Average Rating: 
Rating: - American courage
When I was in college, several of my friends and I would sometimes talk to an old man who would walk through the campus from a neighboring VA hospital. He was in his early seventies and seemed to like to talk to us "young people". We'd be there every Tuesday and Thursday at the appointed time and he would sit and tell us stories. The man led an amazing life, but his stories about WWII while serving under General Patton were the stuff of legend. He would tell us (the ignorant of history) how he was part of a mission to save the men trapped near Bastogne after the Battle of the Bulge. He would recount the awe he and the men serving with him felt as they "relieved" the malnourished, frostbitten, and inadequately armed soldiers that had beaten the German main force by sheer will and attrition. He told us about "E"asy company with tears and admiration. My friends and I always imagined John Wayne when thinking about WWII. He described it differently.Band of Brothers is the true story of Easy company from basic training through the end of the war. Interviews at the outset of each episode with the original members of Easy Company reminded me so much of the man who had given me and my friends a first hand account of the story. I blew my chance once of experiencing this real human tragedy and triumph through the eyes of one who was there. Now that I am older and presumably wiser, I wouldn't miss it again. Setting aside the wonderful production values that are trademarks of Spielberg and Hanks, the story will take your breath away. War is always regrettable, but at times unavoidable. These men were our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, living through a time and an event that would have made my generation wilt. These were and are the founding fathers of modern America, and they were up to the task. More than just an outstanding piece of cinema, this is living history as told by those who were there on the front lines and represented by a superb cast and the best directors of today. War will no longer be a glorious hero fest in my mind, conducted by anonymous strangers. This miniseries and my friend Frank have made it real and more emotional for me. May God bless the men of Easy company, and all of the brave men and women who have fought for this country. Thank you Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for doing them justice with the truth. I would recommend this miniseries to anyone, regardless of politics or ideology. Frank, (we never knew his last name), died of kidney failure in 1989. We listened to him because we felt sorry for him. We thought we were doing him a favor. We were mistaken. He and the generation depicted in this miniseries had done us all the ultimate favor well before we were born. We owed him far more than a few scraps of time twice a week. When you watch this miniseries, remember that these people and their generation deserve our attention. You'll make someone happy and be richer for the experience.
Rating: - To my British friend from jolly 'ol Cambridge
*sigh* I knew it was coming, every time a war movie is made in the US the "USA bashing" is unleashed by our British lads. Yes Britain had a signifigant role in winning WWII, nobody has said otherwise in any of these films. But to bash on the US and "Band of Brothers" simply becasue there wasn't enough Bristish lads in it, well that's just sour grapes. And let's address some of your blanket statments about US war films not portraying the British involvement in the war-(begin quote)"like many Brits I do find it quite annoying that all of these films portray the superhuman American's single-handedly sweeping all before them as they triumphantly storm all the way from Normandy, through France, Belgium and Holland and then finally into the Ruhr valley." (end of quote) Well obviously you have not rented, "A Bridge too Far," "Guns of Navarone," "Where Eagles Dare," "Bridge Over the River Quai," "Patton," "The Longest Day," and others, or even the at- times-inaccurate "Pearl Harbor" movie with Ben Afleck (sp?). Well you get the point, in all of these films I've just named, the British contributions to the war effort were a primary focus within the movie, even if the movies were released here in the US. Just because two war movies that you review "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band Of Brothers" do not include British exploits, please do not make blanket statements about the US film industry. Besides, "Band of Brothers" was about the 101st, not the British 1st Airborne Divison's "Red Devils," therefore not many British faces make their way into the battle scenes because they never fought together anyway. The closest the 101st came to fighting together with the British was fighting with the XXX Corps tanks, which was portrayed in the Market Garden episode.Well as I'm sure you have read a "Bridge Too Far" by Cornelius Ryan and know that the "Red Devils" took and held the Arnhem Bridge while waiting for the XXX Corps to arrive. Your quote- "Nobody is denying that the 101st and 506th Airborne divisions weren't involved, they were. But they didn't play the pivotal role by any means." (end of quote) What book did you read? If you understand the battle at all you'd know that the 101st took the bridge at Son, and the 82nd took the bridge at Nijmegan with substantial casualties, two of the three major bridges needed for victory were taken by US forces. How can you say that the US had no "pivotal role?" And wasn't it your XXX Corps that stopped short of Arnhem and relief for the "Red devils" because they were brewing tea and waiting for infantry support? The 82nd airborne pleaded with the XXX Corps to take their tanks into Arnhem and relieve their British paratrooper brothers, but it wasn't too be. You did read the book didn't you? My point is this, before you rip on US movies and the US in general, please get your facts straight. Also, there were no British in Saving Private Ryan because Omaha beach was stormed by the US First Infantry Division, not the British, who were busy at Juno, Gold, and Sword beaches with the Canadians, and were ordered to take Caen, far away from the US axis of advance, therefore they weren't fighting together. Good heavens man, we're not scared of the truth, but at least try to get your facts straight. Oh yeah, I give Band of Brothers 5 stars. ;) And Great Britain, I love ya, but take it easy on the US bashing, let's take off our Doc's, drink some tea, watch Mr. Bean together and relax.
Rating: - The Single Best TV Production Of All Time!!
I think this mini-series even eclipses "I, Claudius" to take 'top TV honors'. I'll also say it's the best WWII story and production (cinema, documentary or whatever) I've ever seen and I've seen a lot!"Band Of Brothers" tells the true and incredible odyssey of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st "Screaming Eagles" Airborne Division, U.S. Army - from their formation in Georgia (1942), to Berlin and the end of the war in Europe (1945). The demand for, and on, elite paratroopers was unending and they were deployed as "the tip of the spear" of every major allied offensive (and many minor ones too) on the Western Front. Jumping behind enemy lines, often without critical equipment and supplies or lacking enough rest and under terrible conditions, they saw more than their share of hard combat and E Company itself took nearly 150% casualties. (Statistically at least, that's 100% of the company - 140 men and 7 officers - and half again of their replacements, lost). The scope of the war is limited to E Company - the German POV is vanishingly small, life stateside, after their training and deployment in Normandy, is only referred to, usually in connection with mail call (or the wounded), and, apart from the brief and infrequent visit and/or pep talk from their company commander, the top brass is never seen. But the impact of the war on E Company, the civilians and other outfits they meet along the way (and on us) is anything but limited! The effects are as awesome as they are devastating. There are so many reasons why it's effective. For one, as I've said, the story is true. If you've read the book you're in for a treat. The series follows the book to an unprecedented degree for movies. Not everything that's in the book is in the series, but everything that's in the series is in the book - finally, directors that understand the drama in real-life events! Even if you haven't read it, you're still in for a treat. Thanks to meticulous directing, you're rarely allowed to feel comfortable about the ultimate fates of the individual characters. Even when you are allowed, the directing is a very sure-handed affair. But most of the time you find yourself in the kind of war in which you never quite know what will happen next - who's going to be wounded and sent back into combat, promoted, demoted or transferred, wounded seriously enough to be sent home, captured, separated from their unit, killed, either in combat or by accident, or even murdered (though not in E Company itself). After all, this is not fiction-based material where the author is 'choosing' who survives. Here, when one character can no longer tell the tale, another member of the company will tell the story through his own eyes and few if any POV are left out. The subtext is on the war within one's self and the loss and value of meaningful humanity. The wonderful cinematography replaces slow-motion effects with high shutter speeds in adrenaline-charged sequences - without bothering to stress formal compositions within the frame. It conveys a vivid "you are there" sense of immediacy. And yet at the same time, the overall vision is SO superbly and fully realized from start to finnish. The non-combat scenes will easily hold your attention and the battle sequences themselves are not only utterly convincing, but truly harrowing. And the whole thing is filled with potent, poetic imagery - the simple act of enclosing a violin within its coffin-like case - a metaphor for the humanity claimed by a world war, or the closing of a blood-smeared ambulance door during the high-water mark of E Company's casualties, or, the drawn-from-life moment of fatal hesitation - and doe-eyed look of disbelief - in the face of a clearly under-aged Nazi boy/soldier - the first victim in a bloody surprise attack - vibrantly resonate, like so many sounds and images in this work, with profound, often devastating meaning, and haunt the soul long afterward. Trust me, it's an absolute knockout. Additionally, Spielberg and company engage in a judicious amount of cliche busting. I won't give things away here, but if you've seen your share of war movies, you won't be disappointed. Since the head-honcho behind this 10 hour event is none other than Spielberg, comparisons with his "Saving Private Ryan" are bound to come up, especially since the directing and production values are of similarly high standards, and at first glance maybe, seemingly familiar. But at least one reviewer at Amazon criticizes "Ryan" for being fundamentally a war film made by, and for, pacifists (citing its first half hour as an example), and that since the war is basically evil and all the men are inherently good, it's difficult to believe their comments on the war. I think there may be something to that. But, in "Brothers", the war seems a little more necessary than evil, even if it is not always so clearly understood nor as well rationalized by its participants, as in "Ryan". Here, the weight of combat is far more personally affecting through its undeniable impact on the men of Easy Company. There is much cause for empathy here. Although I've never seen combat, this series makes me want to send a BIG thank you to ALL our servicemen and women. And again, though I wasn't there, I sometimes talk to and read from and about those who were, and to me at least, "Brothers" edges out "Ryan" and leaves all the rest behind as the best depiction of WWII on film to date. My brother and I were raised on my dad's war stories (he was with the 11th Armored Division during the Battle of the Bulge) and they stuck in our heads. As a result we grew up with a shared interest in all things WWII. As a WWII buff I was hard pressed to find much of anything amiss in the series from artillery, aircraft and armored vehicles to small arms and field equipment - right down to the uniforms - U.S., British, French or German. There are big and small suprises everywhere you look - even an operational Jagdpanther, no less(!). I hope the interviews I saw on HBO will be included on the DVD - it would be a crime if they weren't. If they are, you'll not only come to know, respect and appreciate the characters in the series (by the way, the acting is superb all around and David Schwimmer is great as Capt. Sobel!), but, appreciate the men of E Company even more through the eyes of the survivors, themselves. In fact, I'm astonished at how little difference there seems to be between the actors in the series and their real-life counterparts. As a footnote, I recall reading somewhere that Stephen Ambrose (who wrote "Brothers"), while interviewing a subject, was hoping to get permission to use some of the man's war stories in a book (non-fiction of course). When Ambrose, whose eye for courage is arguably unmatched, prompted him, the veteran said "Well, ok, but don't make me out to be some kind of hero or something" - to which Ambrose replied "I don't make heroes, I just write about 'em". Like some others here, I subscribed to HBO just to see this show. Having read the excellent book, which, by the way, I also strongly recommend since it illuminates a bit more that the series can easily focus on, my expectations of the series were either matched or simply blown away! All in all it is a stunning and masterful tribute to E company, paratroopers and to all those involved with that war. I'm tempted to say it will not be equalled for a long time to come. Whether you are familiar with this story or not I can't recommend this mini-series highly enough! If I could, I'd give it fifty stars!!
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