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Band of Brothers Customer Reviews (67 - 69 of 117 Reviews)

Among the best war films ever made
First and foremost: If you're a fan of World War II films, whether of the epic-in-scope variety or the up-close-and-personal type, go ahead and purchase this VHS set right now. You won't regret it for a moment, and without question you'll watch all ten hours multiple times. Offering a bit of everything, fans of almost any style of war film should enjoy this.

Band of Brothers is a well-crafted, well-produced ten-hour epic following the exploits of one World War II Company (Easy Company of the 101st Airborne) from their pre-combat training, through D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, into the concentration camps and through the end of the war. While it focuses on this one company, the series is unquestionably epic in scope, featuring hundreds of actors, a huge cast, and tremendous, fantastic sets that truly capture WWII Europe and magnificent combat scenes.

As noted, the series moves deftly between the personal and the epic; the stories of huge conflicts and of personal turmoil.

On the personal side, Band of Brothers allows the viewer to get to know a rotating cast of core characters, and to know them very well. Most of camera time focuses on a solid six to eight soldiers in Easy Company, but over the course of the ten hours more than double that number have moments to shine, some small and some entire subplots. The performances throughout are excellent. You'll get a good understanding of and sympathy for the men portrayed on screen. Lovers of war film camaraderie will love large portions of this series thanks to that chemistry.

On the epic side, Band of Brothers shines, mixing equal parts Saving Private Ryan and A Bridge Too Far. We constantly get a sense of both the hectic, frightening nature of small-scale combat, as well as the grand scale within which this small band is fighting. The vistas are stunning, the action powerful, and fighting brutal. From the huge air drop the night before D-Day to sieges of French towns to the shelling at Bastogne and more, this series thrills with its exciting, often gruesome combat footage. Effects, techniques and styles are often lifted right from Saving Private Ryan - and that's not a bad thing, since that film has been hailed as having some of the most realistic combat footage ever.

While some have levied criticism against Band of Brothers for being a gung ho Americans won it all series, the fact is, that criticism is unfounded. (I'd wager some of those critics did not watch this whole series). The soldiers here are routinely portrayed in both a positive and negative light; their actions good and bad and all of the gray in between. So, too, with the Germans, who are shown as fierce fighters, but who at several points throughout the series are shown to be what they were - people just like the Americans, fighting for their country.

The events shown in the series (with the exception of a few small inventions) are drawn from historian Stephen Ambrose's book of the same name, a book compiled through the firsthand accounts of the men portrayed on screen. It's rather difficult to take "rewriting history to make America look good" critics seriously when the 'characters' in this series are real soldiers, still living, who have said, "this is my story. Here is what happened." These guys are having their story told for a reason: It's an amazing story.

Speaking of the actual soldiers: A fantastic bonus here is a full-length documentary featuring the living members of Easy Company. Seeing the actual men who went through what is shown in this series, hearing them tell their stories, is a truly moving and powerful experience.

No, the price tag on this hefty set isn't small, but it's undoubtedly worth it, as you'll want to watch your favorite installments over and over again. Even if this set featured only the very best episodes (2, 3, 5, 7, and the very moving 9) it would be worth every penny. Buy this now.

The real heroes are still over there......
That modesty and that sentiment seems to be shared by all the survivors of Easy Company, 506th PRI, and many of them can't hold back the tears as they mumble it. One of the great benefits of this marvelous series was the closeup interviews of the real men portrayed, those wonderful old seamed faces, breaking at last with emotion as they recall their experiences and the love of their comrades and the pain of loss of other friends. It moves me greatly, and I'm glad the Extras in this set has an extended documentary re-tracing the time-frame of the film with these real veterans recalling the action we've seen re-created.

Brought with loving care and fanatic attention to detail by producers Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks and their carefully chosen band of producers, directors and actors, this is an unsentimental, near-documentary telling of the story of Easy Co. from training to D-Day, Hedge Row fighting, Operation Market Garden, Bastogne, into Germany, liberation of Death Camps, and the capture of Berchesgarden & Hitler's Eagle's Nest.

Throughout it all, the aim has been to tell it straight and get it right. They have done so in remarkable style. The truth HAS enough drama, and the various episodes reveal it. We get to know these men and care about them. We marvel at their endurance and the way they go about getting the job done, professionally, and with matter-of-fact, everyday courage. It is a true tribute to the Citizen Soldiers who won the war.

With 10 episodes and lots of extra goodies, presented within an exceptional package, there is just too much to review here. Some memorable moments: the harrowing jump into the explosive, tracer-lit night skies of Normandy; the assault on the 88's; Winter's killing the young German; the episode dedictated to the Medic; the monstrous artillery barrage on the men in the snowy forest of Bastogne; the shock of the farmer's wife on seeing the closeup hand-to-hand killing of the German by "Bull"; and finally, the incredibly moving scenes of the liberation of the Concentration Camp, and the final days of Easy at the War's end.

These last episodes are all the more powerful because we have followed Easy Co. and these men and have seen the death so random and arbitrary around and among them that a slow emotional tension has been built that we now realize with the intensity of anger/pity/horror at the Camps and the bittersweet joy and subsequent farewell of VE day.

I could cite great moments by each individual actor, and nicely played and effectively understated but powerfully emotional scenes but suffice it to say this is an ensemble piece with superb performances throughout. The quiet power of the different episodes underscores how wonderfully written the entire piece is, and with corresponding excellent direction and production values.

A one-of-a-kind production, having the time to tell the tale with detail and care, and with all involved doing honor to the men who lived it. And finally, there are those men, bringing it all back to the reality of real lives lived. Exceptional stuff.

Captivating and informative WWII miniseries
The outstanding HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," based on the Steven Ambrose book of the same name, should be required viewing for everyone, due to its unflinching depiction of the realities of war. But this series is as captivating as it is informative, and even entertaining despite the difficult subject matter. This is the true story of the Easy Company of the 105th Airborne Division paratroopers, following their combat training, their actual combat on D-Day, at Market-Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and their liberation of a concentration camp and control of Hitler's German mountain refuge. All of the characters are real, and are mostly played by lesser known actors. David Schwimmer of "Friends" does appear in a couple episodes as do "Saturday Night Live's" Jimmy Fallon (very briefly) and Tom Hanks' son Colin. Fans of NBC's "Boomtown" will also recognize four of the actors, especially Donnie Wahlberg and Neal McDonough, who have major roles. Each episode begins with pertinent moments from interviews with the actual surviving members of Easy Company, though they are not identified so as not to give away which characters survive the war. It takes a while, but becoming familiar with the many characters and their comaraderie for one another is what makes this series so compelling. Producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have delivered outstanding filmmaking which will definitely remind you of "Saving Private Ryan" but improves on that film because of the depth that a miniseries allows. You will want to watch the DVD extras, especially the 80 minute documentary with the surviving soldiers, so you can see these characters as they are now in real life. The thirty minute making-of documentary is decent but not extraordinary. Actor Ron Livingston's "video diaries" for HBO take you through the ten-day "boot camp" that the actors went through before shooting, and provides some amusement, but is mainly just HBO promotional material as are the rest of the DVD extras.

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