They Shall Not Grow Old

Name: They Shall Not Grow Old
Genre: History, War, Documentary
Released: December 17, 2018
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 91

2018

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 89 Ratings

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8.5

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8.5	User Score Universal acclaim based on 89 Ratings

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They Shall Not Grow Old (International Trailer)

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Movie Details & Credits

Fathom Events | Release Date: December 17, 2018 | Not Rated

Summary: Using state of the art technology to restore original archival footage which is more than a 100-years old, Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell this story: the men who were there. Driven by a personal interest in the First World War, Jackson set out to bring to life the day-to-day experience of its soldiers. After monthsUsing state of the art technology to restore original archival footage which is more than a 100-years old, Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell this story: the men who were there. Driven by a personal interest in the First World War, Jackson set out to bring to life the day-to-day experience of its soldiers. After months immersed in the BBC and Imperial War Museums’ archives, narratives and strategies on how to tell this story began to emerge for Jackson. Using the voices of the men involved, the film explores the reality of war on the front line; their attitudes to the conflict; how they ate; slept and formed friendships, as well what their lives were like away from the trenches during their periods of downtime. … Expand

Director: Peter Jackson

Genre(s): History, War, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 99 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Chandler Levack

Dec 17, 2018

Using nothing but the voices and the images from the past, They Shall Not Grow Old is a powerful tribute to every veteran and one of the most empathetic portraits of war ever created. His grandfather would be proud. Read full review

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Dec 18, 2018

Peter Jackson has created a visually staggering thought experiment; an immersive deep-dive into what it was like for ordinary British soldiers on the western front. Read full review

100

Mick LaSalle

Jan 30, 2019

But it would be a mistake to leave the impression that the rewards of They Shall Not Grow Old are in any way akin to that of the usual BBC historical documentary. There is some overlap, to be sure, but by and large this Peter Jackson film does not offer a historical encounter, so much as an encounter of humanity, a psychic linking of hands across time. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Dec 18, 2018

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 retimed 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. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Jan 30, 2019

The end result goes far beyond the simple colorization of moldering battlefield documentation. It restores the humanity of the combatants, both the British and, surprisingly, the German. Ultimately, it’s a you-are-there time capsule of enormous emotional and historical importance. Read full review

The Playlist Oliver Lyttelton

Dec 18, 2018

It makes a deeply human experience, and one that’s frequently both educational (the film’s main purpose: a copy will be given to every school in Britain) and moving. In fact, it’s not so much individual faces or interviews that leave the most lasting impression so much as it’s the cumulative impact of all the faces. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Dec 17, 2018

It is immersive, letting us hear and feel the concussion of artillery, if not whistling hail of bullets and the desperation and fury of hand to hand combat. Read full review

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User Reviews

TVJerry

Feb 7, 2019

The British War Museum approached Peter Jackson with 100 hours of film from World War I and 600 hours of audio interviews by soldiers. He created this astounding documentary that details the experiences of these men, mostly on the front lines in Belgium. The stories are engaging, grippingThe British War Museum approached Peter Jackson with 100 hours of film from World War I and 600 hours of audio interviews by soldiers. He created this astounding documentary that details the experiences of these men, mostly on the front lines in Belgium. The stories are engaging, gripping and touching. What makes this effort so astounding is the technology that's used to bring the grainy, jerky footage to life with fluid motion, added camera movement and colorization. Although the stories get a bit repetitive and they're sometimes hard to understand (because of accents or too much background noise), it's an absolutely captivating illumination of the challenges and humanity of war. To make it even more remarkable, Jackson follows up the doc with a fascinating explanation of how all the tech tricks work. This is one of the great technological achievement, that also tells a powerful story.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

GinaK

Feb 5, 2019

A magnificent achievement by Peter Jackson. Using footage actually shot on the battlefields of World War I, combined with today’s most advanced production techniques, Jackson (with a lot of assistance that he credits) manages to create something unique – an experience as close as possible toA magnificent achievement by Peter Jackson. Using footage actually shot on the battlefields of World War I, combined with today’s most advanced production techniques, Jackson (with a lot of assistance that he credits) manages to create something unique – an experience as close as possible to what the sights and sounds and emotions of World War I were actually like. And the optional short documentary afterwards, presented by Jackson, was also excellent and very interesting, especially for students (amateur and professional) of film and production techniques, although almost everyone in the audience that I was in stayed. A fascinating experience.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

TheRaggedFlygon

Jan 4, 2019

The care that Peter Jackson and Co. put into this movie is incredible. From readjusting each clip's frame speed to taking great care to match the silent film with incredible audio. We have loads of documentaries about the importance of Verdun and the Somme, but very few about the actualThe care that Peter Jackson and Co. put into this movie is incredible. From readjusting each clip's frame speed to taking great care to match the silent film with incredible audio. We have loads of documentaries about the importance of Verdun and the Somme, but very few about the actual stories of soldiers from the war. By having only veterans used for voice overs Jackson has created a picture unlike any other that will likely go down as one of the greatest documentaries in history. The film is around 100 minutes and when it came to its closure, I felt like I could easily sit through another two hours. The stories feel personal and genuine. While the film will offer very few "historical facts" for history enthusiasts and the general public alike to pick up on, the audience is able to understand what it was like to be a soldier. This film is a masterpiece and is a must see for anyone remotely interested in the subject.… Expand

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

dscottprod

Feb 27, 2019

A remarkable cinematic event. It is a raw, intimate, unflinching immersion into what it was like to be a British soldier fighting in the trenches during WWI. Peter Jackson wisely chose to focus on the humanity, rather than the history, and to do it all as told by the men who were actuallyA remarkable cinematic event. It is a raw, intimate, unflinching immersion into what it was like to be a British soldier fighting in the trenches during WWI. Peter Jackson wisely chose to focus on the humanity, rather than the history, and to do it all as told by the men who were actually there. Their commentary, as poignant as it was, was given little breathing room, but that's certainly a minor quibble -- this a film not to be missed. Stay after the credits to see a fascinating behind the scenes look at the amazing technology (and dedication) that made this film possible.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

imthenoob

Nov 11, 2020

Not typically a fan of documentaries but found myself captivated by this one. I like the narrative choice of multiple anonymous men telling the story of what it was like being on the front lines throughout the first world war. No names, no dates. You just appreciated what was being told andNot typically a fan of documentaries but found myself captivated by this one. I like the narrative choice of multiple anonymous men telling the story of what it was like being on the front lines throughout the first world war. No names, no dates. You just appreciated what was being told and what was being shown.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tyranian

Jul 11, 2019

A fairly incredible documentary that presents WW1 footage like never before accompanied by veterans' narration.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AxeT

Feb 19, 2019

Noble high concept technical challenge for the sake of historical document, this plays more as simply that than an involving documentary feature. As is the dumb trend now with anything remotely resembling the documentary form, this thing is a non-stop run on verbal barrage with no sense ofNoble high concept technical challenge for the sake of historical document, this plays more as simply that than an involving documentary feature. As is the dumb trend now with anything remotely resembling the documentary form, this thing is a non-stop run on verbal barrage with no sense of cadence or breathing room causing the viewer to glaze over, which is inexcusable given Jackson's stature and experience! Then again this is the moviemaker whose trademark is overblown, way overlong, bloated, more is less flicks ruined by such in their effectiveness and he still doesn't get it.
You're better off catching some colorized WWI TV docs on The History Channel. For that matter the touted restored, colorized, speed adjusted image here has a phony digitized compressed look with contours swimming and wavering in digital artifacting throughout. It doesn't even look very good on the big screen.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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