Critically-acclaimed WWI documentary comes to Utah Theater for three nights only

A new documentary by “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson was presented in downtown Logan on April 9 at the Utah Theatre. “They Shall Not Grow Old” is a film about the soldiers of the first World War.

Ross Peterson, a history professor at Utah State University, spoke about the film’s context before each showing. “It is a phenomenal achievement,” Peterson said.

The documentary restores old footage from the first world war with color and new life in order to commemorate the 1918 start of the conflict.

“We tend to only think of this war in black and white, as something in the past,” Peterson said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see this in a big theater.”

The film includes never-before-seen footage of soldiers in the trenches of the war that has been “modernized” for today’s audience. Peterson said the film “restores humanity and heartbreak” to the footage of the nameless boy soldiers.

Jackson’s documentary premiered in the U.K. last December. Critical acclaim has followed the film, which just barely missed the cut-off for Oscar nominations in the United States. Jackson spent countless hours restoring and organizing century-old footage, clearing the graininess and choppiness of the original content with the help of cutting-edge technology.

Peterson said that the film is a “must see” and that it is an interesting way to use technology to teach history.

“They Shall Not Grow Old” was in Logan for three nights, with the final showing on April 12 at the Utah Theatre, 18 West Center Street.

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