"They Shall Not Grow Old" Peter Jackson's WWI film
Discussion
It was very sobering to watch.
Talk of 16 year olds joining up
My 16 year old won't even help around the house and as him and his brother were talking about 'a great head shot' as they got into the car this morning (That bloody Fortnite game), I'm afraid to say I lost it with them both.
Talk of 16 year olds joining up
My 16 year old won't even help around the house and as him and his brother were talking about 'a great head shot' as they got into the car this morning (That bloody Fortnite game), I'm afraid to say I lost it with them both.
So-called 'Snowflakes' don't tend to want war in the first place.Every generation tends to deprecate its younger generation and venerate its older. Today's youngsters , behind the world's gone to the dogs rhetoric of papers read by old people , aren't much different to any of their predecessors.
But with one key difference - the amount of information available to them. Maybe if their counterparts- on all sides - of 1914 had enjoyed more access to the reasons behind the genesis of the war they might, quite literally, have said f
k this for a game of soldiers. There was nothing noble , nothing patriotic about 10 million military deaths in WW1 , a conflict which served only to germinate WW2 .
I once drove between the front line of 1 July 1916 on the Somme and what was the front line on 1 November I think - it took only a few minutes now, but at what an obscene cost then.
It's right we remember our own losses , but not once in the deluge of remembrance this weekend did I hear that the Russians lost twice as many as we did , the French 50% more . The same tired, Anglocentric narrative which gives such a skewed perception of history for so many of us .
But with one key difference - the amount of information available to them. Maybe if their counterparts- on all sides - of 1914 had enjoyed more access to the reasons behind the genesis of the war they might, quite literally, have said f
k this for a game of soldiers. There was nothing noble , nothing patriotic about 10 million military deaths in WW1 , a conflict which served only to germinate WW2 . I once drove between the front line of 1 July 1916 on the Somme and what was the front line on 1 November I think - it took only a few minutes now, but at what an obscene cost then.
It's right we remember our own losses , but not once in the deluge of remembrance this weekend did I hear that the Russians lost twice as many as we did , the French 50% more . The same tired, Anglocentric narrative which gives such a skewed perception of history for so many of us .
Technically impressive but doubt I would ever want to see it again.
Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
turbomoped said:
Technically impressive but doubt I would ever want to see it again.
Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
Really?Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
turbomoped said:
Technically impressive but doubt I would ever want to see it again.
Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
You do know that the narration was all people who were actually there, in their own words?Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
turbomoped said:
Technically impressive but doubt I would ever want to see it again.
Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
I don't know where to begin with any of that........Reminds me of that digital dinosaur craze the bbc had for a while which seems boring now.
The voices were so positive and upbeat in commentary that had little relevance to the filth and depravity on the screen.
Making tea with water from a puddle which may have had a dead body in it rivals any dark comedy from Black Adder
and to be honest you may as well watch that to get an accurate idea of the great war.
I imagine any genuine dissenting voices on the utter madness of it all were the ones put up againt the wall and shot.
Voices of those saying they missed it and would do it all again were no doubt voices of those 5 miles behind the trenches.
Can we stop referencing this nonsense and skip forward to something like the Falklands which is a real epic tale to be proud of.
That was astonishing, I was waiting with baited breath for the point it transitioned into colour, and when it did I was blown away, it was staggering. Yes it was a bit CGI-ey in places but if they can do that to grainy WW1 footage, how long is it going to be before classic movies get the same treatment. Metropolis anyone? or Battleship Potemkin?
My great Grandfather died at Polygon Wood on 26th September 1917, his name's on Tyne Cot (I took the family to see it 2 years ago), but there's no grave, direct shell hit, he's still in the Paschendale mud somewhere. This film has done more than anything to open my eyes to what his experience must have been like.
My great Grandfather died at Polygon Wood on 26th September 1917, his name's on Tyne Cot (I took the family to see it 2 years ago), but there's no grave, direct shell hit, he's still in the Paschendale mud somewhere. This film has done more than anything to open my eyes to what his experience must have been like.
SickAsAParrot said:
That was astonishing, I was waiting with baited breath for the point it transitioned into colour, and when it did I was blown away, it was staggering. Yes it was a bit CGI-ey in places but if they can do that to grainy WW1 footage, how long is it going to be before classic movies get the same treatment. Metropolis anyone? or Battleship Potemkin?
My great Grandfather died at Polygon Wood on 26th September 1917, his name's on Tyne Cot (I took the family to see it 2 years ago), but there's no grave, direct shell hit, he's still in the Paschendale mud somewhere. This film has done more than anything to open my eyes to what his experience must have been like.
They've been colourising black and white films for many years now, for better or, in my opinion, worse.My great Grandfather died at Polygon Wood on 26th September 1917, his name's on Tyne Cot (I took the family to see it 2 years ago), but there's no grave, direct shell hit, he's still in the Paschendale mud somewhere. This film has done more than anything to open my eyes to what his experience must have been like.
On a project like this, if it helps to raise awareness of the subject, then it is a benefit, but I'd like to see a version without the colourisation.
Langweilig said:
61GT said:
Quite an extraordinary programme.
The reaction of civilians to those returning from war seemed sadly to be like so many other conflicts.
If my recall of history is correct, the troops were told "You will return to a land fit for heroes".The reaction of civilians to those returning from war seemed sadly to be like so many other conflicts.
For most of the population unless they had someone directly involved in the fighting, life went on much the same as usual. Certainly some things were in shorter supply but as far as I am aware there was no organised rationing. Other than the odd Zeplin raid they weren't over here every night bombing our chip shops, so unsurprisingly the majority back at home were completely detached from the reality of what was happening.
The concept of the British soldier in a red jacket and white helmet was still a common view and few had any idea of what a "modern war" was all about.
Brilliant production - absolutely riveting.
Halmyre said:
They've been colourising black and white films for many years now, for better or, in my opinion, worse.
On a project like this, if it helps to raise awareness of the subject, then it is a benefit, but I'd like to see a version without the colourisation.
The colourisation was a side part for me, the real visceral transition was the frame rate and additional CGI frames.On a project like this, if it helps to raise awareness of the subject, then it is a benefit, but I'd like to see a version without the colourisation.
Plus the added sound really made a difference, and doesn't seem to have been mentioned that much.
Schmed said:
Watching his masterpiece I just can’t help but wonder what would happen if the same was asked of today’s millennials. Ok ok easy to criticise etc, and a different time but part of me visualises a bunch of pussies hiding away cradling their iPhones as shells fly by overhead. The older generation just strike me as being tougher. Well I guess they had no choice.
Almost finished reading through Antony Beevor's book on the Second World War and up to 20% of 'Western' Allied troops suffered from breakdowns on the front lines depending on the battlefront. Russians and Germans faired better with only up to 10% being incapacitated due to psychological issues, this was attributed to them having much harder everyday lives (Russians) or fanatical indoctrination (German troops).Many soldiers on all sides faked injuries (typically shot themselves in the right arm) to avoid front line combat. In the case of the Russians it got so bad that they would execute people suspected of doing it. The Russians also had NKVD battalions in the rear to shoot anyone attempting to retreat.
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