“By 1918, all but one of my close friends were dead.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, survivor of the Battle of the Somme

Peter Jackson really wanted to make a reboot of King Kong. In 1998, he was a 37-year-old New Zealand filmmaker who had directed only five movies, one of which introduced the world to a young actress named Kate Winslet, and another which featured a fairly-well-known Michael J. Fox and some fairly innovative special effects. Jackson flew to Hollywood and tried to sell his Kong treatment…and…nobody bought it. But the folks at a small company called New Line asked him, almost as a parting shot, “What else you got?”

Jackson said, “How about Lord of the Rings?” “NO WAY,” New Line replied, “it’s unfilmable, it’s too expensive.” “I could shoot it cheaply in New Zealand,” said Jackson. “But all the props, swords, armor, horses, extras!” said New Line. “Oh, we’ve got all that,” said Jackson, “we film lots of low-budget TV hero shows like Xena and Hercules.” “But what about the sets and scenery?” New Line asked. Jackson replied, “Have you ever SEEN the Southern Alps?” And then New Line said, “Nobody could pull off the special effects necessary. It cannot be done.” To which Jackson simply smiled and said, “Weta.”

Weta Digital was founded in 1993 by Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in Wellington. In order to tackle the Lord of the Rings, this nascent effects studio transformed itself into an industry powerhouse. During production Weta invented several breakthrough visual tricks and digital technologies. They were so unique that they were patented, and so effective that the Weta team won three consecutive special effects Oscars for the three Rings films. The studio has since gone on to win additional Oscars for King Kong, Avatar, and the Jungle Book. Today, it is one of the most advanced effects companies in the world.

Given all this technology, what’s a Kiwi director to do next? Well, it turns out that Peter Jackson is a bit of a history buff. In 2015, he opened a World War 1 museum in New Zealand, with the hope of bringing the musty memories of a by-gone age to life. This caught the attention of the folks from the Imperial War Museum in London. They were looking to do something special to mark the centennial of the end of the war in 2018, and they approached Jackson and asked if he might want to contribute a short film…

Jackson said yes. And the Weta team got to work. The museum provided over 100 hours of historical footage – damaged and blurry scraps of nitrate film shot on jerky, hand-cranked cameras – including actual footage of the Battle of the Somme. It was all carefully cleaned and reviewed and sorted and digitized, and thrown into a computer. Frame-rates were smoothed. Details were sharpened. Missing and damaged frames were rebuilt. And in order to colorize it, the production team identified the dates and locations of the source material, and visited those sites on the relevant dates to ensure the correct natural palettes were used.  

And Weta had one last trick up their sleeve. Jackson brought in forensic lip readers to watch the silent footage carefully, and deduce what the soldiers were saying. And then military historians helped identify who these soldiers might have been by details of their uniforms. After which, actors from the correct regions in England, with the correct regional dialects, were hired to give actual voice to the past.  

The result is astonishing. When the movie premiered in December, the soldiers were laughing, singing, and talking, but the critics were at a loss for words. Based on its success, there was a small re-run in select theaters in January. And just yesterday, it was announced that the movie will expand to 500 theaters nationwide next Friday, February 1.

It’s a full-length documentary by Peter Jackson. It’s an homage to a lost generation that has been miraculously recovered. It’s called, “They Shall Not Grow Old.”

Do yourself a favor. Watch the trailer. Check the show times. Get a ticket. Sit on down. And let history roll over you.

Oh, and one other thing. As these men march past, keep in mind that any one of them just might have been J.R.R. Tolkien’s close friend.