Five Came Back, a Netflix docuseries centered on World War II, dives into the legacies of five renowned filmmakers — John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens — and their work in documenting, propagandizing, and serving in the war. In addition to some riveting footage and a retelling of their harrowing experiences, the series is supported by extensive interviews with lauded directors Paul Greengrass, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, and Lawrence Kasdan, with narration by Meryl Streep.
Since watching Five Came Back (which immediately spurred a second viewing), an extensive binge has started, consuming as many Ford, Wyler, Huston, Capra, and Stevens films as possible. You’ll likely want to do the same. It’s an incredible springboard for first-time viewers of their work. For those already familiar, it offers an entirely new lens through which to absorb their unique perspectives. The fascinating things these directors went through (alongside the countless men and women serving with them) forever shaped their filmmaking thereafter.
What Is ‘Five Came Back’ About?
Netflix’s Five Came Back is an adaptation of author Mark Harris‘ bestselling book Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War. Director Laurent Bouzereau ingeniously pairs each of the filmmakers who served in the war with a currently active director who, besides having apt takes to offer, is a fan of the filmmaker. The United States’ involvement in WWII saw several, vastly varying stages. Public support, cooperation between allies, and a ready, willing, and motivated enlistment pool were not easy feats to muster. While some would serve on the front lines and others would help in a medical or administrative capacity, these five famed directors used their unique skill sets to frame the war in a way that was as beneficial to their country as possible — a task that would prove increasingly difficult.
Believe me when I say that, even if you’ve never had the slightest urge to watch WWII-era films, whether you find historical footage grueling to sit through or the topic has never garnered your interest in the first place, you’ll have the desire after Five Came Back. Fortunately, Netflix has curated a playlist featuring twelve films referenced in the series. If this is your first viewing, consider this a strong advisory: scour through the reference films after the docuseries.
Often, you’re witnessing the first-hand experience of these filmmakers and the U.S. servicepeople embedded with them. Actual footage of battles and the aftermath make up a hefty portion of these films. However, many of them incorporate reenactments made by actors or the soldiers themselves, incorporating staged destruction and sometimes even special effects with miniatures. The added context offers an illuminated starting point for absorbing these films. You can genuinely imagine yourself in a pre-internet, pre-cable news world, learning about the ongoing war in the specific, meticulously crafted manner these filmmakers (and the government) intended.
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Five Came Back: The Reference Films offers the full versions of George Stevens’ Nazi Concentration Camp, John Ford’s The Battle of Midway and How To Operate Behind Enemy Lines, Frank Capra’s Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia and Prelude to War, William Wyler’s Thunderbolt and The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, The Negro Soldier (produced by Capra and originally directed by Wyler, but Five Came Back details his compelling reasons for leaving the project), John Huston’s San Pietro, Report from the Aleutians, and Let There Be Light, and Tunisian Victory (an amalgamation, directed in part by Capra, Huston, Roy Boutling, Hugh Stewart, and Anthony Veller).
You’ll Want to Binge the Films of Spielberg, Coppola, del Toro, Kasdan, and Greengrass
If you didn’t think you could find more to appreciate in Saving Private Ryan, one of Spielberg’s greatest accomplishments, you will after hearing how these WWII films awed, perplexed, and inspired him. The same can be said for del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, even though the wars that informed their stories weren’t the Second World War.
Then, as you inevitably branch out, toward something like Kasdan’s Wyatt Earp or Greengrass’ Bourne films, you begin to realize how significantly our perspectives are morphed, as filmmakers and audience members, and it’s not solely by the world events through which we live or learn. Perhaps even more so, the people who put pen to paper, frame a shot, and execute the final edits of what we consume play the biggest role in our response to reality, fiction, and the fascinating instances in which the two blend.
Five Came Back is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Five Came Back
- Release Date
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March 31, 2017
- Seasons
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1
