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Remembered Today:

IWM & Peter Jackson Restore Film Footage - They Shall Not Grow Old


Derek Black

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15 hours ago, mandy hall said:

Agreed, very moving.

It was a sell out in Chichester, no one eating around us.  Impressed by no adverts, no trailers, just straight into the film.  I was surprised by the amount of people that didn’t wait for the Q and A and got up and left before the credits had even finished.

 

I have just downloaded the One Show on iPlayer, as my mum said there is a piece on tonight's programme about it.

 

Mandy 

My partner and I also went to the Chichester screening and like Mandy were surprised at the number of people who left before the Q & A session.  Having just read the newspaper it would seem that they may do more screenings due to it being "an unexpected sell-out".  If so, we will try to go again. 

We thought the colour and restoration of the film was excellent and of course made it all the more moving, although I have to say that we weren't convinced that the 3D effect was such a great idea.  If it's released on DVD as 2D, I'll certainly add it to my Xmas list!  

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On ‎15‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 12:54, Gardenerbill said:

 

I think it's worth noting that the battle scenes were staged and the films were created for home viewing and inteneded to portray the war in a positive light, hence the 'Hollywood' feel.

Not all battle scenes were staged, but of course we know that 'the leap' was.......

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One other point, a bit churlish I know, but the red carpet presenter was way out of her depth.  She completely misjudged the 'mood' and acted as though this was the latest Hugh Grant rom com. 

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It was a dentists’ Armageddon , wasn’t it ?

 

Seeing it in colour brought home the full horror....I’ve just booked up my next dentist/hygienist appointment !

 

Forgive that flippancy : grandparents’ teeth - or lack thereof - notwithstanding , it was a masterpiece.  I was profoundly moved.

 

I was very aware of how well enunciated and  “ respectable “ the voices of the old working class soldiers were.  

 

Bravo, Peter Jackson !

 

Phil

 

 

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Amazing piece of work and watching it in colour added a completely new dimension; as did the background "chatter" from the men.

 

  • My only small niggles were those who I went with came away thinking the war ended as Germany gave up and her soldiers surrendered in their 1000's - Not due to any offensive strategy from allied forces.
  • It took me a while to stop my mind looking at it as a documentary. On a number of occasions the narrative did not strictly fit the pictures, such as showing LF in sunken lane with the narration discussing tanks; I almost slipped into pedant mode to shout "they didn't have tanks on 1st July" at the screen :)  More of a personal issue as the target audience would probably not be aware of such.

What did impress me was the vast age spread of the audience. I was expecting a cinema full of 50-80 year olds but was pleasantly surprised to find approx. 30% were in the 18-40 range (rough guesses on my part), It pleasantly surprised me such a large number of the "younger generation" were interested enough to pay £26 to see it.

 

A

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Talking of youngsters, I thought the persistent allusion to very young soldiers- sixteen and seventeen year olds - had a distorting effect, and would convince the layman that the majority were teenagers.

 

Phil

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As posted on another thread, I was fortunate enough to watch this film last night in 2D. Without doubt, it ranks as the most remarkable film I have ever seen. I was a bit unsettled with the very first images of a body of men marching towards camera. They gradually fade to white, but I think this was also given the 3D treatment as it looked quite blurred to me and I wondered for a few minutes if we have been misinformed and the whole film was to be in 3D. It wasn't. I don't think it will spoil to tell how there is then a section of period black and white film giving a bit of a preamble to the outbreak of the war, and you begin to wonder where all this remarkable footage is. Then, when not expected, the scene changes before your eyes to colour and HD and the effect is spellbinding.

 

David

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2 hours ago, Captain RHW said:

One other point, a bit churlish I know, but the red carpet presenter was way out of her depth.  She completely misjudged the 'mood'

 

Her presence was so unnecessary. 

 

1 hour ago, phil andrade said:

It was a dentists’ Armageddon , wasn’t it ? 

 

Their teeth were something I really noticed too.  Hideous!

 

I thought the film itself was very well done.   It wasn't really trying to tell the story of the war, as much as to describe the experience, and I think it succeeded in that beyond anything else I've seen. 

 

Most of the images - the tanks in particular - seemed amazingly clear, and like Leuzewood I got a real catch in the throat as the jerky and blurry black and white images of the start suddenly transformed into full screen sharp colour.  Very very effective.  

 

Peter Jackson explained that they had somehow made an hour and a half's film on a budget for one a third the length.  I think where this showed was in the soundtrack.  The reconstructed speech was impressive (though I didn't notice quite as many regional accents as Peter Jackson claimed), but the other sound effects less so.   I think there would have been an incredibly complex soundscape and for me, this aspect didn't quite suspend my disbelief.  I can't believe tanks were that quiet.  On the other hand there were some lovely details - such as their noticing when some members of a group looked up at something and dropping in the sound of a passing aircraft, and the bit with the falling slates as mentioned elsewhere.  I suspect they could probably have spent the entire budget on Foley artists.

 

But this is being picky and didn't really detract from what I think was an astonishing effort.  For me it wasn't just the visuals - the use of the voices and memories was remarkable.  Put them together and the effect was overwhelming. 

 

If you didn't manage to see it, do try to catch it in some form or another.

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3 hours ago, Pighills said:

List of cinemas, dares and times of new showings.  Sunday at 2pm is listed for those who work.

 

https://www.theyshallnotgrowold.film/

 

Thanks for that; it's a clever website - it knows where I live. Sadly nothing close. Just out of interest is the hour and a half with or without the Q & A?

 

Pete.

Edited by Fattyowls
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The film’s an hour and a half.  It started at six, with a prefilm outside presenter/interview.  The film itself began at six thirty and finished around eight, then the Q&A took us to about 8.25 (judging that timing because we got home fir just before 9 pm). 

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59 minutes ago, Fattyowls said:

 

Thanks for that; it's a clever website - it knows where I live. Sadly nothing close. Just out of interest is the hour and a half with or without the Q & A?

 

Pete.

The film itself is 99 minutes long. It took close on £600,000 at the box office last night which augurs well for a more general release in the future.

 

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Thank you Kim and AJS. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a showing at a local cinema for local people.

 

Pete.

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Me and my wife watched this film last night and we were both very moved by it. What struck me most was the contrast between the happy, excited faces of the men going to war and the shocked and horrified look of those in the battlefield area.

 

When the film ended I was very interested to see a dedication to Peter Jackson’s great Uncle, Sergeant S.R. Ruck of the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment who was killed in action on the 8th May 1915. I had done some research into my wife’s great Uncle, Private Thomas Havard also of the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment and who was killed on the same day. Private Ruck’s name sounded familiar and when I got home I looked up a newspaper article from the “Free Press of Monmouthshire” dated 7th May 1915 that contained a copy of a letter Thomas Havard wrote. I discovered that Sergeant Ruck also had a letter published that followed Thomas’s.

 

See attached. The quality isn’t that great although Sergeant Ruck’s article is clearer. I have transcribed Thomas article as follows.

 

“A MOST CHEERFUL LOT OF FELLOWS”

 

A Tip to “Chaps Walking About”

 

"Private T. Havard, “C” Company 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment, Son of Mr. & Mrs John Havard, Gwrhay Fawr near Argoed, who a short time ago was home for a few days leave from the front, but who is again in the fighting line, writes “ I had a pleasant voyage and reached my destination all right. I found it much better than when I left to come home and the Battalion had got things in good order. They had been working hard to make the place comfortable – It was a palace to what I had when I went out first. The 2nd Monmouthshire have become one of the most agreeable Battalions in the English army. The trench work is second nature to them. A more cheerful lot than our fellows, well you would not think there was a war on. The Monmouthshire Regiment are proving themselves to a man. We are called the Mad Mullshe. Well, perhaps we are a trifle wild but we know what we are about and goodness help the Germans who are in front of us when we get on the move. We will make things hard. I would advise any young man to join the army as soon as he can because the more men we get the sooner the war will end. And if we get plenty of troops it will be easier for those troops already out here. If the young chaps who are walking about at home would only consider a little they would see how much they would be welcomed if they joined. We are two brothers out here, and we hope to come through with a bit of luck”.

 

I find it very sad and ironic that both men were encouraging other men to join up and both were killed the day after the article was published. Thomas’s brother that he refers to at the end of the article was killed at Canbrai on the 2nd December 1917. All three have no known grave.

 

Simon   

006.JPG

Havard.JPG

Ruck.JPG

Edited by Simon A
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An excellent insight Simon, thanks. I assume that would be around Frezenberg on the 8th May 1915 towards the end of the 2nd battle of Ypres?

 

Pete.

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2 hours ago, Fattyowls said:

 ...  I'll keep my eyes peeled for a showing at a local cinema for local people.

 

Pete.

 

 

Don’t forget, it’ll be on telly on 11th November (apparently) but don’t know any details as yet.

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Hopefully Peter Jackson will find out about this stuff from Simon A
I did see a piece on Mr Jackson recently,where he said he has had an obsession,ahem,interest in the Great War for many years now so he might be aware of the
newspaper letter.Nevertheless,very interesting
Ive just booked for a 3d show at a historical old cinema,the Cameo,in Edinburgh for Sunday 21 thanks to the link above.....attempted to see the doc last night after an intensive days work,navigating through traffic etc for a 6pm opening only to find it was sold out ....I hadnt booked prior as I had went to see Journeys End last year with not very many people there,and had went yesterday with a false pretence...
Now,checking out the link and after reading the reviews.......simply cannot wait

Even to see the men`s teeth,which is something that occurred to me recently on viewing a bunch of pics,
the poor ******`s teeth in those days must have been in a right old state

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45 minutes ago, Pighills said:

Don’t forget, it’ll be on telly on 11th November (apparently) but don’t know any details as yet.

 

Kim, you know me, I'll have forgotten by the time I finish typing this sentence. I'll need a grown up to remind me nearer the time......

 

Pete.

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9 hours ago, Fattyowls said:

 

 ... I'll need a grown up to remind me nearer the time......

 

Pete.

 

 

What are you like! :lol:  Ask your lovely sister to remind you, or set a reminder on your phone. 

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It's on at my local cinema a week on Monday, unfortunately I am unable to make that date or time. Bu66er!

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1 hour ago, Gardenerbill said:

No one has mentioned the bare bottoms :w00t:

 

Do you think the latrine photographs were deemed inappropriate for public viewing at the time.

 

That got me, that the next day that there was going to show it to kids of the same age that joined up. 

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20 hours ago, Simon A said:

When the film ended I was very interested to see a dedication to Peter Jackson’s great Uncle, Sergeant S.R. Ruck of the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment who was killed in action on the 8th May 1915. I had done some research into my wife’s great Uncle, Private Thomas Havard also of the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment and who was killed on the same day. Private Ruck’s name sounded familiar and when I got home I looked up a newspaper article from the “Free Press of Monmouthshire” dated 7th May 1915 that contained a copy of a letter Thomas Havard wrote. I discovered that Sergeant Ruck also had a letter published that followed Thomas’s.

 

Simon   

 

 

 

It would appear that 2681 Sydney Ruck enlisted in October 1914, based upon the SWBs awarded to men with similar service numbers.

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Is there likely to be a 'sequel'?  Jackson mentioned that they'd worked on hundreds of hours of footage.  If not, will the IWM make it available online? 

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