Free Memorial Day screening of Peter Jackson’s ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ at Vilar Center

The First World War ended 100 years ago. Today, an extraordinary new documentary tells the story of the Great War — directly from the people who experienced it.

Produced and directed by three-time Academy Award-winner Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings Trilogy), “They Shall Not Grow Old” is an incredible feat of storytelling and cinematography. Using state-of-the-art technology, the filmmakers took original footage from WWI and audio interviews with soldiers and transformed the past into the present, resulting in an astonishing, in-color and 3D documentary.

The groundbreaking computer restoration technology creates a moving real-to-life depiction of the WWI, in restored, vivid colorizing and retiming of the film frames, in order to honor those who fought and more accurately depict this historical moment in world history. 

The Vilar Performing Arts Center will present a free screening of “They Shall Not Grow Old” for Memorial Day on Monday, May 27 at 4 p.m. Attendees can reserve tickets in advance by calling the VPAC box office at 970-845-8497 or visiting www.vilarpac.org. The VPAC is located under the ice rink in Beaver Creek Village (68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek, Colorado).

Released in theaters in November 2018 (to honor the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI), “They Shall Not Grow Old” received rave reviews and earned a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. The film currently boasts a “92 percent fresh” audience score and a “100 percent fresh” critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics and audiences alike have been impressed and captivated by this emotional re-telling of the brave soldiers who fought in the Great War.

“Peter Jackson has taken a mass of World War I archival clips from Britain’s Imperial War Museum and fashioned it into a brisk, absorbing and moving experience,” praised The New York Times.

“In conjunction with the film’s intricately stitched narration, its soldiers turn from cold statistics to warm, quivering human beings, drawing us with renewed empathy into a Great War that, they all but unanimously agree, had precious little greatness to it,” raved Variety.

“They Shall Not Grow Old” gives viewers an opportunity to witness the triumphs and tragedies of WWI from the men who lived it. VPAC invites audiences to a free screening of this cinematic achievement for Memorial Day on Monday, May 27th at 4 p.m.