<em>Five Came Back</em> and the Frightening Power of Propaganda
Netflix’s new three-part documentary series celebrates and analyzes the efforts of major Hollywood directors who depicted World War II.
When thedirector John Huston arrived at San Pietro in southern Italy to film a crucialWorld War II battle in 1943, he was greeted with its aftermath. The small mountain town had been completely obliterated by invading Allied troops and the retreating Nazi army; more than 16,000 American troops lay dead as a result. Huston turned his cameras on the fallen soldiers, filming shocking footage of the war’s actual cost, but his plans to capture the actual conflict were dashed. So he did what any great director might do—he recreated it from scratch,
