Band of Brothers (DVD, 2002, 6-Disc Set)

What a great series to thoroughly depict Easy Company's Triumphs and defeats through a WWII Europe. At the beginning of each episode, you'll hear commentary from actual WWII Vets From Easy Company on the current episode's chapter.
Although this was a very well depicted series I think some of the acting could have and should have been better, like a cameo by Jimmy Fallon didn't make any sense, and most of the main characters in the stories seemed overly well groomed, neat, and had obviously applied makeup for the cameras. Also, more action would have made this an unparalleled epic, along with more film time for the German soldiers, because I think that is truly our real fascination with WWII.
One thing I did like is how you would get to know characters and their personalities, and personal lives, and then a few episodes later they would be killed in combat. It gave a real sense of what the soldiers were actually going through not only physically, but mentally as well and it also gave a true sense of realism, and the real truth to war - Nobody is innocent. I think George C. Scott (Patton) said it best, "When you put your hand, into a bunch of goo, that a moment before was your best friends face, you'll know what to do." truly an awesome mini series, and any true WWII fan would definitely enjoy this series.

Ebay Description:
This 10-part HBO television miniseries focuses on Easy Company, a group of American soldiers in World War II, tracking their experiences from the beginning of boot camp to the end of the war. Anchored by actors Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston, the series gives detailed attention to their experiences as a group, as well as the way that each of them develops individually. Based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose's book of real-life accounts, BAND OF BROTHERS was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who worked together on SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Hanks also directed one episode, featuring his son, Colin Hanks.

Recommended WWII Movies:
Patton 5/5, Downfall 5/5, Schindler's List 5/5, Saving Private Ryan 5/5

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Band of Brothers, is just the perfect series having to do with World War II. Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, directed by Phil Alden Robinson ("The sum of all fears") and Richard Loncraine ("Gathering storm"), starring Damian Lewis ("Dreamcatcher") and Ron Livingston ("Office Space"), this is the ultimate dvd for your collection.
It is the story of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne of the United States Army, and their amazing achievemnts between 1942 and 1944, in other words until the fall of Nazi Germany.
The series are based on the excellent book by Stephen Ambrose, and will remind you a lot "Saving Private Ryan". In the box set, you will find six discs, the five first of which contain ten episodes, which are the following:
1) Currahee
2) Day of days
3) Carentan
4) Replacements
5) Crossroads
6) Bastogne
7) The breaking point
8) The patrol
9) Why we fight
10) Points
The last disc, contains all the extras: a) an eighty - minute documentary named "We stand alone together", b) "making of" (thirty minutes), c) a TV spot for car company Jeep, and d) a very interseting "who is who" section".
Movie: 5/5
Extras: 5/5
Sound (Dolby 5.1): 5/5
Picture (1.78:1 widescreen): 5/5
Overall: 5/5
I would absolutely recommend you this dvd. Very nice, -and with historic importance- selection for your collection.

Band of Brothers follows the fortunes of Easy Company in WWII from initial training through the trauma of battle, all the way to victory in 1945.
I have been hoping that this was coming out on DVD - I watched the whole series on BBC2 and was completely engrossed by the story, the production, the acting and the sound. I have seen many war films (from Apocalypse through Full Metal Jacket to Saving Private Ryan) and can honestly say that I have never been so moved by a film of any genre. This was the first time that the real horror of fighting a war has sunk in.

The combination of its length (c.10hours?) and its engaging script meant that you develop a deep understanding of the characters and the hell they had to go through (coupled with the knowledge that it is based on true events). The relationship that you as the viewer build with the members of Easy is intense - you really feel the extent of their loss as slowly their numbers reduce.

This is not so much a movie as a insight into history - it should be seen by everybody as a reminder of what these and other soldiers go through in the middle of a war. It's realism is astonishing (not that I've ever been unfortunate enough to witness the real thing).

I am hoping they come up with the goods on DVD (proper 5.1 soundtrack and plenty of additional scenes) - I'm sure that a 'Director's Cut' could take it past 12 hours, each one of which I would be happy to see again and again. The interviews with the surviving members of Easy Company were incredibly moving and served as a reminder that you were in fact watching real life and not just a throw-away two hour slice of entertainment.

Much praise is heaped upon crap Hollywood blockbusters. This is what I call quality film entertainment, however (as far as I have heard) it has remained largley low key.

I Recently Bought BAND OF BROTHERS the spielberg/hanks miniseries... after reading the Steven Ambrose Book twice as well as the "Biggest Brother" book about Major Richard Winters (Ret.)...

The series is absolutely phenomenal... gripping and will surge patriotism and awe in younger generations... awe for what the "greatest generation" contributed to win world war 2... although the series revolves around a parachute infantry unit (a small part of a bigger allied army) it gives the viewer a fairly good idea of how dangerous and deadly combat was in Europe during ww2.

The series is full of historical references and military jargon... many many viewings are needed to fully absorb ALL of the references... which is one of the stronger selling points: this series has longevity and may be viewed again and again without tiring of it...

My main criticism is that they picked all of these "pretty boy" young hotshot actors to "star" in this feature... rather than the more accurately portrayed "down to earth, rough around the edges" characters that the TRUE people were...

The men who accomplished these things for our freedom, werent necessarily hotshot handsome knights in shining armor... they were more often the everyday gritty "boys next door"...

...also for some ridiculous reason only known in hollywood... historical accuracy was occasionally compromised for no other apparent reason than to make things more emotional... (for instance, Albert Blithe did NOT die from his wounds as they stated in the series... he actually went on to fight in Korea...)

I believe it was Hemingway who said:

"when you sell a book to Hollywood, you just drive to the nevada/california border and throw the book across... then you go have a stiff drink."

All in all the series is excellent... 5 out of 5 stars...

fantastic portrayals by Damien Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Frank John Hughes and more...

another laughable letdown of the series is the rather poor performance by Colin Hanks... a scrawny, weak kid... who is nowhere near the physical caliber of an actual paratrooper hardened by months if not years of physical exertion... a fact that would be easy to overlook if he had done a good job acting, but as it is I am left to think he got the role simply because he is tom hanks son...

"Come on dad... please let me be in one episode?"

"come on mr spielberg please let my son Colin star in one episode?"

Its a laugh... but one that I find very distracting...

Especially meaningful are the "we stand alone together, the men of easy company" documentary and the commentaries by the ACTUAL veterans at the beginning of each episode...

to see the REAL men who endured these things... and to know that they came home from that war without bragging about their exploits and led quiet lives of peace, many times without their own families realizing their role in ww2... it is very moving... VERY VERY moving...

"if it doesnt put a lump in your throat, then you need to have your throat checked..."

These men, were our grandfathers, Fathers, and Great Grandfathers... they saved the free world and asked for no special accolades in return...

Its time we as a nation stand up and pay closer attention to our fighting men, their stories and hardships...

"those who forget history are destined to repeat it!"

Do yourself a favor and watch band of brothers.

By now I'm sure most of you have heard of this mini-series, and with good recommendation. It is by far one of the best dramatizations of World WarII that you will ever see. Based on the history of the 101st airborne 506th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) 'E'(Easy) company throughout WWII in Europe. From the beginning of the company in Georgia to the end of the war in Europe it will leave you wanting more.
The tin the series comes in is very nice. It is a six disc set which folds out to a sleeve with a disc on each page, plus a bonus disc with the making of and some other extras which are really nice. The whole collection is over ten hours of material. One of the things I liked most about the set is on each disc it gives a time line history of the episode and it goes into detail about rank which helps to follow the chain of command for people not familiar with rank in the military. I also enjoyed the soundtrack so much I bought it as well, however it is seperate.
With a cast of unknowns at the time, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks behind the scenes, and based on Stephen Ambrose best-selling book you can't go wrong.
At the beginning of each episode it has a few men from Easy Company, yes the actual guys portrayed in each episode, tell a little about what they felt at that time during that particular situation. That has to be one of my favorite pieces with each episode.
Let me say this real quick, the scene where the allies fly into Normandy on D-Day is by far the best I have ever seen. If you have surround sound this dvd set is a must just for the sound alone. When the paratroopers come down in occupied France in the dark with Germans firing all around them it is quite a scene. Especially from the viewpoint of someone jumping from a plane, being shot at, and heading towards the fiery crash from another plane that was shot down. And you see all this and..... just get it, it's more than worth it. From D-day to Operation Market Garden to the Battle of the Bulge the action and suspense never end.
Oh, and did I mention it was a Golden Globe winner for best mini-series or movie made for television.

This ten part mini-series gives the viewer glimpses into the men of Easy Company, a unit which took a higher rate of casualties than any other US unit in the war (over 160%). It begins with their training in Georgia and ends with the occupation of Bavaria before jumping to the present day with interviews of the soldiers the show was based on. In between are all the major battles this legendary unit found itself in.

It is easy to compare this move with Saving Private Ryan, mainly because several key players, including Tom Hanks, were involved in both. The actors all had to go to a special boot camp, and the drill instructor received cameos in both. Both attempt to portray war as it is and soldiers as normal men trying to deal with it. I can say with full confidence that what you like or dislike in one you will likewise find in the other.

The acting is superb, in no small part due to the special training the actors had to go through before they made the movie. They act, talk and move just like a real soldier would. The special effects are breathtaking, and the one of 1LT Winter parachuting out of his aircraft on 6 June can be considered the signature scene of the whole series.

Because the ten episodes cover approximately 3 years, we only get to know a few characters well, but they will be people you will not soon forget. Winters comes across as being almost too perfect, but the others have both good and bad traits that make it easy to sympathize with. When one is killed or greviously wounded, we feel a real loss. Not the sudden shock that its over with that we normally experience in a movie, but the heartfelt sadness that comes from knowing that this person will no longer be with us.

The greatest strength of the movie comes from showing GIs doing both heroic and dastardly deeds. In the heat of combat, it doesn't matter if the guy next to you is a saint or a sinner. What does matter is that he won't let you down. It shows the heroism of the US soldier without fanfair and portrays his atrocities without apologies. They had a mission to do and they did it.

The greatest weakness to me was the same weakness I find in Steven Ambrose's other work. He is NOT a historian, but rather story teller of historic events. The views and opinions of the soldier is more important to him than the context in which it happened. Don't get me wrong, I feel the opinions of a soldier are important, but, being a soldier myself, I also know how he can exaggerate things. As I mentioned before, I believe that Winter's character was just a little too rightous to be completely believable. There should be outside facts to add balance. Interviews with German survivors, for example, would have been nice.

I believe the ideal situation is to listen to the soldiers with your ears but look at the battlemaps with your eyes. Probably the biggest error that came into the series was propogating the myth that Easy Company was the first unit to reach the fabled Eagle's Nest. In truth, they were beat by about a day, but the other unit was told to vacate immediately upon arrival.

With that being said, if you don't care about minor historical inaccuracies, but you do want to know what combat is like, you will be hard pressed to find a better way short of actually being shot at.

John Holland-author of The Necklace of Terrersylvanous