(CNN) For decades, memories of World War I have been preserved only in murky archival film. The color of uniforms, the sound of a canon firing, the faces of soldiers are all often inscrutable, at risk of being lost to time.

"They Shall Not Grow Old," a film by award-winning director and producer Peter Jackson brings more vivid life to the Great War -- and the soldiers who fought in it.

The film restores and transforms century-old footage obtained from the Imperial War Museum of London into images more closely akin to the modern-day blockbusters for which Jackson is known.

The archival black-and-white scenes of soldiers at war and at play are made over with the addition of color and texture.

Jackson and his production team also adjusted the speed of the footage -- making movements appear more natural -- and added sound effects, music and archived audio to bring the silent footage to life. Gone are the ubiquitous scratches that line old videos.

Read More