Five Came Back (TV series)

Synopsis

The series follows John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens as they documented the Second World War. It uses over 100 hours of archival footage, narrated by Meryl Streep. Each modern director—Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Greengrass, and Lawrence Kasdan—discusses one of the five earlier directors. Featured films include The Battle of Midway, Prelude to War, The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, Nazi Concentration Camps, and Let There Be Light, among others.

Production

Laurent Bouzereau, who has documented films and directors, proposed interviewing five current directors for the project. The filmmakers examined over 100 hours of newsreel and archival footage, more than 40 wartime documentaries and training films, 50 studio films by the directors, and over 30 hours of raw war film footage. Meryl Streep recorded the narration on January 17, 2017, the same day she received her 20th Oscar nomination.

Critical reaction

Five Came Back received largely positive reviews, with a 98% approval rating from 40 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it arguably the best documentary about Hollywood and wartime. David Sims of The Atlantic praised its relevance and wished it were longer, noting its examination of propaganda. Allison Shoemaker of The A.V. Club graded the first episode B+ and the final two episodes A, writing that the conclusion links the directors' wartime experiences to their later art.

John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal described the series as mythic, adventurous, romantic, and real. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com called it a must-see and a cinephile's dream. Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times said the series invites viewers to see more of the directors' work, calling their films enduring art.