Peter Jackson took 100-year-old footage from the trenches of World War I, restored it in full color, and synced it with real soldier interviews.
It makes the war feel like it’s happening right now.
Stacker ranked it #12 on its list of the 100 greatest documentaries of all time, and after watching, it makes total sense.
Trailer for “They Shall Not Grow Old”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Peter Jackson restored and colorized footage from the Imperial War Museum, dating back over 100 years, and synced it with nearly 600 hours of BBC and IWM interviews. The soldiers you’re watching are literally telling their own stories.
- Boys as young as 15 lied about their age to enlist. Recruiters often knew and let them through anyway.
- Soldiers describe drinking water from gas cans that still smelled of fuel, eating two-year-old moldy biscuits, and sleeping next to rotting corpses while rats crawled over them.
Watch “They Shall Not Grow Old”
You can watch “They Shall Not Grow Old” on Apple TV and Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 91/100 (Users); 99/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: “They Shall Not Grow Old” is directed and produced by Peter Jackson. He used original World War I footage from the Imperial War Museum (much of it previously unseen) and applied colorization, 3D conversion, sound effects, and reconstructed dialogue to make the footage feel immediate and personal.
Release Date: October 16, 2018
My Review of “They Shall Not Grow Old”
The Setup
This documentary is told entirely through the voices of British soldiers who fought in World War I. There are no historians, no experts, and no modern commentary.
The men talk about enlistment, trench life, combat, fear, boredom, and survival. The film begins in silent black-and-white. Then it shifts into color and sound, and suddenly the war stops feeling distant.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Some men are shown laughing and joking for the camera just minutes before being killed in battle. Their final smiles now preserved in full color.
- Soldiers explain how trench foot developed from standing in water for days, sometimes leading to amputations.
- They describe chlorine gas attacks and the panic of not knowing how to protect themselves.
- Class divisions followed men into war—officers lived differently and were shielded from the worst trench conditions.
- The men talk openly about killing, trauma, and the dark humor that kept them sane.
- The film ends not with victory, but with soldiers returning home and struggling to reintegrate.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Lip-readers were hired to decode what soldiers were saying on camera so dialogue could be reconstructed.
- All sound effects were recreated using period-accurate weapons and materials.
- The film avoids naming specific battles to focus on universal experience instead of strategy.
- Every voice you hear comes from real veterans recorded decades earlier.
Wrap Up:
“They Shall Not Grow Old” lets you meet World War I. This is one of the most powerful uses of archival footage ever put on screen.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc