This is a brilliant series based on a brilliant book. In fact it resets the bar for documentaries about cinema, and should endure as an important historical document.
Mark Harris' book about the role of Hollywood in WW2 focuses on five film directors who went out to document the conflict: John Huston, William Wyler, George Stevens, Frank Capra and John Ford.
They were the powerhouse directors of their time. Each of them has at least one cinematic masterpiece to his name, some more than one. They were different to the documentary cameraman and the service cameraman in as much as they were first and foremost storytellers. Their brilliance is evident in what they recorded; Ford at Midway, Wyler in missions over Germany, even Huston's recreation of the "Battle of San Pietro". The way they recorded the conflict and often challenged bureaucracy shaped the way home audiences and even the military viewed the war.
This series attaches a modern day director to each of their forebears as a guide to the man's efforts in the war and the impact it had on their work when they came back.
Guillermo del Toro for Capra, Steven Spielberg for Wyler, Francis Ford Coppola for Huston, Paul Greengrass for Ford and Lawrence Kasdan for Stevens. Although their comments about their respective predecessor are framed from Mark Harris' work (he also wrote the script), there is great insight in what they say. One can also sense their respect for those men whose films helped inspire them to become filmmakers.
All five of those WW2 directors removed themselves from their comfort zones, but the three directors that most impressed me, and this also came through in the book, were William Wyler, George Stevens and Frank Capra. Where Ford and Huston, two of the greatest filmmakers of all time, were larger-than-life characters who couldn't help drawing attention to themselves, Wyler, Stevens and Capra got the job done with far less self-promotion.
The series gives us another level of appreciation for the films they made after the war: Wyler's "The Best Years of our Lives", Capra's "It's a wonderful life" and Ford's "They Were Expendable" among others.
Obviously great efforts were made with this documentary series to restore the historic film and obtain the best quality clips of the Hollywood movies; it looks immaculate.
Mark Harris' book about the role of Hollywood in WW2 focuses on five film directors who went out to document the conflict: John Huston, William Wyler, George Stevens, Frank Capra and John Ford.
They were the powerhouse directors of their time. Each of them has at least one cinematic masterpiece to his name, some more than one. They were different to the documentary cameraman and the service cameraman in as much as they were first and foremost storytellers. Their brilliance is evident in what they recorded; Ford at Midway, Wyler in missions over Germany, even Huston's recreation of the "Battle of San Pietro". The way they recorded the conflict and often challenged bureaucracy shaped the way home audiences and even the military viewed the war.
This series attaches a modern day director to each of their forebears as a guide to the man's efforts in the war and the impact it had on their work when they came back.
Guillermo del Toro for Capra, Steven Spielberg for Wyler, Francis Ford Coppola for Huston, Paul Greengrass for Ford and Lawrence Kasdan for Stevens. Although their comments about their respective predecessor are framed from Mark Harris' work (he also wrote the script), there is great insight in what they say. One can also sense their respect for those men whose films helped inspire them to become filmmakers.
All five of those WW2 directors removed themselves from their comfort zones, but the three directors that most impressed me, and this also came through in the book, were William Wyler, George Stevens and Frank Capra. Where Ford and Huston, two of the greatest filmmakers of all time, were larger-than-life characters who couldn't help drawing attention to themselves, Wyler, Stevens and Capra got the job done with far less self-promotion.
The series gives us another level of appreciation for the films they made after the war: Wyler's "The Best Years of our Lives", Capra's "It's a wonderful life" and Ford's "They Were Expendable" among others.
Obviously great efforts were made with this documentary series to restore the historic film and obtain the best quality clips of the Hollywood movies; it looks immaculate.