Forgotten Silver (1995)

A Clever Little Doc(Moc)umentary
I watched this mockumentary having already heard that it was a hoax. I was curious to see if I would still enjoy it. I did. Knowing it was a hoax I was trying to see if there were any obvious clues to give it away. The only one that may possibly have had me wondering was the 20,000 stolen eggs, but that was with the benefit of hindsight. I'm sure had I watched unaware I would have swallowed that as well.

I gave it to my parents to watch, saying nothing about it and was rewarded with a hook, line and sinker reaction. They even had the case to look at. My mother started to tell me all about how fantastic Colin McKenzie was and what a shame he wasn't better recognised. It was almost a shame to have to burst their bubble.

I was even amused to read that in one of the reviews on this site the person still doesn't realise they've been hoaxed. It has been very cleverly made and a tribute to Peter Jackson and Costa Botes mischievious sense of humour. It is interesting also to see some of the actors from LOTR showing up in this although I don't think I would have recognised them without being told.

Finally, the story of Colin McKenzie and the birth of filmmaking as we know it
At first I thought Forgotten Silver was a joke, but I changed my mind when I saw that one of the greatest of contemporary film historians and critics, Leonard Maltin, had contributed his insights to the story of film pioneer Colin McKenzie. It's an amazing story of how an inspired and dedicated film genius, located in New Zealand, anticipated and invented so many of the film techniques we take for granted now. It's hard to comprehend how this one man gave us such things as steam-powered projection systems, the first tracking shot, the first example of a talking movie, the first color film, the first close-up. He was naive, yes, but with the naiveté of the innocent. The first talking movie, for instance, featured Chinese day laborers speaking their native tongue. Mr. McKenzie, regrettably, neglected to provide sub-titles. While New Zealand movie goers stayed away in droves, the purity of his intent is beyond question.

He was an unsung genius who had the courage of his beliefs. He was there filming man's first heavier-than-air flight. He invented a small motion picture camera which, in partnership with Stan the Man, anticipated the spontaneous hilarity of Candid Camera. For those, like me, who had never heard of Stan the Man, Stan was an inspired silent comic who specialized in attacking the unsuspecting. His pie in the face gag featuring the New Zealand prime minister resulted in Mr. McKenzie's filmed reaction of the prime minister's police escort, which was the forebear of the Rodney King cinema verite.

McKenzie's superlative creative achievement, of course, was his three-hour film of Salome. He built a vast city in the jungles of New Zealand (which was newly discovered and is being excavated). It took him years to achieve the financing and it resulted in a deep, permanent personal tragedy. Yet the film, newly restored, reaffirmed not only Mr. McKenzie's vision, but also strengthened so many of our feelings about silent films. Harvey Weinstein, then chairman of Miramax, reaffirmed Mr. McKenzie's genius and emphasized how happy Mr. McKenzie would be that Mr. Weinstein himself insisted that an hour be cut from the restored film.

Colin McKenzie was an unsung genius who periodically would disappear, then reemerge with new inventions and passions to over-awe those of us who now are familiar with his extraordinary accomplishments. Yet no one really knew him. His inventions never led to acclaim or fortune. His disappointments were great. His legacy, in fact, was accidently found in a locked chest in an old shed at the bottom of his widow's garden. There, two young filmmakers, Peter Jackson and Costa Botes, found reel after reel of film, stored and long forgotten in rusting containers. If it hadn't been for this chance discovery, we might never have learned of Mr. McKenzie's transforming impact on film making.

Mr. McKenzie died tragically during the Spanish Civil War, shot while trying to rescue a wounded soldier. How deeply inspiring it would be if those of us who love film could watch, and re-watch, and watch again, D. W. Griffith, Alfred Hitchcock, Louis B. Mayer or F. W. Murnau as they died. Thanks to the foresight of Mr. McKenzie, who set up his camera to film his rescue attempt, we can with this New Zealand...no, this world...genius of film. He died as he lived...with his sprockets turning.

Despite the deteriorated condition of so much of Mr. McKenzie's film record, Jackson and Botes have put together a compelling documentary. They wisely intersperse contemporary evaluations of Mr. McKenzie's achievements and the recollections of his widow with many examples of Mr. McKenzie's pioneering work.

But what of the young filmmakers themselves, who brought us the McKenzie story? Little is known of Botes. Jackson, however, can be found occasionally working on the fringes of filmmaking. His innovative use of New Zealand middle school students to film a fantasy about middle earth was well received by the students' parents. Unfortunately, his attempt to use advanced technology to solve the problem of filming a story featuring a gorilla which had been fed football steroids met with mixed results. Holding a magnifying glass in front of his camera lens while photographing a chimpanzee and pretending it was a giant ape was too advanced a leap for most movie ticket buyers.

Forgotten Silver looks just fine on the DVD edition and is a must for film students.

So detailed in its forgery, I tried to google Colin McKenzie with no success
I originally caught the last half hour of "Forgotten Silver" when it aired on IFC 4 years ago. Eager to see the entire film, I scanned the program guide to find the next showing. Although it had an inconvenient start time (1:00 a.m.), I stayed up and watched the whole thing. I was mesmorized by this tale of family, struggle, love, loss, and redemption. Why had we never heard of Colin McKenzie, clearly a film pioneer in many areas?

The internet offered no help. No reference whatsoever of Colin McKenzie. It was only after looking for the film on amazon.com that the hoax was revealed to me.

This is a near-perfect practical joke for the pretentious film buff. I've loaned out the DVD to several friends and family members without the disc's case and cover jacket, which would provide clues as to the nature of what they were about to see. I only tell them to avoid the bonus features and see if they can figure out what's going on.

This is brilliant filmmaking and you get a glimpse at Peter Jackson honing his skills in special effects, set detail, and cinematography which would come in handy for the Lord of the Rings films.

Buy this film, but more importantly, loan it to unsuspecting film fan friends.