1 00:00:10,328 --> 00:00:13,065 I'm in a small town called Pukerua Bay in New Zealand. 2 00:00:13,066 --> 00:00:16,809 Behind me is the house of an elderly lady called Hannah McKenzie. 3 00:00:16,823 --> 00:00:18,261 I've known Hannah all my life. 4 00:00:18,283 --> 00:00:21,843 She's a very close friend of my parents, who live just 4 doors away. 5 00:00:21,844 --> 00:00:24,949 In fact, I remember coming to "Auntie Hannah's" gardens, 6 00:00:24,950 --> 00:00:29,328 as we called her when I was about 7 years old and playing in these trees over here. 7 00:00:29,329 --> 00:00:31,698 I didn't know a lot about Hannah McKenzie back then 8 00:00:31,699 --> 00:00:36,163 I knew that she was a widow - her husband had died many years before I was born. 9 00:00:36,568 --> 00:00:40,472 About a year ago I had a call from my mother. 10 00:00:40,473 --> 00:00:43,116 She said I should drop in on Auntie Hannah sometime because 11 00:00:43,117 --> 00:00:46,784 she was wondering if I'd be interested in a lot of old films that she had stored 12 00:00:46,785 --> 00:00:49,165 in a shed at the bottom of her garden. 13 00:00:51,635 --> 00:00:53,372 I wasn't expecting much. 14 00:00:53,374 --> 00:00:54,675 Hannah described them as a 15 00:00:54,676 --> 00:00:58,341 lot of old home movies that her husband, Colin, had taken. 16 00:01:04,403 --> 00:01:07,099 I was expecting to maybe find a bunch of old home movies, 17 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:11,900 drop them off at the film archive on my way home and that would be the end of it. 18 00:01:12,700 --> 00:01:17,500 What I found, sitting right here, was an old chest. 19 00:01:18,604 --> 00:01:21,779 I opened the chest and I found the most extraordinary collection of films 20 00:01:21,780 --> 00:01:23,424 These were 35mm films. 21 00:01:23,425 --> 00:01:24,979 The tins were rusty. 22 00:01:24,980 --> 00:01:28,329 There were strange names on them. "Warrior Season". 23 00:01:28,330 --> 00:01:29,675 Films I'd never heard of. 24 00:01:30,412 --> 00:01:34,351 I had no way of realizing the significance of these films at the time. 25 00:01:34,352 --> 00:01:38,054 We later discovered they were made between the turn of the century and the late 1920s 26 00:01:38,055 --> 00:01:39,970 by an extraordinary New Zealander. 27 00:01:39,971 --> 00:01:43,750 A man who has now gotta join the ranks of the great film pioneers. 28 00:01:43,751 --> 00:01:46,238 A guy called Colin McKenzie. 29 00:01:48,093 --> 00:01:51,299 At the archives we get a lot of film coming in. 30 00:01:51,300 --> 00:01:54,073 It's family parades, babies on lawns 31 00:01:54,612 --> 00:01:56,954 A lot of it's very interesting, historically. 32 00:01:56,955 --> 00:01:59,930 Just on dress, fashion, and things like this, but 33 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,690 Colin McKenzie's collection, on the other hand, is something totally unique. 34 00:02:06,982 --> 00:02:08,422 I got a call from Peter 35 00:02:08,544 --> 00:02:11,282 and he wanted to know if I knew anything at all about 36 00:02:11,283 --> 00:02:13,109 Colin McKenzie. 37 00:02:13,110 --> 00:02:16,632 And, I had to say that I didn't know very much. 38 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,629 The name wasn't totally unknown to me. I'd come across it in a couple of journals 39 00:02:20,630 --> 00:02:22,527 and a couple of old papers 40 00:02:22,528 --> 00:02:25,745 but there was very little solid information to relate to him. 41 00:02:25,746 --> 00:02:29,566 Certainly there was no films that were attributed to him. 42 00:02:29,567 --> 00:02:33,165 We were very luck to get the film in when we did. 43 00:02:33,266 --> 00:02:35,404 They were starting to deteriorate quite badly 44 00:02:35,405 --> 00:02:36,598 some of the reels. 45 00:02:36,599 --> 00:02:40,469 And, I think, within 5 years if it hadn't have been found 46 00:02:40,470 --> 00:02:42,802 it would have disappeared forever. 47 00:02:43,268 --> 00:02:44,434 Imagine if a film 48 00:02:44,435 --> 00:02:47,850 like "Citizen Kane" was to suddenly come out of the blue. 49 00:02:47,936 --> 00:02:52,016 Really, the discovery of this collection was that exciting and that intriguing. 50 00:02:52,017 --> 00:02:56,536 It's a treasure trove of films of major historical importance 51 00:02:56,537 --> 00:02:59,618 not just for New Zealand but worldwide. 52 00:02:59,619 --> 00:03:02,231 This is New Zealand filmmaker is gonna rank 53 00:03:02,232 --> 00:03:04,960 you know - I mean - with the greats, like D.W. Griffith. 54 00:03:04,961 --> 00:03:07,521 And I think, in some ways, infinitely better. 55 00:03:07,522 --> 00:03:09,614 I've gotta confess: Colin McKenzie was just 56 00:03:09,615 --> 00:03:12,438 a name I'd read somewhere in a book, in a history book 57 00:03:12,439 --> 00:03:14,518 and he didn't have a lot of impact to me 58 00:03:14,519 --> 00:03:19,038 until this great discovery of all his films and the historical research that's gone with it 59 00:03:19,039 --> 00:03:21,297 and now I am just flabbergasted. 60 00:03:21,298 --> 00:03:25,814 This is just the greatest film discovery of the last 50 years. 61 00:03:25,815 --> 00:03:29,940 Here was this unknown genius, who died in obscurity, 62 00:03:29,941 --> 00:03:33,501 and who now belongs, you know, in the pantheon 63 00:03:33,502 --> 00:03:37,215 of great cinema artists and innovators. 64 00:03:48,955 --> 00:03:51,650 Colin McKenzie had humble beginnings. 65 00:03:51,651 --> 00:03:54,347 He was born on the 7th of February, 1888 66 00:03:54,348 --> 00:03:57,967 in the tiny South Island farming community of Geraldine. 67 00:03:58,899 --> 00:04:03,421 His father, John McKenzie, arrived in New Zealand in 1879. 68 00:04:03,637 --> 00:04:05,593 With typical Scottish pragmatism 69 00:04:05,594 --> 00:04:09,414 he built his home and farm the hard way. 70 00:04:09,541 --> 00:04:12,622 John's young wife, Ellen, found country life difficult. 71 00:04:12,623 --> 00:04:16,050 but she took pride in her sons, Colin and Brooke. 72 00:04:17,017 --> 00:04:21,817 Colin, the elder of the two, was studious and introverted, the opposite of his brother. 73 00:04:22,223 --> 00:04:25,305 Yet the boys enjoyed a close bond. 74 00:04:26,701 --> 00:04:29,563 From sunup to sundown they worked the land with their father. 75 00:04:29,564 --> 00:04:32,099 in whose footsteps they were expected to follow. 76 00:04:32,688 --> 00:04:35,677 Colin, however, showed no aptitude for farming. 77 00:04:35,678 --> 00:04:38,058 His interests lay elsewhere. 78 00:04:40,508 --> 00:04:42,150 The boys' uncle, Albert Drury, 79 00:04:42,164 --> 00:04:44,889 owned a successful bicycle shop in Timaru. 80 00:04:45,329 --> 00:04:46,672 It was there, in the workshop, 81 00:04:46,673 --> 00:04:50,191 that Colin discovered his passion for mechanical invention. 82 00:04:50,192 --> 00:04:54,846 Young Colin would often stay weekends, tinkering with tools and spare parts. 83 00:04:54,847 --> 00:04:57,668 The boy's imagination needed an outlet. 84 00:04:57,669 --> 00:05:01,427 In the spring of 1900, he found it. 85 00:05:01,657 --> 00:05:05,682 The traveling picture show had come to town. 86 00:05:10,091 --> 00:05:14,120 It was like a flash from heaven, starting out of the darkness, 87 00:05:14,121 --> 00:05:17,993 and his whole heart lifted. 88 00:05:17,994 --> 00:05:21,857 He felt this was something he wanted to do 89 00:05:21,858 --> 00:05:23,941 and he would do. 90 00:05:24,419 --> 00:05:26,678 He just followed that big picture show 91 00:05:26,679 --> 00:05:28,500 right around the district. 92 00:05:28,501 --> 00:05:31,349 And where the other kids had been gorping at the screen 93 00:05:31,350 --> 00:05:34,135 looking at those lovelies and horses and things 94 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:38,402 Colin was at the back of the hall looking at the magic machine that was doing it all. 95 00:05:38,403 --> 00:05:39,622 The projector. 96 00:05:39,663 --> 00:05:42,204 What fascinates me most about Colin McKenzie's early films 97 00:05:42,205 --> 00:05:45,064 are not so much the films themselves, but the technology involved. 98 00:05:45,065 --> 00:05:48,509 I mean this was 1900. 5 years after the birth of cinema. 99 00:05:48,510 --> 00:05:52,564 You can't walk into the chemist's shop and buy a movie camera to take home movies. 100 00:05:52,565 --> 00:05:56,854 Aged only 12, Colin built his first motion picture camera. 101 00:05:56,855 --> 00:05:59,947 Impatient with the hand crank technology at the time, 102 00:05:59,948 --> 00:06:03,221 Colin mechanized his camera with great ingenuity. 103 00:06:05,029 --> 00:06:07,649 When Colin rode the bicycle, his camera rolled, 104 00:06:07,650 --> 00:06:11,068 thus creating the cinema's first tracking shots. 105 00:06:15,015 --> 00:06:18,398 Colin's later attempt to mechanize a home-built projector 106 00:06:18,399 --> 00:06:21,931 lept way beyond pedal power. 107 00:06:23,743 --> 00:06:25,579 I don't know who else would have thought 108 00:06:25,580 --> 00:06:29,804 of using steam power to drive a projection system, but he did. And it worked! 109 00:06:29,905 --> 00:06:33,249 Well, he was clever enough to make his own film. 110 00:06:33,250 --> 00:06:37,724 He got flax seeds from down at the swamp at the back of the farm. 111 00:06:37,725 --> 00:06:41,639 And he boiled them and boiled them. Turned that into cellulose nitrate. 112 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,024 And then he had to find something for the emulsion and he found eggs. 113 00:06:45,025 --> 00:06:47,559 Not eggs. Egg whites. 114 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,886 He used the egg albumen process, which they used in the 19th century 115 00:06:50,887 --> 00:06:55,311 for making materials photosensitive. 116 00:06:55,312 --> 00:06:59,227 He adapted that, though, to use the moving images. 117 00:06:59,228 --> 00:07:02,965 The trouble was, that it took 12 eggs 118 00:07:02,966 --> 00:07:05,610 to make one minute of film. 119 00:07:05,611 --> 00:07:09,490 That's alright as long as he was making short films. 120 00:07:10,088 --> 00:07:12,813 Colin was caught red-handed. 121 00:07:13,389 --> 00:07:17,990 The precocious boy had been planning the world's first feature-length film. 122 00:07:17,991 --> 00:07:20,594 Colin's father flew into a rage. 123 00:07:20,595 --> 00:07:23,929 This was an affront to his dignity. 124 00:07:23,930 --> 00:07:28,497 He ranted and he raved, and he smashed up all of Colin's gear. 125 00:07:28,498 --> 00:07:30,798 Everything was destroyed. 126 00:07:30,799 --> 00:07:35,599 Everything. All his gear. Except the camera, which his clever mother had hidden. 127 00:07:36,149 --> 00:07:38,824 Living less than 50 miles from the McKenzie farm was 128 00:07:38,825 --> 00:07:43,209 someone who, like Colin, nursed extravagant dreams of invention. 129 00:07:43,210 --> 00:07:45,528 His name was Richard Pearse. 130 00:07:45,565 --> 00:07:47,949 In the early years of the century, 131 00:07:47,950 --> 00:07:50,546 Pearse constructed a crude flying machine 132 00:07:50,547 --> 00:07:52,991 and made several attempts to get airborne. 133 00:07:53,666 --> 00:07:57,669 Pearse's exploits have always been the subject of conjecture and legend. 134 00:07:57,670 --> 00:08:00,881 Some writers believe he flew before the Wright brothers. 135 00:08:00,882 --> 00:08:04,718 But no reliable proof has existed that he even got off the ground. 136 00:08:04,719 --> 00:08:06,405 Until now. 137 00:08:08,097 --> 00:08:10,649 Found among the films in the Colin McKenzie collection 138 00:08:10,650 --> 00:08:13,482 was an astounding cinematic record. 139 00:08:14,187 --> 00:08:15,910 Seen here, publicly, for the first time 140 00:08:15,911 --> 00:08:19,849 is a piece of film currently being examined by the Smithsonian Institute. 141 00:08:19,850 --> 00:08:24,650 A fragment of cinema that will forever rewrite aviation history. 142 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,849 Minutes before takeoff, Colin positioned his camera above a wagon. 143 00:08:30,850 --> 00:08:32,338 And waited. 144 00:08:54,185 --> 00:08:58,985 Colin McKenzie's remarkable film contained yet another astonishing revelation. 145 00:09:00,191 --> 00:09:03,318 The man on the left has a newspaper in his pocket. 146 00:09:03,778 --> 00:09:07,500 Digital enhancement allows us to look closer. 147 00:09:11,786 --> 00:09:16,586 The Wright brothers historic flight at Kitty Hawk was not until December 17, 1903. 148 00:09:17,083 --> 00:09:19,208 Richard Pearse, a farmer from New Zealand, 149 00:09:19,209 --> 00:09:22,149 had beaten the Wright brothers into the air by nine months. 150 00:09:22,150 --> 00:09:25,449 But the thing that I find really funny is, if you examine the footage, 151 00:09:25,450 --> 00:09:29,241 He's flying straight at Colin McKenzie, who's filming it, and he 152 00:09:29,242 --> 00:09:32,649 has to swerve to avoid Colin and he crashes into the hedge. 153 00:09:32,650 --> 00:09:34,419 And if Colin had not been there, 154 00:09:34,420 --> 00:09:37,834 he probably would have flown a lot further and we would've all heard about it. 155 00:09:37,835 --> 00:09:40,655 His father confiscated the film. 156 00:09:41,107 --> 00:09:44,551 Forbade in his dual way 157 00:09:44,552 --> 00:09:49,352 the boy ever to have anything to do with this new-fangled filmmaking ever again. 158 00:09:52,618 --> 00:09:57,418 Aged only 15, Colin McKenzie ran away from home. 159 00:09:58,707 --> 00:10:01,349 New Zealand was growing into a prosperous dominion. 160 00:10:01,350 --> 00:10:04,845 Even the poorest members of society had some leisure time. 161 00:10:04,846 --> 00:10:08,759 and most of them chose to spend it at the pictures. 162 00:10:10,230 --> 00:10:14,514 Opportunities were plentiful for enthusiastic young men like Colin. 163 00:10:14,515 --> 00:10:16,939 In 1905, Brooke joined him 164 00:10:16,940 --> 00:10:20,308 to form the McKenzie Brothers Picture Company. 165 00:10:20,813 --> 00:10:24,900 Filming parades and weddings, the brothers rapidly amassed a small fortune. 166 00:10:24,901 --> 00:10:28,053 But Colin's dreams were more ambitious. 167 00:10:31,407 --> 00:10:33,027 At 84 minutes, "The Warrior Season" 168 00:10:33,028 --> 00:10:36,649 must now be acknowledged as the world's first feature-length film. 169 00:10:36,650 --> 00:10:41,450 But even more remarkably, it introduced a revolutionary technical innovation. 170 00:10:43,415 --> 00:10:46,849 By 1908, after three years of development, 171 00:10:46,850 --> 00:10:51,449 Colin McKenzie had perfected a way to record synchronized sound with pictures. 172 00:10:51,450 --> 00:10:53,030 Conventional film history tells us 173 00:10:53,031 --> 00:10:56,049 that Al Jolson sang in 1927 174 00:10:56,050 --> 00:10:59,799 and in "Old Arizona" you could here the sound of bacon frying. 175 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,303 Well, that's the late '20s. Here in 1908, 176 00:11:02,304 --> 00:11:07,104 Colin McKenzie had figured out a way in making this epic, battle-torn film 177 00:11:09,153 --> 00:11:12,072 to have gun fire, to have horses' hoof beats. 178 00:11:12,073 --> 00:11:16,873 He recorded it all and it all came through. And, most of all, he had dialogue. 179 00:11:35,050 --> 00:11:36,805 He just forgot one thing: 180 00:11:36,806 --> 00:11:39,349 All of his subjects talking were Chinese. 181 00:11:39,350 --> 00:11:43,145 And while he figured out a way to record them, he didn't think of making subtitles. 182 00:11:43,146 --> 00:11:44,882 It was his fatal flaw. 183 00:11:51,904 --> 00:11:54,948 Audiences just walked out in droves. 184 00:11:54,949 --> 00:11:56,941 They couldn't understand a word. 185 00:11:56,942 --> 00:11:59,978 They were amused by the novelty for a few minutes of hearing sound, 186 00:11:59,979 --> 00:12:03,801 but then when they couldn't figure out what anybody was saying, they just lost interest. 187 00:12:03,833 --> 00:12:05,949 Disillusioned and financially crippled, 188 00:12:05,950 --> 00:12:09,684 Colin abandoned his recording experiments forever. 189 00:12:10,089 --> 00:12:12,632 He turned his attention from sound to pictures, 190 00:12:12,633 --> 00:12:16,308 becoming obsessed with the images themselves. 191 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,708 In late March 1911, Colin succeeded in creating 192 00:12:19,709 --> 00:12:23,249 an emulsion that reacted to distinct wavelengths of light. 193 00:12:23,250 --> 00:12:26,062 Producing an effect very like color. 194 00:12:26,063 --> 00:12:27,973 There was only one problem: 195 00:12:27,974 --> 00:12:32,774 the key ingredient was photinia aquefolium, a berry found only in the islands of Tahiti. 196 00:12:34,156 --> 00:12:38,026 The McKenzie brothers wasted no time in packing their bags. 197 00:12:38,575 --> 00:12:42,037 What Colin and Brooke achieved in Tahiti was actually quite an extraordinary 198 00:12:42,038 --> 00:12:43,872 feat of chemical engineering. 199 00:12:43,873 --> 00:12:46,781 They take the berries, they boil them up, 200 00:12:46,782 --> 00:12:49,699 they go through this complicated process in a home-built laboratory 201 00:12:49,700 --> 00:12:51,054 under the palm trees. 202 00:12:51,339 --> 00:12:55,705 It takes him four and a half months to produce 22 seconds of film. 203 00:12:56,344 --> 00:13:00,762 Full of anticipation, Colin immediately embarked on a test. 204 00:13:02,058 --> 00:13:03,391 In this astonishing footage, 205 00:13:03,392 --> 00:13:06,149 Colin trains his lens on a colorful tropical scene. 206 00:13:06,150 --> 00:13:09,280 but his carefully-composed image is soon disrupted. 207 00:13:10,483 --> 00:13:14,005 He attempts to reframe, without success. 208 00:13:14,488 --> 00:13:17,915 The precious film rolls through his camera and runs out. 209 00:13:20,034 --> 00:13:23,274 Confident their technical breakthrough would restore their fortunes 210 00:13:23,275 --> 00:13:25,655 the brothers raced back to New Zealand. 211 00:13:26,290 --> 00:13:29,563 They quickly setup a screening for potential investors. 212 00:13:30,294 --> 00:13:33,520 But the reaction was to prove deeply disappointing. 213 00:13:36,300 --> 00:13:41,100 On June 9, 1912, they appeared before Justice McRobey in the Dunedin High Court. 214 00:13:41,722 --> 00:13:45,893 Colin and Brooke were charged with exhibiting a lewd document. 215 00:13:46,103 --> 00:13:49,104 An all male jury deliberated for 37 hours. 216 00:13:49,105 --> 00:13:53,905 Requesting repeat screenings of the film before delivering a guilty verdict. 217 00:13:54,235 --> 00:13:57,114 Colin and Brooke were jailed for 6 months. 218 00:13:57,450 --> 00:13:59,437 With hard labor. 219 00:14:01,993 --> 00:14:06,793 Upon their release, the brothers returned home, to their mother, in disgrace. 220 00:14:07,289 --> 00:14:10,175 What seems to have happened then is really a transition in Colin. 221 00:14:10,176 --> 00:14:14,278 Up until this point in his career he had been interested in the technicalities of filmmaking. 222 00:14:14,279 --> 00:14:18,467 He'd experimented with building cameras, with sound, with color. 223 00:14:18,468 --> 00:14:21,511 And now, really for the first time, I think 224 00:14:21,512 --> 00:14:24,681 Colin started to think about the artistic uses of film. 225 00:14:24,682 --> 00:14:28,809 He wanted to produce, on film, something that was going to have a message for people. 226 00:14:28,810 --> 00:14:33,284 And he turned to the source of all great messages. 227 00:14:36,903 --> 00:14:40,238 Colin became fascinated by one Bible story in particular. 228 00:14:40,239 --> 00:14:43,450 Soon he announced his intention to make a 20 minute film 229 00:14:43,451 --> 00:14:47,568 based on the tale of Salome and John the Baptist. 230 00:14:49,623 --> 00:14:52,293 Colin's adaptation was loose and imaginative. 231 00:14:52,294 --> 00:14:55,469 Colin himself took the role of the Baptist. 232 00:14:56,881 --> 00:15:00,634 Brooke was chosen to play Narraboth, Herod's handsome captain of guards. 233 00:15:00,635 --> 00:15:04,387 Colin's biggest problem was finding a young woman to play Salome. 234 00:15:04,388 --> 00:15:06,931 All the girls round about had been warned off 235 00:15:06,932 --> 00:15:11,732 by their fathers, outraged by the scandal he'd been involved in. 236 00:15:12,772 --> 00:15:17,572 And the girls who did show up were certainly not suitable. 237 00:15:22,406 --> 00:15:23,995 And then 238 00:15:24,158 --> 00:15:26,639 He saw Maybelle. 239 00:15:27,620 --> 00:15:30,000 She took his breath away. 240 00:15:30,956 --> 00:15:35,756 Even before he realized what was happening, Colin was in love. 241 00:15:38,005 --> 00:15:40,637 He told no one of his feelings. 242 00:15:45,471 --> 00:15:48,848 Maybelle proved to be an excellent actress. 243 00:15:48,849 --> 00:15:52,371 The chemistry between her and Brooke was electric. 244 00:15:52,645 --> 00:15:54,927 They lit up the screen. 245 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:01,236 Besotted with Maybelle, Colin moved his camera nearer and nearer to her. 246 00:16:01,237 --> 00:16:04,512 In the process, he invented the close-up. 247 00:16:04,657 --> 00:16:06,271 But no matter how close he got, 248 00:16:06,272 --> 00:16:10,006 Colin failed to see what had developed right under his nose. 249 00:16:11,455 --> 00:16:15,772 Brooke and Maybelle had genuinely fallen in love. 250 00:16:16,877 --> 00:16:20,755 Concealing his bitterness, Colin toasted the happy couple and wished them well. 251 00:16:20,756 --> 00:16:23,675 But a few days later, on the pretext of exhaustion, 252 00:16:23,676 --> 00:16:25,845 he suspended filming. 253 00:16:25,846 --> 00:16:30,361 The adjournment was to last longer than anyone expected. 254 00:16:33,727 --> 00:16:36,325 The onset of The Great War led to a huge outpouring 255 00:16:36,326 --> 00:16:39,785 of patriotic sentiment in the colonies of the British empire. 256 00:16:40,108 --> 00:16:44,625 You men rushed to enlist, eager to do their bit for King and country. 257 00:16:44,905 --> 00:16:47,486 Amongst them was Brooke McKenzie. 258 00:16:47,491 --> 00:16:51,327 He and Maybelle had been married only three weeks when he joined up. 259 00:16:51,328 --> 00:16:56,128 Colin tried to enlist too, but he had flat feet and was classified unfit. 260 00:16:56,375 --> 00:16:59,105 He farewelled his brother with a heavy heart. 261 00:17:00,546 --> 00:17:03,756 Brooke McKenzie was part of the first New Zealand expeditionary force 262 00:17:03,757 --> 00:17:08,174 that landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. 263 00:17:08,179 --> 00:17:12,979 He came armed not only with a rifle, but a lightweight camera, built by Colin. 264 00:17:16,562 --> 00:17:18,521 Here, seen for the very first time, 265 00:17:18,522 --> 00:17:23,318 is the only motion picture film shot by a New Zealander at Gallipoli. 266 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:26,529 Brooke's camera focuses not on battles or explosions, 267 00:17:26,530 --> 00:17:28,853 but on the human face of the warfare. 268 00:17:28,854 --> 00:17:31,814 On his comrades of the Otago Mounted Rifles 269 00:17:31,815 --> 00:17:35,999 and their daily lives during the early weeks of this tragic campaign. 270 00:17:45,216 --> 00:17:47,133 On June 11, 1915, 271 00:17:47,134 --> 00:17:51,099 Brooke McKenzie was hit by sniper fire at Quinn's Post. 272 00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:53,920 He was carried by donkey down to the beach dressing station. 273 00:17:53,921 --> 00:17:57,359 where he died, that night, of his wounds. 274 00:18:04,026 --> 00:18:06,694 Maybelle was hit hard by the news. 275 00:18:06,695 --> 00:18:09,077 She gave herself up to grief. 276 00:18:13,494 --> 00:18:15,663 It was Colin's blackest moment. 277 00:18:15,664 --> 00:18:19,374 He fell into a severe depression, unable to work or sleep. 278 00:18:19,375 --> 00:18:21,360 He'd lost his brother. 279 00:18:21,503 --> 00:18:25,088 He'd lost his partner and so many things they'd done together. 280 00:18:25,089 --> 00:18:27,918 It was a terrible time for Colin. 281 00:18:28,175 --> 00:18:32,096 Later that year, Colin McKenzie disappeared. 282 00:18:33,055 --> 00:18:35,139 He was last seen high on the Lewis Pass, 283 00:18:35,140 --> 00:18:38,714 walking alone towards the rugged west coast. 284 00:18:43,439 --> 00:18:47,610 At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918, 285 00:18:47,611 --> 00:18:49,195 the Great War ended. 286 00:18:49,196 --> 00:18:53,324 After an absence of 3 years, Colin McKenzie returned from the West Coast, 287 00:18:53,325 --> 00:18:55,949 and made an astonishing announcement. 288 00:18:55,950 --> 00:18:58,037 He would resume production of Salome, 289 00:18:58,038 --> 00:19:01,292 only this time he would work on a massive scale. 290 00:19:01,293 --> 00:19:04,669 The film would become a four-hour epic with a cast of thousands. 291 00:19:04,670 --> 00:19:08,298 a spectacular monument to his late brother's memory. 292 00:19:08,299 --> 00:19:13,094 With evangelical fervor, Colin McKenzie gathered together a small army of extras 293 00:19:13,095 --> 00:19:15,096 and headed back into the hills. 294 00:19:15,097 --> 00:19:19,862 Between the years 1915 and 1918, he basically vanished off the face of the Earth. 295 00:19:20,601 --> 00:19:23,520 There's one clue, however. In his collection of films 296 00:19:23,521 --> 00:19:26,774 there's a tiny snippet that is dated 1917 297 00:19:26,775 --> 00:19:31,204 and it shows a construction of some sort going up in the hills. 298 00:19:31,205 --> 00:19:33,574 And what we now believe happened was that he retreated 299 00:19:33,575 --> 00:19:37,870 into the most remote part of the country and he built a huge city. 300 00:19:37,871 --> 00:19:42,671 This was the biggest man-made structure ever to be built in this country. 301 00:19:42,850 --> 00:19:46,294 After days traveling through tough and inhospitable terrain, 302 00:19:46,295 --> 00:19:50,512 Colin McKenzie's extras were confronted with an incredible sight. 303 00:19:50,716 --> 00:19:52,299 Nestled in a hidden valley, 304 00:19:52,300 --> 00:19:56,679 covering an area the size of 7 football fields, was a vast Biblical city. 305 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,712 A fanciful recreation of ancient Jerusalem. 306 00:19:59,713 --> 00:20:01,850 With its richly-detailed market squares, 307 00:20:01,851 --> 00:20:05,562 grand staircases, and temples towering hundreds of feet into the air, 308 00:20:05,563 --> 00:20:10,363 This was to be the setting of the greatest motion picture ever shot in New Zealand. 309 00:20:11,070 --> 00:20:14,280 Early in 1994, a decision was made to mount a search 310 00:20:14,281 --> 00:20:17,070 for the location of Colin McKenzie's lost city. 311 00:20:17,071 --> 00:20:21,871 Yeah, that could mean that it's in an area where the vegetation kinda grows quickly. 312 00:20:22,423 --> 00:20:25,083 Because, you know, what better way to hide a place like this 313 00:20:25,084 --> 00:20:28,043 than for the jungle and for the bush to grow back over it. 314 00:20:28,044 --> 00:20:31,817 Yeah, it's likely to be in quite a sort of narrow valley. 315 00:20:35,886 --> 00:20:38,960 An isolated valley, three days' tramp from Hokitika 316 00:20:38,961 --> 00:20:42,746 was chosen as the most promising area for the search. 317 00:20:49,651 --> 00:20:52,945 The team headed into the primordial west coast bush. 318 00:20:52,946 --> 00:20:57,746 Deep into the last great unexplored region of forest in ​​New Zealand. 319 00:21:01,662 --> 00:21:04,037 On February 22, 1919 320 00:21:04,038 --> 00:21:07,513 filming commenced on the new version of Salome. 321 00:21:07,750 --> 00:21:11,212 Colin was ready for the great task that lay ahead. 322 00:21:11,213 --> 00:21:15,925 In his mind's eye, he saw his film as it would be, imagining every detail 323 00:21:15,926 --> 00:21:19,095 with a clarity of vision he had never experienced before. 324 00:21:19,096 --> 00:21:21,678 Maybelle resumed her role of Salome. 325 00:21:21,850 --> 00:21:26,650 Channeling her grief into a creative energy that delivered the performance of a lifetime. 326 00:21:27,937 --> 00:21:32,058 But after 5 days of frenzied shooting, the production stalled. 327 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,330 Colin McKenzie had run out of money. 328 00:21:35,736 --> 00:21:38,373 The disappointed extras returned home. 329 00:21:38,374 --> 00:21:40,283 Colin promised that filming would resume 330 00:21:40,284 --> 00:21:42,685 as soon as he had secured a source of finance. 331 00:21:43,579 --> 00:21:47,214 In the event, the money he needed would come from an unusual alliance. 332 00:21:47,215 --> 00:21:50,375 I first heard of Colin McKenzie at The Film Unit when I worked there. 333 00:21:50,376 --> 00:21:54,155 And there was an old chap there, called Stan Wilson, who worked in the laboratory. 334 00:21:54,156 --> 00:21:57,017 And it was always rumored that Stan had been a little bit damaged 335 00:21:57,018 --> 00:21:59,569 by chemicals that were no longer used in the laboratory. 336 00:21:59,570 --> 00:22:02,705 He was the last of the damaged technicians, poor old Stan, 337 00:22:02,806 --> 00:22:07,101 but he was a lovely old bloke, and good to have a yarn with over afternoon tea 338 00:22:07,102 --> 00:22:10,278 and he'd talk about the early days of cinema in New Zealand. 339 00:22:10,438 --> 00:22:13,398 He would often mention a fellow called Colin McKenzie, 340 00:22:13,399 --> 00:22:16,478 who none of us knew anything about. 341 00:22:16,761 --> 00:22:20,113 Stan Wilson came from a rich family of shopkeepers. 342 00:22:20,114 --> 00:22:23,451 He was a stage clown who dreamed of fame in silent pictures. 343 00:22:23,452 --> 00:22:27,830 In 1921, he approached Colin and asked him to film one of his vaudeville routines 344 00:22:27,831 --> 00:22:29,766 and he was willing to pay for it. 345 00:22:31,902 --> 00:22:33,878 The storyline took an unexpected turn 346 00:22:33,879 --> 00:22:36,839 when a passing schoolgirl stepped in front of the camera. 347 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,259 In my innocent kid's way, I went over. 348 00:22:40,260 --> 00:22:43,721 Probably told him I didn't think it was very funny. 349 00:22:43,722 --> 00:22:47,808 And he didn't like that one little bit and suddenly he lashed out. 350 00:22:47,809 --> 00:22:50,788 Smacked me right across the face. 351 00:22:50,882 --> 00:22:54,147 I gave him a darn good kick on the shins, I remember that. 352 00:22:54,148 --> 00:22:57,872 The I burst into tears and cried all the way home. 353 00:22:58,804 --> 00:23:03,604 Nobody said anything at the time, but when they showed it to an audience the next day, 354 00:23:04,158 --> 00:23:08,958 The audience only laughed when he hit the child. 355 00:23:09,289 --> 00:23:14,089 And Stan insisted they keep this violence against the innocent in everything they did 356 00:23:16,754 --> 00:23:19,134 forever and a day. 357 00:23:20,311 --> 00:23:24,220 Well, "Stan the Man" was a pathetically unfunny screen comedian. 358 00:23:24,221 --> 00:23:27,682 But he has a sort of a niche, a footnote in film history, for one thing 359 00:23:27,683 --> 00:23:30,184 which he did in collaboration with Colin McKenzie, 360 00:23:30,185 --> 00:23:32,857 which was kind-of a Candid Camera approach 361 00:23:32,858 --> 00:23:34,773 to silent comedy. 362 00:23:34,774 --> 00:23:38,032 He would pull these pranks, which were not usually very funny, 363 00:23:38,033 --> 00:23:40,240 but they were completely spontaneous 364 00:23:40,241 --> 00:23:44,499 and he would surprise innocent people, usually to their dismay 365 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:49,300 and Colin would be filming it with another of his inventions: a suitcase camera. 366 00:23:49,623 --> 00:23:51,964 So that it was actually unrehearsed and spontaneous. 367 00:23:51,965 --> 00:23:55,711 Now, of course, it didn't take Colin much time away from Salome to do these because 368 00:23:55,712 --> 00:23:57,993 they would all be done in one take. 369 00:23:58,838 --> 00:24:00,506 They would go around the country 370 00:24:00,507 --> 00:24:03,884 and make a different film in different towns, you know. 371 00:24:03,885 --> 00:24:07,084 They'd go to Taihape and make "Stan the Man in Taihape" or 372 00:24:07,085 --> 00:24:09,582 "Stan the Man in Palmy North" 373 00:24:09,891 --> 00:24:14,691 And show it, a week later, after Colin had done all the editing and so-on 374 00:24:14,770 --> 00:24:19,205 in the town hall and collect bags of cash. 375 00:24:19,206 --> 00:24:23,286 Regularly, Colin would take the money he earned from the "Stan the Man" comedies 376 00:24:23,287 --> 00:24:27,449 and go up into the mountains and continue his first love, of course, which was Salome. 377 00:24:27,450 --> 00:24:31,455 Armed with 1700 pounds, the profits from the first "Stan the Man" comedies, 378 00:24:31,456 --> 00:24:35,425 Colin returned to his Biblical city with the cast of Salome. 379 00:24:35,752 --> 00:24:39,114 Unfortunately, before the cameras could roll, the heavens opened, 380 00:24:39,115 --> 00:24:43,133 marking the beginning of a seemingly endless deluge. 381 00:24:43,134 --> 00:24:47,600 The west coast recorded its highest rainfall figures in 30 years. 382 00:24:47,601 --> 00:24:48,820 In six weeks, 383 00:24:48,997 --> 00:24:52,222 Colin shot only 3 minutes of film. 384 00:24:53,599 --> 00:24:55,896 There was only one bright spot in the gloom. 385 00:24:56,379 --> 00:25:00,401 Maybelle's affection for Colin was growing. 386 00:25:03,106 --> 00:25:04,748 His finances exhausted, 387 00:25:04,939 --> 00:25:09,018 Colin reluctantly resumed his partnership with "Stan the Man". 388 00:25:14,966 --> 00:25:19,368 The following summer, Colin returned to the mountains, and Salome. 389 00:25:19,369 --> 00:25:22,649 It was the hottest summer in 30 years. 390 00:25:22,650 --> 00:25:25,909 Dozens of extras were felled by heatstroke. 391 00:25:25,910 --> 00:25:28,147 They demanded more money. 392 00:25:28,295 --> 00:25:30,187 There was none to give. 393 00:25:30,950 --> 00:25:32,306 With a heavy heart, 394 00:25:32,307 --> 00:25:37,107 Colin McKenzie returned to his only dependable source of finance. 395 00:25:47,454 --> 00:25:51,964 Stan the Man finally pushed his luck too far one day in Buller. 396 00:25:53,493 --> 00:25:56,677 The day's shooting started normally enough for Stan and Colin. 397 00:26:01,876 --> 00:26:04,803 By lunchtime, Stan was hitting his stride. 398 00:26:05,562 --> 00:26:10,362 But at 3:30 that afternoon, Stan 'the Man' Wilson was to learn a hard lesson. 399 00:26:12,039 --> 00:26:16,839 Stan spots a fresh victim. A dignified-looking gentleman standing alone with his wife. 400 00:26:19,421 --> 00:26:24,221 Unfortunately, he fails to recognize Gordon Coates, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. 401 00:26:34,270 --> 00:26:37,872 Exhibiting a steely nerve that would serve him well in later life, 402 00:26:37,873 --> 00:26:41,503 Colin continues filming with his suitcase camera. 403 00:26:47,171 --> 00:26:51,971 Stan was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong sense of humor. 404 00:26:53,596 --> 00:26:56,678 But what happened was, since Colin was filming all of this, 405 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,061 it was sort of a forerunner of the Rodney King tape. 406 00:27:00,062 --> 00:27:02,800 Sixty years before that ever came to light 407 00:27:02,801 --> 00:27:07,121 because he had evidence of all these Secret-Service-type policemen 408 00:27:07,539 --> 00:27:11,496 beating the living daylights out of poor Stan the Man. 409 00:27:11,750 --> 00:27:14,658 "Stan the Man in Buller" was Stan Wilson and Colin McKenzie's 410 00:27:14,659 --> 00:27:16,565 greatest commercial success. 411 00:27:16,566 --> 00:27:19,211 It went straight to Stan's head. 412 00:27:19,222 --> 00:27:21,647 Well Stan, misguided soul that he was, 413 00:27:21,648 --> 00:27:26,250 thought that the notoriety of "Stan the Man in Buller" was due to his talent. 414 00:27:26,251 --> 00:27:30,007 He didn't understand that it was sort of a piece of news. 415 00:27:30,008 --> 00:27:32,549 You know, an incredible actuality 416 00:27:32,550 --> 00:27:35,809 involving the Prime Minister and all the government police. 417 00:27:35,810 --> 00:27:39,809 So he got it into his head that this would be his ticket to Hollywood. 418 00:27:39,810 --> 00:27:44,610 Because the film, in fact, was shown in America and got him a small, brief, bit of notoriety. 419 00:27:45,991 --> 00:27:49,110 So he came to Hollywood thinking that he'd be greeted with open arms 420 00:27:49,111 --> 00:27:51,539 and would be perhaps the next Chaplin. 421 00:27:51,793 --> 00:27:56,593 What he was, was the next unknown standing on a line to get a job. 422 00:27:58,260 --> 00:28:00,997 Despite the end of their lucrative association. 423 00:28:01,217 --> 00:28:05,176 Colin was secretly pleased to see the back of Stan Wilson. 424 00:28:06,642 --> 00:28:09,681 Colin's personal life, at least, was more settled. 425 00:28:09,682 --> 00:28:14,204 On December 4, 1926, he married Maybelle. 426 00:28:17,846 --> 00:28:20,215 Hey, look, there's a bottle! 427 00:28:20,216 --> 00:28:22,808 What? - Bottle. 428 00:28:25,229 --> 00:28:29,263 About the right period too. It's got that moulded sort of feel to it. 429 00:28:29,264 --> 00:28:31,926 That's the way they made bottles back in those days. 430 00:28:32,882 --> 00:28:36,595 The finding of a bottle encouraged the searchers. 431 00:28:38,828 --> 00:28:43,414 A disintegrating wagon found nearby seemed to confirm their excitement. 432 00:28:43,415 --> 00:28:45,795 Let's just get a photo of this. - I'll get it. 433 00:28:46,252 --> 00:28:49,071 Hey, Johnny, what sort of period do you reckon this is? 434 00:28:50,650 --> 00:28:53,592 More discoveries were to come. - We've got a road up here. 435 00:28:53,593 --> 00:28:56,223 Come take a look at this, Pete. - Look at that. 436 00:28:56,852 --> 00:28:58,892 What in the hell's a road doing here? 437 00:28:58,893 --> 00:29:01,110 After days of fruitless searching, 438 00:29:01,111 --> 00:29:04,440 would this road lead the team to Colin McKenzie's lost city? 439 00:29:04,441 --> 00:29:06,821 It keeps on going down here. 440 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,326 So, is there any road here at all? - No! 441 00:29:11,482 --> 00:29:14,564 No road there and no reason for a road. 442 00:29:16,095 --> 00:29:19,999 Colin's efforts to raise funds for Salome all proved futile. 443 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,779 He approached local impresarios and captains of industry without success. 444 00:29:24,780 --> 00:29:28,767 Ultimately, the backing he needed so desperately would come from Hollywood. 445 00:29:28,768 --> 00:29:30,943 and a producer named Rex Solomon. 446 00:29:30,944 --> 00:29:35,025 Rex Solomon was a self-made man who became a millionaire, 447 00:29:35,026 --> 00:29:38,409 oddly enough, by selling Bibles and Bible paraphernalia. 448 00:29:38,410 --> 00:29:40,930 And was very devout and very sincere 449 00:29:40,931 --> 00:29:45,453 in his beliefs and in his interests in the Bible and religion. 450 00:29:45,928 --> 00:29:49,925 By 1929, Solomon's studio, "Majestic Lion Pictures", 451 00:29:49,926 --> 00:29:52,227 was turning out a dozen pictures a year, 452 00:29:52,228 --> 00:29:54,703 all drawn from the Bible. 453 00:29:55,476 --> 00:29:58,651 Colin McKenzie knew the financier's business reputation 454 00:29:58,652 --> 00:30:00,824 He was determined to meet with him. 455 00:30:00,825 --> 00:30:02,562 They met quite by chance 456 00:30:03,213 --> 00:30:06,149 when Solomon went on a fishing expedition to New Zealand. 457 00:30:06,150 --> 00:30:08,832 McKenzie had already been making, or trying to make, 458 00:30:08,833 --> 00:30:12,169 his epic film of Salome for 5 years when he met Rex Solomon 459 00:30:12,170 --> 00:30:14,082 and this was just propitious timing 460 00:30:14,083 --> 00:30:18,883 because Solomon looked at it, realized the potential of the film, and decided to back it. 461 00:30:19,155 --> 00:30:23,757 and put his not inconsiderable funds behind Colin McKenzie to get the film completed. 462 00:30:23,758 --> 00:30:26,578 The paperwork was completed with little formality. 463 00:30:26,579 --> 00:30:29,921 Solomon agreed to a total budget of £100,000 464 00:30:29,922 --> 00:30:33,837 immediately advancing one quarter of this in cash. 465 00:30:33,921 --> 00:30:36,551 15,000 extras were hired. 466 00:30:36,742 --> 00:30:40,610 Men, women, and children were recruited from all around the district. 467 00:30:42,126 --> 00:30:44,618 With the fervor of a general waging a campaign, 468 00:30:44,619 --> 00:30:48,664 Colin assembled and rehearsed his extras for the biggest scene of his career. 469 00:30:48,665 --> 00:30:51,548 A spectacular battle between Herod's troops 470 00:30:51,549 --> 00:30:55,068 and a rag-tag army of messianic fundamentalists. 471 00:30:55,069 --> 00:30:59,734 This single sequence swallowed the entire £25,000 advance. 472 00:31:00,234 --> 00:31:02,669 But Colin was undeterred. 473 00:31:02,670 --> 00:31:05,145 Rex Solomon was a rich man. 474 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,587 On a single day in October 1929, 475 00:31:14,607 --> 00:31:17,984 Rex Solomon lost his entire fortune. 476 00:31:18,402 --> 00:31:21,877 It was no less a disaster for Colin McKenzie. 477 00:31:21,989 --> 00:31:25,018 For once, however, luck was on his side. 478 00:31:26,903 --> 00:31:28,620 As capitalism crumbled on Wall Street, 479 00:31:28,621 --> 00:31:31,835 halfway across the globe Communism was about to flex its muscle. 480 00:31:32,150 --> 00:31:35,980 Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin introduced a propaganda drive. 481 00:31:35,981 --> 00:31:39,673 The spirit of the revolution was to be spread throughout the capitalist West 482 00:31:39,674 --> 00:31:42,459 by any means necessary. 483 00:31:43,427 --> 00:31:46,388 This it was, in 1930, that Colin received a deputation 484 00:31:46,389 --> 00:31:49,437 from the New Zealand Communist Party. 485 00:31:50,007 --> 00:31:54,807 These documents record a transaction which took place in October 1930 486 00:31:54,953 --> 00:31:57,941 between my government and Colin McKenzie. 487 00:31:57,942 --> 00:32:00,322 The agreement was that the money 488 00:32:00,388 --> 00:32:04,813 was going to be used for the completion of the revolutionary epic 489 00:32:04,814 --> 00:32:08,744 documenting the class struggles of ancient times. 490 00:32:08,745 --> 00:32:10,704 Leading a new army of extras, 491 00:32:10,705 --> 00:32:14,958 Colin returned to the city he had built on the west coast. 492 00:32:14,959 --> 00:32:17,461 But the Soviet's cash had strings attached: 493 00:32:17,462 --> 00:32:21,377 Colin was forced to removed all religious references from his Biblical epic. 494 00:32:22,218 --> 00:32:24,677 The Baptist became a socialist dissident. 495 00:32:24,678 --> 00:32:27,096 Herod became a fascist money lender. 496 00:32:27,097 --> 00:32:31,351 While Salome became a prostitute who abandons her evil ways 497 00:32:31,352 --> 00:32:34,777 and learns the skills of collective bargaining. 498 00:32:35,146 --> 00:32:39,168 Colin hated the new version. Loathed it. Despised it. 499 00:32:39,609 --> 00:32:41,985 Barely took it seriously. 500 00:32:41,986 --> 00:32:45,239 What he was doing was making two versions: 501 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,547 one for him and one for the Soviets. 502 00:32:48,548 --> 00:32:51,954 So, if he took 5 takes for him, 503 00:32:51,955 --> 00:32:55,230 one would do for the Soviets. 504 00:32:56,750 --> 00:32:59,011 As Salome neared completion, 505 00:32:59,012 --> 00:33:00,671 Colin and Maybelle were overjoyed 506 00:33:00,672 --> 00:33:03,749 to discover they were expecting their first child. 507 00:33:03,750 --> 00:33:07,008 However, a bomb shell was in store. 508 00:33:07,009 --> 00:33:09,653 Early in 1931, Colin received a telegram 509 00:33:09,654 --> 00:33:12,189 from the Palermo Motion Picture Company. 510 00:33:12,650 --> 00:33:16,049 The Palermo brothers were ruthless and unscrupulous money men 511 00:33:16,050 --> 00:33:20,150 who now owned Rex Solomon's assets, including Salome. 512 00:33:20,151 --> 00:33:24,518 They demanded immediate delivery of the unfinished film. 513 00:33:24,612 --> 00:33:27,436 The Soviet investors, too, were growing impatient 514 00:33:27,437 --> 00:33:30,230 and their threats were equally intimidating. 515 00:33:31,115 --> 00:33:35,915 Working under conditions of unbelievable pressure, Colin raced to finish Salome. 516 00:33:37,457 --> 00:33:39,210 Barely pausing to eat or sleep 517 00:33:39,211 --> 00:33:42,296 he worked his cast and crew into the ground. 518 00:33:42,297 --> 00:33:43,630 To make matters worse, 519 00:33:43,631 --> 00:33:45,924 the Palermo brothers had arrived in New Zealand 520 00:33:45,925 --> 00:33:47,860 and they were searching for Colin. 521 00:33:48,429 --> 00:33:50,929 Desperate to finish the last 20 shots of Salome, 522 00:33:50,930 --> 00:33:54,798 Colin worked his crew for 72 hours non-stop. 523 00:33:54,825 --> 00:33:59,625 He failed to realize the terrible toll the stress of filming was taking on Maybelle. 524 00:34:00,063 --> 00:34:04,680 With one shot left to shoot, Maybelle collapsed. 525 00:34:05,904 --> 00:34:09,864 Maybelle went into early and violent labor. 526 00:34:09,865 --> 00:34:13,035 Nobody could stop the bleeding. 527 00:34:13,036 --> 00:34:17,836 The child, a boy, had no chance. And neither did she. 528 00:34:18,483 --> 00:34:21,613 The both died in Colin's arms. 529 00:34:29,350 --> 00:34:34,080 Colin was torn between guilt and despair. 530 00:34:34,081 --> 00:34:36,016 Guilt over Maybelle 531 00:34:36,017 --> 00:34:40,817 and despair because he'd finished the film, but at what a cost. 532 00:34:42,356 --> 00:34:44,046 And besides all that, 533 00:34:44,108 --> 00:34:47,402 He was afraid that Palermo Pictures or the Soviets 534 00:34:47,403 --> 00:34:50,033 would claim Salome. 535 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:55,516 He made a very drastic decision: 536 00:34:55,754 --> 00:35:00,554 He took all the film - cans and cans of it - and buried it 537 00:35:01,543 --> 00:35:04,449 right after he buried his family. 538 00:35:04,450 --> 00:35:09,250 After the death of Maybelle, Colin had only one thing on his mind: escape. 539 00:35:11,387 --> 00:35:13,470 On July 27, 1931, 540 00:35:13,471 --> 00:35:18,271 Colin McKenzie sailed away from New Zealand, never to return. 541 00:35:27,593 --> 00:35:31,931 There's some concrete down underneath here. Look, look, look! 542 00:35:32,198 --> 00:35:35,063 Look, Johnny! There's some steps. 543 00:35:35,064 --> 00:35:37,427 Look, see? Steps. 544 00:35:37,550 --> 00:35:41,152 73 miles from civilization, the team had found a grand concrete stair. 545 00:35:43,126 --> 00:35:45,566 Here were ruined arches. 546 00:35:46,379 --> 00:35:49,655 What's it look made of? - And fallen columns. 547 00:35:51,342 --> 00:35:55,949 All around was the crumbling debris of a huge man-made structure. 548 00:35:55,950 --> 00:35:59,282 But the extent of the find was still unclear. 549 00:35:59,950 --> 00:36:01,560 Working at fever pitch, 550 00:36:01,561 --> 00:36:04,104 the searchers began attacking the dense vegetation, 551 00:36:04,105 --> 00:36:07,827 eager to discover the secrets which lay beneath. 552 00:36:08,650 --> 00:36:13,450 After a week of solid effort, the team's work was starting to pay off. 553 00:36:23,290 --> 00:36:27,499 Colin disembarked into the heat and bustle of Algiers in 1931. 554 00:36:27,500 --> 00:36:29,755 Notorious as a haven for vice and corruption, 555 00:36:29,756 --> 00:36:34,174 North Africa was the perfect place for a man who did not want to be found. 556 00:36:34,950 --> 00:36:38,387 At the age of 43, Colin McKenzie, bought his first drink. 557 00:36:38,388 --> 00:36:42,707 and began a lost weekend that that would continue over five years. 558 00:36:43,728 --> 00:36:47,022 He might have easily ended his days in an African prison or hospital, 559 00:36:47,023 --> 00:36:49,902 had it not been a accident of fate. 560 00:36:52,862 --> 00:36:56,073 In 1936, the military garrison in Spanish Morocco 561 00:36:56,074 --> 00:36:59,156 mutinied against the Republican government. 562 00:37:01,187 --> 00:37:03,622 That revolt was to escalate into the bloody struggle 563 00:37:03,623 --> 00:37:06,998 we know today as the Spanish Civil War. 564 00:37:11,923 --> 00:37:14,257 Newsreel crews flock to the scene. 565 00:37:14,258 --> 00:37:16,259 Amongst them was Colin McKenzie, 566 00:37:16,260 --> 00:37:19,585 determined to regain his self-worth. 567 00:37:20,350 --> 00:37:22,765 Colin was not the only New Zealanders in Spain: 568 00:37:22,766 --> 00:37:25,769 A young nurse from Auckland named Hannah Simpson was there, 569 00:37:25,770 --> 00:37:27,562 working for the Red Cross. 570 00:37:27,563 --> 00:37:32,363 Colin came in with a small shrapnel wound, just needed a few stitches, 571 00:37:33,403 --> 00:37:35,343 but he hung about. 572 00:37:35,613 --> 00:37:40,230 And I kept watching. There was something special about this man. 573 00:37:41,580 --> 00:37:45,914 And we began to talk about New Zealand. It was a long time since he'd been there. 574 00:37:45,915 --> 00:37:50,715 And it all came out! His whole life, he told me about. 575 00:37:50,962 --> 00:37:54,131 We scarcely ever were apart. 576 00:37:54,132 --> 00:37:57,009 He was twice my age, 577 00:37:57,010 --> 00:38:01,327 but that seemed to have no significance at all. 578 00:38:01,514 --> 00:38:06,314 I'd just seemed to have found someone who understood me completely. 579 00:38:06,883 --> 00:38:08,729 As I understood him. 580 00:38:08,730 --> 00:38:13,530 There was no time for a honeymoon. Colin left next day for the front. 581 00:38:13,776 --> 00:38:17,529 I mean, it's so frustrating that the trail runs cold at the end of 1937. 582 00:38:17,530 --> 00:38:19,947 We have one last photograph of Colin McKenzie, 583 00:38:19,948 --> 00:38:22,083 which is of him and the troops. 584 00:38:23,162 --> 00:38:25,828 We've faxed and telephoned every film archive, 585 00:38:25,829 --> 00:38:30,500 every film museum, reference house - all around the world - that we can think of 586 00:38:30,501 --> 00:38:33,253 and the name of Colin McKenzie just doesn't surface anywhere. 587 00:38:33,254 --> 00:38:35,864 I mean, he just vanishes off the face of the Earth. 588 00:38:46,894 --> 00:38:51,672 Colin McKenzie's lost city has been released from the strangle hold of the western bush. 589 00:38:51,673 --> 00:38:55,316 The searchers were stunned by the enormity of Colin's vision. 590 00:38:55,317 --> 00:38:58,887 But the site had not yet given up all of its secrets. 591 00:39:06,782 --> 00:39:09,789 Under the remains of a ruined temple, marked with the sign of Taurus, 592 00:39:09,790 --> 00:39:13,017 was the entrance to an underground passage. 593 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:19,103 The tunnel led to a hidden vault. 594 00:39:23,228 --> 00:39:27,548 Inside was a sight to rival the most opulant Egyptian tomb. 595 00:39:27,847 --> 00:39:30,233 Massive statues, 596 00:39:30,408 --> 00:39:34,093 exquisite handmade costumes and elaborate props, 597 00:39:34,094 --> 00:39:36,974 finely-crafted swords and shields, 598 00:39:37,227 --> 00:39:39,569 Laying undisturbed for 60 years. 599 00:39:39,570 --> 00:39:43,434 This was Colin McKenzie's storeroom for the production of Salome. 600 00:39:43,435 --> 00:39:47,612 But his greatest treasure surpassed all ends. 601 00:39:49,540 --> 00:39:53,411 Here we go. And 3, 2, 1... 602 00:39:59,119 --> 00:40:00,240 Hey! Bingo! 603 00:40:00,241 --> 00:40:03,051 The crypt held thousands of feet of processed film 604 00:40:03,052 --> 00:40:05,039 in hundreds of cans. 605 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:06,347 It was all there. 606 00:40:06,582 --> 00:40:10,307 Every scene Colin had shot for Salome. 607 00:40:10,924 --> 00:40:14,899 Colin would have wanted Salome to be finished. 608 00:40:15,485 --> 00:40:20,285 He was so afraid that the Palermo people, or the Soviets, 609 00:40:20,921 --> 00:40:25,479 would take his precious film and mangle it 610 00:40:26,044 --> 00:40:29,906 that he really wasn't in his right mind when he buried it. 611 00:40:29,907 --> 00:40:33,525 Colin would want Salome to be seen. 612 00:40:35,384 --> 00:40:38,949 Once the decision had been made to go ahead with the restoration of Salome, 613 00:40:38,950 --> 00:40:43,750 John O'Shea, the doyen of New Zealand filmmakers, was asked to oversee the task. 614 00:40:44,454 --> 00:40:47,535 Interpreting what he wanted is very difficult 615 00:40:47,536 --> 00:40:50,222 but an editor is always faced with the problems of 616 00:40:50,223 --> 00:40:53,658 filling a director's wishes as best you can. 617 00:40:53,659 --> 00:40:57,219 If he was here, of course, he'd tell you what to do, but 618 00:40:57,220 --> 00:41:00,850 an editor has got to try and divine what 619 00:41:01,614 --> 00:41:03,197 was in his mind. 620 00:41:03,798 --> 00:41:06,540 With financial support from the New Zealand Film Commission, 621 00:41:06,541 --> 00:41:09,449 the painstaking restoration proceeded smoothly. 622 00:41:09,450 --> 00:41:11,202 A gala premier was planned 623 00:41:11,203 --> 00:41:13,899 for New Zealand's most extraordinary feature film. 624 00:41:13,900 --> 00:41:16,349 However, 3 days before this event, 625 00:41:16,350 --> 00:41:20,211 the Colin McKenzie saga was to deliver one final twist. 626 00:41:20,212 --> 00:41:22,822 Six months ago, we wrote to every Spanish film archive 627 00:41:22,823 --> 00:41:24,858 requesting footage from the Spanish Civil War 628 00:41:24,859 --> 00:41:27,649 that was credited to a cameraman named Colin McKenzie. 629 00:41:27,650 --> 00:41:31,431 In the last six months, nothing has turned up. Not one foot of film. 630 00:41:31,432 --> 00:41:33,027 Until this morning. 631 00:41:37,392 --> 00:41:39,172 This roll of film here 632 00:41:39,173 --> 00:41:43,973 was confiscated by the fascists at the Battle of Malaga in 1937. 633 00:41:44,254 --> 00:41:49,054 It's been sitting in an obscure Spanish archive all this time, almost 60 years, 634 00:41:49,992 --> 00:41:54,792 and it's credited to a cameraman named C. McKenzie. 635 00:41:55,511 --> 00:41:59,844 When we screened the film this morning, we couldn't believe what we were looking at. 636 00:42:05,892 --> 00:42:09,760 The minutes tick by until the order to charge is given. 637 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:13,652 The Battle of Malaga was one of the fiercest of the war. 638 00:42:19,481 --> 00:42:22,260 Here we see that Colin is right behind the Republican troops 639 00:42:22,261 --> 00:42:24,939 as they charge Franco's fascists. 640 00:42:27,165 --> 00:42:31,965 Intent on filming the action, Colin is oblivious to personal danger. 641 00:42:40,109 --> 00:42:44,909 As a fresh assault begins, a soldier falls directly in front of Colin. 642 00:42:47,325 --> 00:42:49,503 Colin puts the camera down. 643 00:42:49,751 --> 00:42:51,441 He runs to help. 644 00:42:51,531 --> 00:42:52,769 He stumbles. 645 00:42:58,612 --> 00:43:00,944 Both men are killed. 646 00:43:13,377 --> 00:43:15,813 On September 3, 1995, 647 00:43:15,814 --> 00:43:18,549 The New Zealand film and television industry 648 00:43:18,550 --> 00:43:21,962 gathered for a very special premier. 649 00:43:25,238 --> 00:43:29,319 There has never been a movie, which has taken so long 650 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:32,177 between conception and completion, 651 00:43:32,178 --> 00:43:34,358 and I predict there has never been a movie 652 00:43:34,359 --> 00:43:36,632 which has given a first night audience 653 00:43:36,682 --> 00:43:41,043 such a voyage of discovery as you're about to embark on now. 654 00:43:41,044 --> 00:43:44,022 I'm greatly honored to introduce the world premier of 655 00:43:44,023 --> 00:43:47,058 Colin McKenzie's "Salome". 656 00:43:58,650 --> 00:44:03,150 As the story opens, a group of women and children await death. 657 00:44:03,151 --> 00:44:07,173 The tyrant, King Herod has chosen to make an example of them. 658 00:44:21,850 --> 00:44:25,649 John the Baptist angrily denounces the massacre. 659 00:44:25,650 --> 00:44:29,470 Watching him is Herod's stepdaughter, Salome. 660 00:44:33,390 --> 00:44:37,081 John's defiance quickly leads to his arrest. 661 00:44:45,150 --> 00:44:47,793 Later, Salome meets her lover, Narraboth, 662 00:44:47,794 --> 00:44:50,472 he is Herod's captain of guards. 663 00:45:10,526 --> 00:45:14,011 Deep in the cells, John continues preaching against Herod 664 00:45:14,012 --> 00:45:15,940 and his evils ways. 665 00:45:16,300 --> 00:45:21,100 He proclaims the coming of the Messiah and the end of false kings. 666 00:46:24,750 --> 00:46:29,550 Spurned by John, Salome goes to seek her revenge with the king. 667 00:47:16,193 --> 00:47:19,191 John's preaching reaches a fever pitch. 668 00:47:19,192 --> 00:47:21,572 He incites the people to riot. 669 00:48:52,664 --> 00:48:54,457 With her dance completed, 670 00:48:54,458 --> 00:48:57,980 it is time for Salome to tell Herod her wish. 671 00:49:15,972 --> 00:49:19,951 Having made his promise, Herod cannot refuse. 672 00:51:17,650 --> 00:51:20,771 We've got to get The Academy to recognize 673 00:51:20,772 --> 00:51:24,031 that Colin McKenzie is one of the great filmmakers of our time 674 00:51:24,032 --> 00:51:28,609 and I'm gonna fight for it to qualify as the best film. 675 00:51:28,610 --> 00:51:30,905 I was quite staggered. I mean, 676 00:51:30,906 --> 00:51:34,732 we all think that we've sort of been the pioneers in New Zealand film 677 00:51:34,733 --> 00:51:37,387 but this was made 678 00:51:37,388 --> 00:51:39,768 50 years before 679 00:51:39,908 --> 00:51:44,708 any of us really thought about the possibility of ​​making a feature film in New Zealand. 680 00:51:44,729 --> 00:51:49,279 When you name Lumiere, and Edison, and on through D.W. Griffith, 681 00:51:49,280 --> 00:51:52,153 in the pantheon of film pioneers. 682 00:51:52,154 --> 00:51:55,806 I don't think there's any question that now we have to make room there 683 00:51:55,807 --> 00:51:58,139 for the name of Colin McKenzie. 684 00:51:58,141 --> 00:52:00,660 I think that if Colin were alive today 685 00:52:00,661 --> 00:52:03,854 and he saw the hour that we took out of his movie 686 00:52:03,855 --> 00:52:05,648 he would be absolutely thrilled. 687 00:52:05,649 --> 00:52:10,449 He was never alive to see the complete 3-hour version 688 00:52:10,918 --> 00:52:14,426 and I'm sure he would agree with us with no problem. 689 00:52:14,427 --> 00:52:17,854 Colin was a man of immense talent 690 00:52:18,467 --> 00:52:22,966 and a broad and deep imagination. 691 00:52:23,163 --> 00:52:25,849 And like people of that kind, 692 00:52:25,850 --> 00:52:28,480 he had, I think, a cracking point. 693 00:52:29,286 --> 00:52:32,544 He ran away. He ran away from his father's anger. 694 00:52:32,545 --> 00:52:34,887 He ran away from New Zealand. 695 00:52:34,888 --> 00:52:39,010 In a sense, when he buried the film, 696 00:52:39,011 --> 00:52:40,998 he was running away. 697 00:52:42,312 --> 00:52:46,628 But those episodes shouldn't diminish 698 00:52:46,940 --> 00:52:50,267 his strength 699 00:52:50,527 --> 00:52:54,151 as a creative human being. 700 00:52:58,676 --> 00:53:01,676 Subtitles improved by HighCode