Forgotten Silver (1995) is a fake-documentary (a mockumentary) by Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Heavenly Creatures) about the forgotten life of a New Zealand film maker.

The Kiwi director Jackson discovers an old collection of film reels containing the work of film maker Colin McKenzie. Upon inspection of the reels, McKenzie's amazing contributions to the world of cinematography are exposed. They include for instance the invention of the first mechanical camera, and the making of the first full-length feature film with sound in 1908. It flopped, since all the actors spoke Chinese, and subtitles were not yet invented. It's around this point you notice that this otherwise serious documentary is taking a rather strange turn.

McKenzie independently invents the color film and gets arrested for accidentally making the first porn film. He also records the first plane flight, which happens to be in New Zealand, and not by the Wright Brothers. His biblical epic Salome (described by Miramax Films boss Harvey Weinstein as "the greatest film discovery of the last fifty years") is the first film that goes bankrupt during the shoot. He has amazing slapstick films (including the first "hidden camera" shots), and brilliant footage from the Spanish Civil War. It is a climactic buildup of unbelievable events, but it is filmed so realistically that you'll take it all for real with a big grin on your face.

When this movie was shown on New Zealand TV, it had an impact comparable to H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds broadcast. Needless to say that it has a rather strong credibility.

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