Forgotten Silver

Forgotten Silver (1996)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (10 reviews)

  • 78% of users liked it
    (4,247 ratings)

Originally presented to an unsuspecting New Zealand public as the real deal, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson's masterful mocumentary initially proved so convincing that unsuspecting viewers bought it hook, line, and sinker. A remarkably detailed look at the life of early filmmaker Colin… More

In Theaters
Oct 3, 1997 Wide
On DVD
Oct 26, 2004

Critic Reviews

  • Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic

    The sly joke of Forgotten Silver really registers.

  • Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

    a funny mockumentary of a legend that never was

  • Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

    Quite aside from being perhaps the most elaborate prank in Jackson's career to date (or since), Forgotten Silver is a brilliant piece of moviemaking.

  • Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    Clever mockumentary.

  • Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine

    An uncanny deadpan take on the typical PBS or A&E biography.

Read all 7 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Tim S


    Fantastic mockumentary.

  • Eric B


    Cleverly written and executed, but I was surprised at how unfunny it was. Not in the sense of *failed* humor, but of humor not being attempted at all. The funniest thing about the film is its overall premise -- chuckles during individual scenes were scarce for me. The steam-driven… More

  • Buddy A


    A rather funny mockumentary about Colin McKenzie, a man who (apparently) rivalled DW Griffiths, the Lumiere brothers, Edison, and George Melies in the early days of film. he supposedly invented the bicycle cam (and subsequently crashed it), made film emulsion from eggs (though it took… More

  • Christopher B


    Peter Jackson does a perfect job telling the story of a filmmaker who rivals Erich Von Stroheim and D.W. Griffith in the epic department. Though I find it did get a little too audacious (would a movie with that much of a budget and so many extras really be forgotten?) it still played… More

  • Wu C


    Brilliant and hilarious mockumentary about a film pioneer. This is better than "Spinal Tap' in my opinion. A must see.

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Cast

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