The film was directed and produced by Peter Jackson. He was able to access film and audio recordings relating to World War One, and put them together in an amazing way.
The silent black and white footage showed life at the beginning of the war, and footage of the front lines. It was meticulously restored and colorized. Realistic sound effects were added, included the speech of those filmed. Lip readers read the words, and actors from the army unit's region were used to voice the lines for the film.
Throughout the film were stories from the veterans themselves. I found out in the extra features that those were recordings of the actual veterans made in the 1960s.
There were also some still shots of drawings done for a magazine during the war to fill in the things (such as hand to hand combat) that could not be filmed during the battle.
The film was very graphic. It would be impossible to accurately depict that war without being graphic. This is definitely not a film for kids, as it would likely give them nightmares.
I think adults should see the film because I am a firm believer that we should all know our history. We should learn from the good and bad parts of our story. That way, we can repeat some fo the good things, and avoid repeating the bad parts.
They Shall Not Grow Old was humbling, sad, and amazing. I'm glad I watched it, and grateful that I did not directly experience the war to end all wars. I've always had a huge amount of respect for veterans, and this film made me respect their sacrifices even more.
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