They Shall Not Grow Old

<<

Now Playing

>>

So, I had an option between a mainstream movie and a limited movie. The mainstream movie was 'Miss Bala'. The limited movie, a documentary on World War I, directed by Peter Jackson, made from old, real, World War I footage that has been painstakingly restored as far as it could, and with voice-overs and sound effects over the old footage, provided by experts, bringing the old footage to life. I picked the latter.

According to Jackson, this was a documentary done for non-historians (guilty), and to be perfectly frank, there's really not much more to tell about its execution other than the fact that the narration is entirely made up of the voices of British No Man's Land survivors.

In truth, history was easily one of my worst subjects. For whatever reason, I was ignorant to its importance, and thought the future was far more interesting. So in all honesty, this was probably the best history lesson that I've ever received on the subject. There really is nothing like hearing it straight from the mouths of the people who have been there.

One thing I will say about this title is that I would HEAVILY encourage it to be shown in history classrooms upon whenever it gets a home release. I can vouch for it in that it held my attention, I found it fascinating, and I'd even say that it's officially raised the bar on how historical documentaries are done.

In case you manage to see this without its behind the scenes doc after its credits, I think it's important to note that Peter Jackson wants the viewers of this movie to get curious about their pasts, and check out some of their family history to see who in their bloodline may have served.

This film really was a case of "history coming alive", and I honestly hope that word spreads about it, and it gets the recognition it deserves. Remember guys, this is the take of the guy who gave us 'Lord of the Rings'.

5/5

---