They Shall Not Grow Old

[RobesonsRme.com]

Sarah and I and an elderly guest from our church have reservations for this Monday evening.

We will watch the 3-D version.

It's only being shown two nights, December 17th and 27th in limited theaters.

I think this is, quite simply, a phenomenal accomplishment.

Take the time to read the entire article and watch the little clips.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/movi ... movie.html

I believe it will be available on DVD.

Charlie Noyes

[Duffer]

Thanks for the tip That is simply incredible-WOW!!!

[RobesonsRme.com]

Lloyd;

Check to see if it is being shown in Las Vegas. I feel reasonably sure that it will be.

I assume the times would be the same, tomorrow evening and again on the 27th.

I bought our tickets on-line and have a bar code in an e-mail on my phone that is supposed to gain our admission. I hope.

Charlie

[philco]

Charlie that looks like it would be fascinating to watch.

[wlf]

Those clips go from almost faceless to people you might know, amazing.
Thanks Charlie, tell us if you liked it. I worry about 3D though, not a fan, although I am a fan of Peter Jackson movies.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Lyle, you look at things in 3-D everyday.

Charlie

[RobesonsRme.com]

I highly recommend that you all see this.

It will be shown once again in limited theaters on December 27th. Showing and ticket information can be found on-line at Fathom Events.

It is somewhat intense. It kind of put me back into a combat zone mentality.

Caused me to shed a few tears.

There are faces in it that I will never forget.

I just thought I had participated in a war. I haven't done squat.

If you go, be sure to stay afterward and watch the "Making Of..." video. About thirty minutes, but worth your time.

I'm in the process of arranging to take my two sons on the 27th.

Charlie

[Duffer]

Thanks Charlie for the “They Shall Not Grow Old” review! I want to see it and will try to on the 27th. With all the family visiting and holiday events it may be difficult or challenging. However, thank again!!

[Colonel26]

Thanks Charlie. I wasn’t able to go to the first showing. But I definitely want to go on the 27th.

[steve99f]

Will be seeing this come next Thursday with wife, son and daughter in law. Really looking forward to it after reading about it here and elsewhere.

[steve99f]

Saw the film tonight. Very well done. No admirals or generals, just soldiers, a glimpse of what it was like from enlistment through the armistice for the British soldier. Then a half hour of explanation of how and why they did or didn't do certain things in making the film. This was well done too. Highly recommended.

[RobesonsRme.com]

I was not able to take my boys. Showings were sold out here for December 27th, but they are bringing this back for one day only, January 21st.

Theaters and tickets can be found at Atom Events or Fathom Events.

I have purchased tickets for myself and our two sons.

Charlie

[zoogirl]

The theatre just up the road from work is showing this on Jan 21, this Monday. I’m going to try to go.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Take a hanky.

Charlie

[zoogirl]

Anyone in the Vancouver area looking to see this, the theatre on Schoolhouse just up from lougheed was only 20 percent sold as of twenty minutes ago. It’s the 3D too. Got mine!

[RobesonsRme.com]

And what did you think, ZooGirl?

Charlie

[zoogirl]

What did I think...been trying to figure that out.
First off, I’ve been a fan of silent film all my life, so seeing the old footage, especially the untweaked parts, felt very familiar. It also may have made it a bit harder to remember that what I was watching was very real. At one point in my life I went after film history like I’m going after knives now. For that reason, I particularly enjoyed Peter Jackson’s half hour of explanation. I accept his decision to use colour on the rationale that, had the newsreel photographers been able to use it, they most probably would have. I didn’t mind the 3D although I don’t know that it improved the film. I’d have to watch more 2D to decide. The use of over dubbed voices was brief and didn’t seem out of place. It reminded me of some of the first Talkies that still had Silent stretches and used sound sparingly and for effect.
Now the movie itself.
I hadn’t realized how prevalent the signing of underaged boys was. I guess I assumed it was pretty rare. The Boys were such boys. They must have had no idea what was coming. The Boer War would have been just at the edge of their memories and of course there wasn’t much visual media to give them any idea of actual battle.
And so, off they went.
I was struck by the comments regarding how out of shape the London men were. I suppose the poor ones were fighting things like rickets and goitre. I was shocked at the state of their teeth. The more middle class men would have been clerks and shopkeepers who never had the time or saw the need for exercise. Basic training must have been a big surprise!
Once they got to France and Belgium, it was mud and water and a completely different world. Can you imagine men from Victorian parents being asked to ‘use the log’ with three or four other fellows?
I guess the pre battle scenes got me the most. There’s one boy in particular, you’ll remember him, who was plainly terrified. His mouth was kind of pulled down at the top lip. You could feel him shake. I wonder if he made it through?
I will never forget Peter Jackson’s comment that most of the featured soldiers were in their last thirty minutes. I don’t even know how to feel about that. It’s like he introduced us to this group, got us to know them a little, recognize them from different clips, care about them, and then said, “No, I’m taking them away and you can’t do anything about it.”
It was graphic, of course. Injured horses, trench foot, wounds, dead and lively rats and that poor frog. Bodies.
Again, because of my Silent film watching, it was hard to remind myself that it wasn’t all just a great job by the makeup department. We are all somewhat desensitized, I think. Heck, when the second plane disappeared into the tower on 9/11, my first thought was “Great effect!”, even though I knew it was real. We watch medical dramas and a shot of spread ribs is SOP. Seeing it on an actual body somehow gets shoved into the “yeah, seen it before” file. Kind of frightening, actually, when you think about it.
My overall opinion is that it was very well done. I think this should be shown on Remembrance Day every year. I’m glad I went although I find myself regretting seeing some scenes. That’s probably a good thing. You shouldn’t be able to look at genuine horror without it affecting you.
If you get the chance, go.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Oh my. There is most certainly more to you than an interest in pocketknives. You possess a quite learned and diverse intellect and have an eloquent manner of speech that causes me to lament the fact that we will, most probably, never meet. I’d truly love to sit and chat with you and others, of course, on a wide variety of topics.

Having only a rudimentary knowledge of cinematic history, I appreciate your insight into that aspect.

As to the fear and horror, having been in similar situations, I found my whole attitude and demeanor developing, once again, the alertness and focus on the possibilities of real danger. It got my hackles up, so to speak. I didn’t bother to count my pulse, but I’m quite sure both it and blood pressure were on the rise during the parts leading up to the British assault across the fields. I shall never forget the faces of those men in that sunken roadway, waiting for orders to advance and knowing that bit of film was done about thirty minutes prior to their deaths moved me to tears.

I had actually thought I’d been to war when I was in Viet Nam in 1969 and 70. Now, I know better. What I experienced was nothing compared to war in France and Belgium during WWI.

As to the slit trench and the log, that really didn’t change much until recently. When I was in Basic Training and AIT, our barracks were those constructed during WWII and the toilets were side by side in a row along the wall. No partitions, no doors. I think there were similar facilities aboard Naval vessels.

I think Peter Jackson and his team did a tremendous work. I wish they would do more. The Royal Air Force and Navy would be good second and third efforts.

Maybe something with the Americans, though I know many thought us a bit late to the fight.

Preservation work needs to be done to all that archival footage. What they did with those really dark, indiscernible sequences was truly amazing.

Well, I’m glad you got to see it and I take it you enjoyed the experience, overall.

My boys are forty and forty-two. We made an evening of it. I treated them to dinner at P F Chang’s and then the movie. First real father and sons time we’ve had since they left home.

Charlie

[zoogirl]

My boys are thirty and thirty two and I’m just glad they haven’t had to go. My younger one was an Army Cadet for a couple of years in his teens. I could absolutely see him running off to join up.
Thank you for the kind comments! I do enjoy writing. I’ve had a couple of poems published and I’ve written a good number of songs, some of which I actually play in public! Yeah, there are a couple of unborn novels sitting in my drawer...
There is something you may not realize about that footage. We are actually very lucky to have it at all. Old film is celluloid stock. I’ve never heard of it outgassing, but it does something even more unfortunate.
The medium that actually holds the picture on the film is mainly silver nitrate. What sometimes happens is that the nitrate actually detached from the film. Someone will open an old can and what they find is a roll of blank celluloid and a pile of silver dust.
Old film is also extremely flammable. Given that some old projectors ran off very hot light sources, film fires could and did happen.
One kind of interesting story is that a few years ago, somewhere in the Yukon, they tore down a very old ice rink. Under the rink as part of the foundation, they found dozens of film cans. The films were in great shape, preserved by the permafrost. I believe they were all Silent and at least one was the only remaining copy of a Charlie Chaplin movie.
I find it interesting that the battle scenes created such a visceral reaction in you. Do you think it was the visual component or the audio? I suppose the battle scenes must have looked very different from your experience. I wonder if your reaction had more to do with the sound of the guns? Sound can be a huge emotional catalyst. Ask any musician!
It’s late and I’m off to bed. I’d love to hear any and all opinions on this movie. It certainly has me thinking.
Oh, and yes, the one thing that was a bit disappointing is the lack of other branches. I’d like to see the point of view of the Navy and Air Force. It would be pretty interesting to see some of the civilian and Auxillary footage. There must be some available. I think Pathe was doing newsreels by 1912, at least.
Oh, one more personal thing! My dad, who was born in 1913, lost two uncles in the war. I’m not sure if they were on his mothers or fathers side. He only mentioned them once, and I wrote down just that, the loss of the uncles. I noticed that the Bedfordshires were mentioned several times and that would be their area. Perhaps I’ve now seen them.

[RobesonsRme.com]

I think it was observing the men and their "pre-mission jitters" that put me on edge.

Charlie

[Mumbleypeg]

For those of us that missed this movie the first time around, it's now being shown on HBO if you have access to it. It's on now and will be repeated several times in the next week or so.

Ken

[RobesonsRme.com]

Thanks for that, Ken.

We do not have HBO, but if I did, I'd watch it again.

I highly recommend that everyone here see this film, if possible.

Charlie Noyes

[1967redrider]

I was sad to have missed this but glad that I can get a second chance.

[WillyCamaro]

We managed to get hold of it from the library, when it first came out on DVD. The whole family was thoroughly impressed with the job Peter Jackson did. It was hard to watch, teary eyed through the whole movie. The overdubbing and colorization gave it much more impact. Some of the coloring (I personally felt) could have been worked on a little longer, but other then that it was a win in my book. At least there is 1 film maker that shows history for what it really is (something sorely missed in our culture nowadays).

[zoogirl]

I think, Willie, that the colour was as right as it could be.
You see, colour is seldom “real” in film. It’s tweaked for mood and ambiance. The backgrounds are carefully chosen. The lighting is manipulated just so.
In very old film, sometimes the film stock itself was tinted. “Birth of a Nation” is an example of this. They used blue film for the night scenes.
According to Peter Jackson, he actually went to the former battlefields and spent a few days just taking pictures of the grass and trees and how the light hit them. He wanted to be that accurate with the colourization.
What your seeing looks pale because it’s what the actual place looks like. There’s no artificial over saturation.
I’m really glad this movie is available again. No HBO for me, but if it comes out on DVD I may try to nab a copy. As I said when I saw it in January, I think it should be shown on Remembrance Day every year.