Peter Jackson WWI Drama to Air on BBC Two

Peter Jackson’s World War I archive feature film They Shall Not Grow Old will make its broadcast premiere exclusively on BBC Two in the U.K. on November 11.

The film forms part of the BBC’s commemorative coverage around the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the U.K.’s arts program for the First World War centenary, and Imperial War Museums, in association with the BBC, They Shall Not Grow Old has been created exclusively with original footage from Imperial War Museums’ film archive and audio from BBC archives. The film uses the voices of the veterans combined with original archival footage to bring to life the reality of war on the front line for a new generation. Footage has been colorized, converted to 3D and transformed with modern production techniques.

They Shall Not Grow Old is directed by Jackson, produced by Jackson and Clare Olssen and edited by Jabez Olssen. Complementing the broadcast premiere, a special behind-the-scenes 30-minute Peter Jackson documentary under the ‘What Do Artists Do All Day?’ strand will be broadcast on November 12 on BBC Four.

Jackson commented: “I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world, so they can regain their humanity once more—rather than be seen only as Charlie Chaplin-type figures in the vintage archive film. By using our computing power to erase the technical limitations of 100 year old cinema, we can see and hear the Great War as they experienced it.”

Tom McDonald, BBC Commissioner, said: “It’s a great honour to broadcast Peter Jackson’s extraordinary film, which brings the realities of World War One vividly to life.”