Rating: 
Summary: No CGI needed to see the brilliance of Peter Jackson!!
Review: To fully appreciate this film, you must consider two things. First, this is a MOCumentary. It is not a real story, but instead something created through the imagination of a very rich storyteller. Second, this film was released to the general New Zealand public without them knowing that this was a mocumentary and they completely felt that it was a real occurrence. They took the bait ... hook, line, and sinker. It reminded me of the fear that Orson Welles was able to conjure when he did "The War of the Worlds" broadcast in 1938. Welles was able to create a mythological occurrence that was packaged so well that audiences bought it. This is the same with Peter Jackson's creation, Forgotten Silver. Jackson's attention to detail and excitement behind this project is seen with every digitized photo, every sound bite, and every word of the story.
The great idea behind mocumentaries is that you have the opportunity to create a world from the ground up. I think this was an aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed about this picture was every creative angle that Jackson took with his characters. They were flawed, but in a good way. They were real, yet in a sense very cartoonish. They gave you this dream about life that is normally missing in most films, yet these guys were never alive for you to believe in. It was funny how deeply rooted you could become with this film until you had to pull yourself away and say that it was just a work of fiction. For anyone to say that about a film means that the filmmaker is doing a spectacular job. The only director that I can think of that closely able to pull this off today is Christopher Guest, but even in his work you can tell that it is a mocumentary from the beginning. Jackson never gives you the opportunity to find the truth. Everything he hands to you has been researched and tested giving us the chance to believe in our man Colin throughout all of it.
Perhaps what I am trying to say here is that Jackson doesn't just create a story, he creates a world filled with emotion and chaos. It is easy to create a story, books are released everyday, but to put visuals with this story AND build a main character that the average Joe can relate to is much harder. While only pushing 60 minutes, Jackson had quite a bit of work on his hands. This was not an easy project. Jackson not only had to play director, but also put himself into the film that I think only helped build the mirage of truth. You kept forgetting that he created this story, yet was in it himself. It honestly takes away that feeling of cinematic rubbish that Hollywood releases daily and builds a true story.
The interventions between Harvey Weinstein, Sam Neill, and Leonard Maltin only help build more of that "truth" to the film. You hear these men from the industry talk about this fictitious man named Colin McKenzie, you begin to believe that perhaps he was alive and Jackson is just trying to tell the truth.
While I have spoken heavily about the amazing fake factoids that Jackson disperses through the film, what I found funny was the type of humor that Jackson placed intermittently throughout the film. The idea of Stan the Man is brilliant and his "Rodney King" moment proved that it is always possible for history to repeat itself. The jail time that Colin faced due to his "smut" film had me rolling in my seat. The exuberant size of the extras needed for this film kept me smiling throughout. There was just something about this humor that made me excited about my educational background.
Finally, I would like to say that the fact that the New Zealand public never realized that it was a mocumentary should already prove the worthiness of this film. I do not see why it didn't receive more press than it did, but this has been the biggest film enjoyment of the week. I remember a line from a film that went something like this, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist". Think of this line as you witness Jackson's film Forgotten Silver. It will make you curious.
Overall, I thought that this film was beautiful. Midway through this film you will loose track of reality and think that you are watching a true documentary, and that is when you can realize that you have a master director giving you a perfect "gem". This was not a film filled with violence and annoying Gollems, but instead cunning wit and satire. Jackson continually proves that he can handle so much more than just The Lord of the Rings with this film. No CGI is needed to see the imagination and brilliance behind this visionary. For those of you that are huge Lord of the Rings fans, you may not enjoy it as much, but for me this was Jackson in his truest form.
Bravo!
Grade: ***** out of *****
Rating:
Summary: "Silver" is gold
Review: Watching this mockumentary, it isn't hard for me to see why the New Zealand public thought it was for real when it was first aired. Peter Jackson, the endearingly hobbitlike director of fantasy epic "Lord of the Rings," tried his hand at something a bit different aside from his splatter-gore horror films, and the eerie "Heavenly Creatures." Okay, more than a "bit" different. It documents the discovery of a film by the cinematic wizard Colin McKenzie, who was born in New Zealand in the 1800s, died in a somewhat deteriorated state, and made amazing breakthroughs in filmmaking in the early 20th century, that were never seen for various reasons... until they were unearthed in a shed. Specifically, the epic "Salome," which had some rather odd financial backers (mobsters and a clown, for example) Now there is a documentary being filmed, with interviews and pieces of footage from the "forgotten silver" of Colin McKenzie, the most brilliant filmmaker who never lived! Jackson himself is in this in more than a cameo appearance (in all his films, he appears for at least a few seconds), as the filmmaker; Miramax big man Harvey Weinstein, actor Sam Neill, and critic Leonard Maltin also appear as themselves, which makes the film seem even more real. (Especially when Weinstein claims he'll be distributing "Salome") If I hadn't known that this WAS a mockumentary, I might've thought it was for real. Even though the tongue-in-cheek attitude marks this as a mockumentary, it's very well-done and detailed. The way Jackson fake-aged the footage from the old films, it's totally believable that these have been sitting in a shed for decades. The details show some of the reasons why Jackson did "Lord of the Rings" so well: careful attention to costuming, particularly in the "Salome" film, detailed camerawork, and a lot of affection for the inspiration for the film. Jackson himself is never more likeable than he is here, and it seems like he's having a good time. This is another, not-as-well-known-as-it-deserves example of Peter Jackson's incredibly skilled direction. He is a brilliant director, and this is an uproariously funny and well-made mockumentary. No wonder the audience thought it was real. Funny, cute, detailed and a must-have for fans of Peter Jackson and of all "forgotten silver."
Rating:
Summary: "Silver" is gold
Review: Watching this mockumentary, it isn't hard to see why the New Zealand public thought it was for real when it was first aired. Peter Jackson, the endearingly hobbitlike director of fantasy epic "Lord of the Rings," tried his hand at something a bit different aside from his splatter-gore horror films, and the eerie "Heavenly Creatures." Okay, more than a "bit" different.
It documents the discovery of a film by the cinematic wizard Colin McKenzie, who was born in New Zealand in the 1800s, died in a somewhat deteriorated state, and made amazing breakthroughs in filmmaking in the early 20th century, that were never seen for various reasons... until they were unearthed in a shed. Specifically, the epic "Salome," which had some rather odd financial backers (mobsters and a clown, for example) Now there is a documentary being filmed, with interviews and pieces of footage from the "forgotten silver" of Colin McKenzie, the most brilliant filmmaker who never lived!
Jackson himself is in this in more than a cameo appearance (in all his films, he appears for at least a few seconds), as the filmmaker; Miramax big man Harvey Weinstein, actor Sam Neill, and critic Leonard Maltin also appear as themselves, which makes the film seem even more real. (Especially when Weinstein claims he'll be distributing "Salome") If I hadn't known that this WAS a mockumentary, I might've thought it was for real.
Even though the tongue-in-cheek attitude marks this as a mockumentary, it's very well-done and detailed. The way Jackson fake-aged the footage from the old films, it's totally believable that these have been sitting in a shed for decades. The details show some of the reasons why Jackson did "Lord of the Rings" so well: careful attention to costuming, particularly in the "Salome" film, detailed camerawork, and a lot of affection for the inspiration for the film. Jackson himself is never more likeable than he is here, and it seems like he's having a good time.
This is another, not-as-well-known-as-it-deserves example of Peter Jackson's incredibly skilled direction. He is a brilliant director, and this is an uproariously funny and well-made mockumentary. No wonder the audience thought it was real. Funny, cute, detailed and a must-have for fans of Peter Jackson and of all "forgotten silver."
Rating:
Summary: Passafist Reviews Forgotten Silver
Review: What is truth in film? Is there any? That's a question you ponder after many repeated viewings of Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures) and Costa Botes' (Saving Grace) Forgotten Silver, a delightful `Mock-umentary.' I remember the first time I saw this film, it was 1997 at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I remember the audience laughing, as I have never heard any crowd laugh before. This is a good natured and very funny film. The film follows the story of Colin McKenzie (Thomas Robbins) a pioneer filmmaker from New Zealand. Colin is a genius; he invented brand new emulsion techniques in 1902. He photographed the first human in flight, and it wasn't the Wright Brothers. He invented color and sound for film decades before anyone else, and in the end he mounted one of the greatest epic motion pictures of all time, SALOME: A Tale of the Bible. The movie is amazing. Any lesser film would track down stock footage to tell the story but what Botes and Jackson accomplish with grainy 16mm film and original photography is just amazing. The final 20 minutes of the movie is a painstakingly elaborate silent film that feels like real period silent movie. Colin McKenzie might not exist, but this film makes him alive. The story goes that they showed this film on New Zealand Television and many people bought the joke. There are enough markers to make the utterly impossible. My favorite, the steam powered film camera. But then there are great moments with Sam Neil (Jurassic Park), Leonard Maltin (TV's Hot Ticket), and Harvey Weinstein (An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn), that give this movie and air of credibility. I also enjoyed Beatrice Ashton's wonderful performance as Hannah McKenzie. It's done with all seriousness. There is no tongue-and-cheek in her naturally moving delivery of obviously fake lines. As I mentioned before there is a silent film that takes up the last 20 minutes of FORGOTTEN SILVER. Sarah McLeod (Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of The Ring) plays May Belle, Colin's wife and leading lady, she is perfect. Her role as Salome is so good that you buy it. The camera love's McLeod's face, she has those soft pudgy features that are incredibly feminine, but also vampishly sexy. This film looks so easy, but had to be absolutely painstaking. But I'm glad Jackson and Botes took the time to make it. It's a wonderful film. Imaginative, beautiful, and well worth it's hour and fifteen-minute running time. Don't forget to spend some time with....FORGOTTEN SILVER.
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