By the late 1930s, Americans were in love with
the movies. Motion pictures were part of
weekly life, an opportunity to escape the humdrum of daily life but also to
learn about the world (with a Hollywood twist, of course). When World War Two began, Hollywood producers
were a bit ambivalent about how to approach the war effort. This was not true of five film directors--both
established and emerging--who wanted in on the action and were willing to make the
sacrifices to be involved.
Directors John Ford,
William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens were considered
among the top directors in Hollywood prior to the war. All offered their
services to the military and found themselves involved in the war effort
in various ways. Each came back changed
significantly.
In the book Five Came Back, Mark Harris told
their story. I reviewed his book here
about three years ago. The book has been
adapted into a three-episode series now on Netflix. The result is both informative and
emotional.
Laurent
Bouzereau, the director of the series, has called on five modern directors--
Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan and
Paul Greengrass--to share insights, to provide context, and to give perspective
on the impact of the war had on these creative men. For example, although George Stevens was best
known for his light romantic comedies in the 1930s, after filming the Dachau
concentration camp during the way, he said, “I could never make a comedy again.” He did direct powerful dramas like A Place in
the Sun, Shane, Giant, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Greatest Story Ever
Told. These are movies that I grew up
watching.
Neither
the series nor the book address the faith commitment of these men, but both explore
how several found themselves struggling to find meaning in the savagery that
humankind practices on its own. This is
reflected in their later work.
Although
I loved the book, the documentary series is a separate and unique experience. We see not only excerpts from the directors’
films, but very graphic and sometimes horrifying war footage, often in
color. Scenes from the liberation of
Paris and the discoveries at the Dachau concentration camp are especially
moving.
Once
again, we are asked to consider why these men chose to serve, but we also are
forced to see that war changed them as it does all who are involved. I highly recommend the series.
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