LORD OF THE RINGS filmmaker Peter Jackson has created a 3D film about the First World War.
The Oscar-winner has restored 100-year-old archive footage, some of which has never been seen before, from the Imperial War Museum's vast archive, using digital technology.
The footage has been hand-colourised and will be broadcast on BBC1 and shown in secondary schools across the UK.
It is part of a series of events announced by 14-18 NOW, the UK's arts organisation set-up to bring a creative response to the centenary of the First World War.
The film, which combines the archive footage with audio from the BBC archives, will have its premiere as part of the BFI London Film Festival this year.
Director Jackson said he was approached by the Imperial War Museum about the footage, some of which has been seen previously in documentaries about the war.
"I started to think about what could be done to that footage with the computer technology that we have now, to restore it beyond anything we've ever seen before," 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.
"But the results we have got are absolutely unbelievable. They are way beyond what I expected.
"This footage looks like it was shot in the last week or two, with high definition cameras. It's so sharp and clear now."
He added: "It's not the usual film you would expect of the First World War".
The Hobbit filmmaker said: "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 in many cases."
Jackson and his team combed through around 600 hours of audio interviews with veterans, recorded in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, for the film.
The interviews show "the experience of what it was like to fight in this war, not the strategy (and) battles (but) the social experience of being in this war and the human experience of being in the war," he said.
The film will show how the veterans "had to live it, what they had to eat, how they slept at night, how they coped with the fear".
It will give "a sense of what it was like to be in this war 100 years ago (from) the perspective of the people that were actually there," he said.
Over 300 artists and organisations have been commissioned by 14-18 NOW, for its closing programme of events, which will take place from March to November this year.
Highlights include Processions, "a mass participation artwork" marking the centenary of the Representation Of The People Act, in which women first gained the right to vote.
Women will be invited to take to the streets of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London on June 10 for the event, in which female artists have been commissioned to help create banners, "echoing the practices of the women's suffrage campaign".
The season ends by marking Armistice Day on November 11, with a new, yet-to-be announced work created by filmmaker Danny Boyle.
Boyle, the mastermind behind the opening ceremony at the Olympics in London in 2012, is creating a work which "will invite people across the UK to mark the centenary".
Another new work, The Head And The Load by William Kentridge, will have its world premiere at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in July.
The "large-scale" performance will tell the story of the millions of African porters and carriers who served British, French and German forces during the First World War.
And the multi-screen installation African Soldier will remember the African men and women who participated in the 1914-1918 war.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel