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Five Came Back |OT| They showed the war to the world - Netflix 3/31

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G

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
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Five directors went to World War II to tell the truth, and changed filmmaking forever. Five Came Back, only on Netflix March 31.
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Links:

Reviews:

  • Deadline:

    As I say in my video review above, many of these movies would go on to be nominated or become winners at the Oscars, but their greatest achievement was in showing people on the home front what was going on during the war, or serving as primers for the military and their troops. What the book, densely detailed as it is, could not do is let us see this extraordinary footage while giving the backstories behind each one. In a brilliant stroke, Five Came Back director Laurent Bouzereau and Harris employ five contemporary directors to comment on the individual achievements of these legendary filmmakers during the war. Each acclaimed and currently working director gives a distinct point of view on these men, thus Steven Spielberg talks about Wyler, Paul Greengrass about Ford, Guillermo del Toro about Capra, Lawrence Kasdan about Stevens and Francis Ford Coppola about Huston.
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    The Hollywood Reporter:

    Mark Harris' popular 2014 book, Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War, is unquestionably the most absorbing and thorough account of Hollywood's unprecedented and often bumpy relationship with the government in creating and distributing these propaganda films. The advantage the book has over the documentary is its ability to delve deeply into the disputes, delays, compromises and practical challenges involved in making the Hollywood/D.C. collaboration work (which it sometimes didn't), as well as to explore the thoughts and turbulent emotions of the formidable personalities involved.

    Along with Five Came Back, Netflix will stream 13 related wartime documentaries beginning March 21. Among those that can be particularly recommended are The Battle of Midway, The Battle of Russia, The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, The Negro Soldier, San Pietro, Nazi Concentration Camps and Let There Be Light.
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  • Entertainment Weekly:

    Filmmaking, as an art form, can be something more when wielded as a weapon. But what is that something more? In Five Came Back, a three-part docuseries based on Mark Harris‘ bestselling book about five directors — John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens — who served in World War II to capture the carnage and crises close up, the answer turns out to be devastating and profound.

    And absorbing. Director Laurent Bouzereau, best known for creating “making of” documentaries for Steven Spielberg’s films, expertly crafts a story that takes the viewer from the filmmakers’ antebellum careers to their post-war work, weaving their five tales together using interviews with five of today’s most notable directors: Spielberg (also an executive producer), Guillermo Del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Greengrass, and Francis Ford Coppola. Oh, and having the whole Herculean effort narrated by Meryl Streep doesn’t hurt.
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Cast:

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Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston

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George Stevens, William Wyler, Steven Spielberg

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Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Greengrass

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Lawrence Kasdantell, Meryl Streep
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Promo photos:

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B

Boem

Member
Looks extremely interesting. Thanks for linking this, had no idea this was coming up. Definitely a watch for me.
 
X

x-Lundz-x

Member
Love me some WW2 history and this looks incredible. Currently rewatching the World At War again. I wish they would remaster that in color.
 
J

jtb

Banned
Mark Harris is fucking awesome. (Wrote the book) Can't wait.

Per none other than Tarantino:

http://www.vulture.com/2015/08/how-quentin-tarantino-would-fix-it-follows.html

I just finished Five Came Back, by Mark Harris. I think Mark Harris may be the best film writer ever, when it comes to these historical, slightly critical books that he does. They're fantastic. Pictures at a Revolution is probably one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I really wasn't into the subject matter, but because he wrote it, I decided I'd give it a shot. I brought Five Came Back and that Harper Lee book with me when I went to Prague, and I ended up voraciously reading his book. I actually have a lot of those war documentaries at home, so I came back and watched the Why We Fight series and The Memphis Belle. It got me on a big William Wyler kick, too.
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Z

Zasa

Member
Been diving deep into the Hardcore History podcast of late, so my body is fully willing for this documentary.
 
Vic_Viper

Vic_Viper

Member
Netflix, PLEASE bring back the 3rd season of Band of Brothers!!!

HBO hasnt said a word about it in years and it had already filmed a ton of stuff for it. If HBO cant finish it, Netflix would be the perfect place.
 
G

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Watched the first episode, engaging documentary. It is a shame it is only three episodes.

Also, Netflix has added a bunch of the films that the directors made during the war:

Know Your Enemy - Japan
Let There Be Light
Nazi Concentration Camps
Prelude to War
San Pietro
The Battle of Midway
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
The Negro Soldier
Thunderbolt
Tunisian Victory
Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines
Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia
WWII: Report from the Aleutians
 
C

C4Lukins

Junior Member
That was fantastic. Should probably just be one 3 hour film instead of 3 episodes, but it still works out great. I found myself close to tears quite a few times.

It starts out a little slow. In that it feels very traditional as a World War 2 documentary with talking heads giving commentary, but it builds and builds. And it does a great job of pointing out where the directors involved went into propaganda and sometimes racist areas, but also showing the humanity and impact of the war on each of them.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys history or film. Now I need to watch all the stuff these guys made during those years. I will update with small reviews of each film that GK86 listed so graciously. Starting Know Your Enemy now.
 
C

C4Lukins

Junior Member
Know Your Enemy-Japan: 8/10 Frank Capra

What an amazing thing. So first off this US propaganda film is super racist. I am not giving it a high rating because it is correct, but because of how compelling it is.

It does a lot of interesting things. I am giving it high marks just because of the footage. The footage seems to be mostly from Japanese propaganda war films, Japanese films used to explain Japan's history, and a bit of footage showing dead Chinese civilians taken from who knows where.

The narrative is completely Americans from the era speaking over footage shot by Japan that was recovered over the course of the war.

And while there is a ton of racist comments, there is also an odd attempt to try and understand and explain Japanese beliefs at the time.

It is both super racist, educational, and sympathetic. Which is probably a good representation of US sentiment at the time.

It does an interesting thing where it tries to explain the Japanese thought process for going to war, and the western version of Japanese history and their beliefs. As an actual documentary, it is probably shit, but there is just so much great film in it. It would still be compelling if you muted the narration.
 
T

texasairhead101

Member
I watched this on release and sought out all the war documents that were mentioned already on Netflix. The documentaries are very powerful and show off what it must have been like for a person living in the amount of fear going on. I recommend watching The Battle of Russia: Why we Fight and Nazi Concentration Camps.

This series made me seek out the director's other films from Jon Huston too. Totally recommend Five Came Back.;
 
G

golem

Member
The first episode was a bit slow but really enjoyed the other two. Never really thought about the comparison between their pre war and post war work. Will have to check out the documentary & propaganda work they did.
 
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