really well done. Very impressive remastering by Jackson and his team.

Going to see this this week, do I need to see it in 3D or just regular?

Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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Going to see this this week, do I need to see it in 3D or just regular?

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3d. Its worth it and I hate 3d movies. I think this one is good because of the fact its not am actual action movie. The 3d gives it another layer of depth much like the adding of color and sound did.

Thanks!

Saw this yesterday in College Station. I typically avoid documentaries. Glad my wife insisted, thi was amazing. If you watch it stay for the half hour after the credits.

Saw it last night and it was remarkable. More of an experience or event than a movie, which was fine with me. Didn't try to tell the whole story of WWI, just wanted to give an idea of the general day-to-day life of a typical British soldier.

Agreed with above poster who suggested staying for the mini-documentary after the movie. You really appreciate all the things they did to make the film once you see what they had to work with and had to go through.

I saw it last night.

I thought it was well done and interesting, but it didn't just blow me away. As somebody who has an interest in the military and warfare, I feel like I've seen a lot of footage like I saw in this film. Just the fact that it was colorized and had sound put to it did not make it over-the-top amazing for me. I still recognize the incredible work it took to do it.

A few things that were most interesting to me:
* the use of the actual voices of WW1 vets to describe what we were seeing
* the post-credits piece about the actual mechanics of making the film
* the voiceovers (by the vets) of how life changed for them after they got back home. 100 years later, and it seems like many of our returning vets experience the same feelings.

I'm glad it came back around and I got to see it.

Excellent agree on all the above except it did have a lot of dead and mangled bodies so beware.

Saw it tonight. Thought it was decent and somewhat interesting but was underwhelmed. Maybe I had too high of expectations after all of the great reviews.

As a documentary-type filmmaker myself I really appreciated Jackson walking the audience through the work involved after the film. There are so many judgement calls involved when piecing together someone's story. Much more involved than pressing record and stop.

I posted this on the History board, but I really respect Jackson for that.

You could hear in Jackson's voice how much he wanted to honor what happened without glorifying it. That is no simple task.

I've read some stuff about the men on the Sunken Lane over the years, but Jackson made it poignant.

In theaters, the extra 20 minutes about the making of the documentary might have been my favorite part.

Is that part of the Amazon release?

The part about matching the date, to the troops, and matching up the letter they were reading to the footage was amazing.