Documentary Review: Five Came Back (2017)

This is a made for Netflix documentary.  It presents the stories of five movie makers, big Hollywood directors, who took time away from their Hollywood careers, to serve in the military and document the war.  they could be called propagandists.  A part of their effort was to encourage the buying of war bonds.  On occasion, the documentaries were released for presentation in theaters.  However most often they were used as shorts before movies.
The five directors chronicled are William Wyler, John Huston, John Ford, George Stevens and Frank Capra.
Capra provided a very big service.  He director "Why we Fight" films.  this included "Prelude to War" which at first was not allowed to be shown because it was felt to be too negative towards the Germans.  However it was shown by Capra to win an Oscar.  Capra also produced training films for the service men.  The first movie he made after the war is "Its a  Wonderful Life" a box office disaster, but a classic in the long run.
John Huston was first a writer, but then started directing to better control his work.  He had made "Maltese Falcon" before the war.  The biggest movie he made during the war was "Let There Be Light" a look at the effects of war fatigue on soldiers.  Today we call this PTSD.  He also worked on documenting the war in the Aleutian Islands.  His first film after the war was "Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
John Ford was already a big name director before the war.  He had made "Stage Coach," "Young Mr. Lincoln" and :The Grapes of Wrath."  His first success during the war was "The Battle of Midway," in which he was wounded.  This movie won as Oscar as well.  He was with the troops in North Africa and also made a film there.  He went back and made a movie about Pearl Harbor as well.  After the war, his first film was "They Were Expendable" telling the story of the PT Boats.
George Stevens was a director of comedies before the war.  However he never went back to this.  As part of his duties, he documented the atrocities in "Nazi Concentration Camps."  Much of his work was used in the war crimes trials after the war.  His most important work after the war was "Diary of Anne Frank."
William Wyler won the Oscar for best director for his last film before the war.  Mrs. Miniver told the story of a British family and the effects the war was having on them.  By the time it was released the Americans were at war as well.  During the war he documented the Memphis Belle in "The Memphis Belle: The Story of a Flying Fortress."  He remained close to the men of the Memphis Belle his entire life.  After the war his first film was "The Best years of Our Lives" which dealt with Post traumatic Stress of three veterans, including one who lost his hands.  This movie won several Oscars and was a box office success.  He would later make the movie Ben Hur.
Commentators included Steven Spielberg and Guillermo Del Toro.
These men all risked their lives during the war.  They were some of the over 5000 movie people who joined the war effort.  they were all changed for their experience.  It was a sacrifice to leave their careers, but after returning their movie making seemed even better.