Peter Jackson transforms grainy WWI footage to make film

When you think of First World War footage, chances are you conjure up grainy images of soldiers and jumpy footage of the trenches.

But a new 3D film by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is set to bring the conflict to life in a way never seen before.

The Oscar-winner has restored and colourised 100-year-old footage from the Imperial War Museum’s vast archive, and early photos suggest the results will be remarkable.

One comparison shot shows the dramatic transformation from poor quality black-and-white scenes to clear colour images, while another shows the radically sharpened faces of our troops.

 

A new film by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is set to bring the First World War to life in a way never seen before

Comparison shots show the radically sharpened faces of First World War troops after the painstaking restoration process

Jackson said he hoped the film, which will premiere at the BFI London Film Festival before airing on BBC1 later this year, will help audiences better connect ‘with the events on screen’.

Explaining the painstaking process of restoring the footage, he said: ‘We started to do some experiments and I was honestly stunned by the results we were getting. We all know what First World War footage looks like.

‘It’s sped up, it’s fast, like Charlie Chaplin, grainy, jumpy, scratchy, and it immediately blocks you from actually connecting with the events on screen.

Another comparison shot shows the dramatic change from poor quality black-and-white scenes to clear colour images

The Oscar-winner has restored and colourised 100-year-old footage from the Imperial War Museum's vast archive

The Oscar-winner has restored and colourised 100-year-old footage from the Imperial War Museum’s vast archive

‘But the results are absolutely unbelievable… This footage looks like it was shot in the last week or two, with high-definition cameras. It’s so sharp and clear now.’

The Hobbit filmmaker added: ‘The faces of the men just jump out at you. It’s the faces, it’s the people that come to life in this film.

‘It’s the human beings that were actually there, that were thrust into this extraordinary situation that defined their lives.’

Jackson and his team also combed through the BBC Archive, going through around 600 hours of audio interviews with veterans that had been recorded from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Jackson and his team also combed through the BBC Archive, going through around 600 hours of audio interviews with veterans

The new 3D film will premiere at the BFI London Film Festival before airing on BBC1 later in the year

The new 3D film will premiere at the BFI London Film Festival before airing on BBC1 later in the year

The ambitious film will be shown in every secondary school in the country to improve children’s understanding of the war, which killed as many as 700,000 British men.

The project is just one of a season of events arranged by arts organisation 14-18 NOW. The season will include a ‘mass participation artwork’ marking the centenary of the Representation Of The People Act, in which some women first gained the right to vote, and a yet-to-be announced piece of work by filmmaker Danny Boyle to mark Armistice Day on 11 November.

Oscar-winning director Jackson (pictured) said he hoped the film will help audiences better connect 'with the events on screen'

Oscar-winning director Jackson (pictured) said he hoped the film will help audiences better connect ‘with the events on screen’

Meanwhile, the BBC announced a ‘Year of History’ to mark the centenary of 1918, with programmes to mark Armistice, the Spanish Flu pandemic, 100 years of the RAF and 100 years since some women were given the right to vote.

Culture secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘The First World War changed Britain and the world forever and we must never forget the sacrifice of all those who served at home and abroad.

‘This is an incredible cultural programme that will help even more people learn about how we went from entrenched conflict to peace in 1918.’

 



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