Five acclaimed contemporary directors tell the story of five legendary Hollywood filmmakers who enlisted in the armed forces to document World War II in a new Netflix Original documentary called “Five Came Back.”
Laurent Bouzereau directs the attempt at a heartfelt TV show, pulling the viewers into the history of World War II. The five studio filmmakers, Frank Capra, John Ford, George Stevens, William Wyler and John Huston, are analyzed in a documentary. Bouzereau’s brilliant idea could have lived up to the potential it had, but instead disappointed some viewers.
The show was envisioned to be like, if not better than, Mark Harris’ book, “Five Came Back.” The book gives readers the untold story of how Hollywood changed World War II and how World War II changed Hollywood, by transforming the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 into a research-heavy novel. The show was released on March 31, three years after the book’s publication.
This show is not like a normal documentary, which works to its advantage. Instead of having someone narrate and spit facts at the audience, a series of current filmmakers are interviewed.
Footage from World War II is immersed in a series of interviews with impressive filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Greengrass, Lawrence Kasdan and Steven Spielberg. Each modern filmmaker is matched with one of the five studio filmmakers, to offer insightful commentary on their films and how they impacted World War II. Coppola is matched to Huston, Toro to Capra, Greengrass to Ford, Kasdan to Stevens and Spielberg to Wyler. Each modern day filmmaker goes into great detail to comment on how each director affected World War II.
The lovely Meryl Streep is the narrator for the series, providing the audience with a lively narration of history. Streep’s voice alone might have been enough to save the series and make it tolerable. It would have been better for viewers if Streep narrated even more than she did. She brought energy, excitement and electrifying narration to a boring documentary.
Each modern filmmaker seemed to light up the screen with their admiration for the Hollywood filmmakers. The exciting part of this documentary was the modern day filmmakers speaking passionately about their art as they analyzed each director.
Other than that, this documentary could put anyone to sleep. Bouzereau could have reached the full potential of the idea by telling the stories of World War II from a new perspective.
Netflix also made thirteen of the World War II documentaries available for streaming with the launch of the new series. These include “The Battle of Midway” by Ford, “Prelude to War” by Capra, “Report from the Aleutians” by Huston, “The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress” by Wyler and “Let There Be Light” by Huston.
Maybe their original documentaries will not put the audience to sleep because they are interesting enough to keep their attention.
This documentary, while filled with rich, historical content, did not reach its full potential of what was planned to be a breathtaking perspective on how Hollywood affected World War II.
