We haven't heard from Peter Jackson since he released "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" back in 2014, it must have been an exhausting journey to make that trilogy and I'm sure he needed the time to rest. His next movie is set to be the "Tintin" sequel. In the meantime, Jackson has finished post-production on his WWI Documentary, an ambitious project. This film, comprising of real-footage of the first World War, is set to premiere this October at the BFI London Film Festival.
"They Shall Not Grow Old" will use never-before-seen archival footage of the "great war," all of which will be colorized and restored in 3D format. This is an incredibly fascinating project which will be screened exclusively in theaters on October 16th.
Press release:
"On the centenary of the end of First World War, Academy Award-winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) presents the World Premiere of an extraordinary new work showing the Great War as you have never seen it." "Using state of the art technology to restore original archival footage which is more than a 100-years old, Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell this story: the men who were there. Driven by a personal interest in the First World War, Jackson set out to bring to life the day-to-day experience of its soldiers. After months immersed in the BBC and Imperial War Museums’ archives, narratives and strategies on how to tell this story began to emerge for Jackson. Using the voices of the men involved, the film explores the reality of war on the front line; their attitudes to the conflict; how they ate; slept and formed friendships, as well what their lives were like away from the trenches during their periods of downtime."
"Jackson and his team have used cutting edge techniques to make the images of a hundred years ago appear as if they were shot yesterday. The transformation from black and white footage to colourised footage can be seen throughout the film revealing never before seen details. Reaching into the mists of time, Jackson aims to give these men voices, investigate the hopes and fears of the veterans, the humility and humanity that represented a generation changed forever by a global war."
Before practically going bankrupt, Row K had planned to release "Cliffhanger" in August 2026 on more than 3000 screens nationwide — hopefully with Vertical it hits as many theaters.