Jackson brings realities of WWI to life
New Zealand director Sir Peter Jackson is swapping fantasy for real life, this time bringing to life old war-time footage.
The feature documentary marks the centennial of the finish of World War I, and will premiere at the London Film Festival in spring (NZ time).
The film features footage from the BBC and London’s Imperial War Museum, which approached Jackson a couple of years ago to ask how he could work with its archived raw footage.
‘‘We’re making a film - not the usual film you would expect on the First World War - we’re making a film that shows this incredible footage in which the faces of the men just jump out at you,’’ Jackson said.
‘‘It’s the faces, it’s the people that come to life in this film.’’
Speaking via 14-18 NOW , a UK project marking the centenary of World War I, Jackson explained that with the digital technology that exists today, it was possible to restore the ‘‘grainy, flickery spedup footage’’ ‘‘in a way that goes way beyond what has ever been done before’’. ‘‘The results really surprised me ... It’s so sharp and clear now.’’
The new film, which involves 600 hours of audio interviews with veterans in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, focuses on the personal experiences of the people involved.
‘‘We have made a movie which shows the experience of what it was like to fight in this war, not strategy [or] battles,’’ Jackson said.
"It’s the faces, it’s the people that come to life in this film."
Sir Peter Jackson
‘‘I think it’s going to be very surprising when you listen to the voices of the men that fought the war.’’
The film is produced by WingNut Films and is expected to screen in schools across the UK.
Jackson was instrumental in the development of the multimillion-dollar government-backed project The Great War Exhibition held at the Dominion Museum, which commemorated the crucial role New Zealand played in the war. That exhibition is due to close this year.
Jackson unveiled his new project at Bafta in London yesterday. He is currently working with the Christian Rivers-directed film Mortal Engines, due out in cinemas in December 2018.