World War I may have ended a century ago, but a remarkable new documentary blends restored footage, sound effects and moving oral testimony to bring some of its soldiers back to life.
Directed by Peter Jackson, “They Shall Not Grow Old” knocks down the barrier of time and transports viewers to a cataclysmic war that destroyed empires, ushered in new ones and reshaped the modern world. But despite the lasting political and cultural consequences of “the war to end all wars,” the film purposely avoids historical sweep. There are no mentions of famous generals planning the Battle of the Somme nor of national leaders rousing societies to arms. Instead, the film magnifies the experience of the common British soldier. The result is an intimate and harrowing look at combat in the Western Front, where life was nasty, brutish and often short for a generation of “Tommies,” or British soldiers, thrusted into the blood-soaked trenches of the continent to fight the German army.
The documentary is dazzling in its creativity, which reflects Jackson’s imagination at work after directing the fantasy epics of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” trilogies. The archival footage is drawn from Britain’s Imperial War Museums, painstakingly remastered and vividly colored to reintroduce the humanity lost in the grainy black-and-white films we’ve come to associate with the conflict.
During the documentary’s calmer sequences, it’s striking to remember that film cameras were considered a technological marvel at the time, and soldiers often didn’t know what to do in front of them. When the cameras started rolling, men carrying supplies or shoveling the earth stopped what they were doing and either pointed or stared. Others would smile and start laughing. In one sequence, a young soldier with a toothy grin said: “We’re in the pictures!” Another soldier on a stroll turned his head to glance at the camera and memorably tripped into a trench — a jarring contrast to our ease and relative comfort around the smartphone cameras we carry in our pockets.
Sound effects were added, helping to conjure an extremely dangerous world where life could be ended by a sniper’s bullet or an incoming German artillery shell. The film’s depiction of trench warfare also showcases its modern approach, weaving together the sonic experience of combat and the visual terror of new weapons on the battlefield such as tanks and poisonous gas.
The powerful imagery is undergirded by the soldiers’ testimonies. Recorded in the 1960s and 1970s, viewers hear veterans – all of whom remain nameless – stoically reflect on their experiences. Several said they were too young to enlist, but they lied about their age and went to war anyway. Others recounted the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life, whether faced with finding a job during mass unemployment or coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. The oral history is part banal and part horrifying, but there is little sentimentality throughout. In another striking moment, we hear about the dull sensation of a victory that propelled soldiers to question what they had fought and suffered for. “It was one of the flattest moments of my life,” one veteran recalled of the Armistice that ended World War I on Nov. 11, 1918.
For all its cinematic strengths, what Jackson’s documentary fundamentally offers is an unvarnished look at the physical and psychological toll of war on young men. It also serves as a warning to societies again grappling with the same old question of how to project national power in a volatile world. For new generations seeking to better grasp the scope of total war, this is an absorbing film and historical testament that shall not grow old anytime soon.
PHOTO: A frame from the documentary.
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