They Shall Not Grow Old - Peter Jackson documentary on WW1

[Bellini12]

I was just wondering if anyone else watched this on BBC1 last night? It was quite long but I was totally mesmerised. I will admit to not knowing enough about WW1 and these real life accounts with the outstanding footage which brought the horror and futility of war to life was incredible. I was absolutely staggered. Bravo to Peter Jackson.

I was captivated from start to finish

It shows how a bit of colour makes it so much more real

I posted earlier in the week about The Last Tommies, a three parter on iPlayer, which has stuck with me and is well worth a view. Interviews with soldiers and others who were at home. So, so moving

When the footage changed, I blinked and sort of whistled. The faces became "normal" ,ike me and people I see day to day. The patina of history was taken off. The blood was red. The dead were even more ruined. And the soldier, grabbing the splintered tree stump to help him get through up the mound of mud.

1. The state of their teeth though? That sort of detail...
2. The poor horses. Oh the poor beasts.
3. The ruined landscape

1. O e shot of a soldier sitting staring and shivering uncontrollably.

I really didn't expect it to be as compelling as it was.

Some of those horses were barely spooking at the explosions, they were so desensitised. So many of the country's big horse charities started up in the aftermathh of WWI you know - people were so appalled at what happened and how they were left after the war. Most of the surviving horses were left, only the officers' horses were shipped home again.

And yes, those teeth! Thank goodness for the NHS and modern dentistry or what!

That poor man walking back from the front shaking like a leaf - I wonder what happened to him.

I don't know who I felt most sorry for. There was just a cauldron of pain and suffering for every living thing. From the dead, the wounded and the trees that were shattered.
I visited champagne area and saw a few cemeteries etc. Only to realise it was a fraction of the losses. And their ages.

I liked the fact that they became quite pally with some of the German prisoners too

Yes Bellini and how they seemed sort of surprised that the Germans were just ordinary young men like them. And they said at that stage the Germans knew they were going f to lose and didn’t even care.

The teeth really struck me! Obviously in fictional films about this everyone has lovely teeth as they are played by actors. It made me wonder if even the rich people had terrible teeth back then?

That was one of the best films I've ever seen it was amazingly real you felt as if the poor saps were just there with you in your living room almost!.

And yes compulsory viewing for anyone in the later years of school too!.

I remember years ago now we were coming back from France along the auto-route with some hours to kill and decided to stop off at the Vimy ridge memorial it was a bitterly cold winters day we were wrapped up well but the thought of those poor souls out here deep in the mud, freezing conditions and the bullets and shells exploding around them the children were visibly upset and so to was my wife at the time they all said they never know it was like that much the same as those who were around at the time but weren't involved!.

Quite notable was the "what the hell were we fighting for?" reaction from the both sides that dam Kaiser and the politicians have a lot to answer for!.

Most dangerous entities on the planet:(

I went to see it in the cinema. Moving, horrifying and a devastating indictment of the utter futility of war.

To think that, when the Armistice was declared, the fighting ended not so far from where it began. Battles had raged for months, and thousands of men had been killed on both sides, all for the sake of a few feet of ground.

To this day they still dig up tons of unexploded munitions - explosive shells and gas - on the site of the battlefields in France and Belgium.

I found this amazing viewing. The colour made it all so real to me in a way it never had before. And I have a degree in British History including that time.

I noticed the teeth too.

I'm rarely moved by things on TV, but I also audibly gasped when it transitioned from B&W to the enhanced footage.

Incidentally, I didn't manage to see it (I didn't notice in time that it was on), but on BBC4 this evening, their occasional series 'What Do Artists Do All Day?' featured Peter Jackson working on this film.

I'll be catching up with it on iplayer; I'm sure it'll be fascinating.

(PS Also noticed the high incidence of rotten teeth....and the very short stature and slightness of a lot of the troops)

Dan Snow's programme on shell shock on bbc 2 tonight

I'm pretty sure I saw at least one officer with awful teeth - all that smoking, tea and lack of toothpaste clearly took a toll. As if being in the trenches wasn't horrendous enough, imagine having toothache as well!

I read an interview with Peter Jackson in which they discussed the fact that the film focussed tightly on the men on the Western Front and that there was lots of other footage of nurses at work etc, but they didn't want to make it too sprawling. I think that was a good call and the right decision, but I'd also love to see another one that maybe looks at other experiences too, in the future. I think this technique is such a powerful tool for teaching about the war, it would be great to see other stories told as well.

I saw it today - an utterly brilliant piece of film making. I believe it's only going to be on iplayer for a week, so if anyone wants to see it, you need to get in quickly!

One of the things which struck me most were the voices of the men telling their stories over the film. I think I'm so used to hearing the voices of old men tell us about the wars, both WW1 & 2. But these were the voices of younger / middle aged men... they had a quality to their voices which I recognise from my everyday life. It was almost the audible equivalent of seeing the film in colour... made it seem so close, so now!

I just watched this
I wept for much of it , they were so young some of them ... both the English and German boys ...I kept thinking of my DS 12
Terribly clever how they made it from a technical perspective.
And how they timelined it ... starting with footage of conscription, training , every day life in the trenches through to battle and afterwards

The battle scenes were graphic and disturbing but I am glad they showed it as it was

I wonder if anybody has any thoughts on my letting my 12 year old son watch it .? I worry he just plays x box war games with his Freinds and has no concept of what it actually “ means” if that makes sense.

Were the voices doing the voice overs real? Or were they accounts read by actors?

I know the footage voices were actors based on lip reading, so evocative!

Yes real. During the 60s and 70s loads of men were interviewed about their experiences. It was their voices we heard.

The Imperial War Museum holds a substantial archive of oral history recordings that can be listened to online, kenandbarbie. Well worth exploring.

For anyone who didn't see them last week, I'd also highly recommend The Last Tommies, the three documentaries on BBC4 - as a pp mentioned, they were heartbreaking but I'm glad I saw them as well as the film.

It was shown at my DC school today, they were both very moved by it (yr11)

Check out The Great War Interviews on iPlayer - you will recognise plenty of the voices from this film. It's utterly fascinating

I've started watching The Last Tommies this evening - thank you to pps for the recommendation.

It was extraordinary. I have been thinking about it all day.

Apart from unemployment when the soldiers returned, does anyone know why servicemen were discriminated against? One of the narrators said there were job notices saying servicemen should not apply.

In Ireland, there was an awful time had by ex service men. They were stigmaized for having fought for the British army, not given jobs, generally discriminated against and of course, there were no memorials or acknolwedgement of those who fought from Ireland in both wars (and the Boer War).
There was also much made of wearing poppies too.
This was addressed a few years ago and some effirts were made by the government to change that but it was something that was addressed

I found it on iplayer yesterday, wow so moving. The colour and voices made it so real in way all your life black and white never could. They did say must be 16 on i player but still showing real soldiers then same soldier with half head blown off. So awful.

It’s stupid but hadn’t realised the fifth they lived in. I know the mud but having to get water from puddle knowing probable had dead body under it and boiling it “till green scum came off”. No toilet paper just use hands, then eat and move dead bodies and eat.

I felt shaken by all shells after, what earth would it do to you all the time. At W d they said got amistice notice then had check what day it was. Can see that happening when weeks on end no sleep.

Incredible wasn’t it? I was so moved, and realised how easy it is to get lost in the statistics rather than focusing on the real humans who sacrificed so much of themselves in that awful time. The smiling got to me too - the footage has so much laughter and smiling, despite the inhuman conditions. I guess that’s how we all try and cope with tough times, but it seems impossible that they could have kept smiling, there.