Forgotten Silver
| Forgotten Silver | |
|---|---|
Forgotten Silver poster
|
|
| Directed by |
Peter Jackson Costa Botes |
| Produced by | Sue Rogers |
| Written by | Peter Jackson Costa Botes |
| Starring |
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| Edited by | Michael J. Horton |
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Production
company |
WingNut Films
|
|
Release date
|
29 October 1995 (TV premiere) |
|
Running time
|
53 min. |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $26,459 |
Forgotten Silver (1995) is a New Zealand mockumentary film that purports to tell the story of a pioneering New Zealand filmmaker. It was written and directed by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes, both of whom appear in the film in their roles as makers of the documentary.
Forgotten Silver purports to tell the story of "forgotten" New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie, and the rediscovery of his lost films, which presenter Peter Jackson claims to have found in an old shed. McKenzie is presented as the first and greatest innovator of modern cinema, single-handedly inventing the tracking shot (by accident), the close-up (unintentionally), and both sound and color film years before their historically documented creation. The film also shows fragments of an epic Biblical film, Salome, supposedly made by McKenzie in a giant set in the forests of New Zealand, and a "computer enhancement" of a McKenzie film providing clear evidence that New Zealander Richard Pearse was the first man to invent a powered aircraft, several months prior to the Wright Brothers.
The film also shows a (staged) premiere screening of a recovered McKenzie film presented by film promoter Lindsay Shelton. It features deadpan commentary from actor/director Sam Neill and director and film archivist John O'Shea, as well as critical praise from international industry notables including film historian Leonard Maltin, and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films.
In reality, McKenzie is a fictional character, and the films featured in Forgotten Silver were all created by Peter Jackson, carefully mimicking the style of early cinema. The interviewees are all acting. Thomas Robins, the actor who portrays Colin MacKenzie, is today more easily recognized by audiences as Sméagol's ill-fated companion Déagol in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
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Wikipedia