| 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. | 
