Review of Forgotten Silver (1997) by Ross L — 10 Jan 2011

This meticulously-crafted faux-documentary is hilarious and imaginative, and, of course, totally mischievous in that early-period Peter Jackson way. As impressive and prodigiously entertaining as his maximal-scope epics of recent years have been, any true fan of PJ has got to miss the tone of the gleeful trickster prevalent in his early work, that giggling delight at the feeling of really getting away with something.

"Forgotten Silver" has got that in spades while also demonstrating the superior level of technical craftsmanship that underlies his blockbusters and the film geek's interest in the history of the medium that runs through all of his films.

This is surely his most obscure film (and not all his, either, as we must credit Costa Botes as well), but it's one well worth seeking out for PJ acolytes.