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Band of Brothers Customer Reviews (73 - 75 of 117 Reviews)

Compelling, well made WWII epic that's also personal
First and foremost is this: If you're a fan of World War II films, whether of the epic-in-scope variety or the up-close-and-personal type, purchase this DVD set right now. You'll not regret it, and without question you'll watch all ten hours multiple times.

Band of Brothers is a well-crafted, well-produced ten-hour epic following the exploits of one World War II Company from their pre-combat training, through D-Day and on through the end of the war. While it focuses on this one company - Easy Company - the series is without question epic in scope, featuring hundreds of actors, a huge cast, fantastic sets that capture WWI Europe and magnificent combat scenes.

On the personal side, Band of Brothers allows you to get to know a rotating cast of core characters very well, with most of camera time focusing on a solid six to eight soldiers in Easy Company. The performances throughout are excellent, giving you a good understanding of and sympathy for the men portrayed on screen. Lovers of war film camaraderie will love large portions of this series (which, to me, is almost more of a ten-hour film than a miniseries) thanks to some good chemistry.

On the epic side, Band of Brothers shines, mixing equal parts Saving Private Ryan and A Bridge Too Far to give viewers a sense of the grand scale in which this small band is fighting. The vistas are stunning, the action powerful, and fighting brutal. From the huge 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.

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. But this now.

The platinum standard for a TV miniseries
BAND OF BROTHERS is categorically the best TV miniseries ever created, surpassing my previous pick, LONESOME DOVE.

This 10-hour/10-episode epic was a labor of love produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the latter the lead in perhaps the finest combat drama ever made for the Big Screen, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

Based on the non-fiction book by Stephan Ambrose, BAND OF BROTHERS is a visual tribute to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Its timespan is a little more than 3 years, from the summer of 1942 to the late fall of 1945. It depicts the company's training in the United States and England, its combat roles in the D-Day invasion, the subsequent Operation Market Garden, and the defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and ends with the capture of Hitler's Alpine retreat, Berchtesgaden, and the occupation of a scenic Austrian lake valley.

There aren't enough superlatives to describe the acting, period costuming and weaponry, cinematography, and sets. It's a masterpiece of cinema verite. The actors are virtual unknowns. Perhaps this is inescapable in a script calling for the rapid turnover of personalities. Company E's full complement was 140 men - 8 officers and 132 enlisted. But, as casualties mounted, original members were replaced with new, and the cast of characters is large. The viewer never really gets to "know" any one soldier, with the exception of perhaps Dick Winters (Damian Lewis), who provides a continuity of sorts. Winters began as a 2nd Lieutenant commanding a platoon, and ended the war as a Major commanding the 2nd Battalion. To the degree that the storyline allows, Winters is the foremost hero in a group of heroes, i.e. all of E Company. The viewer is thus forced to identify with the unit as a whole throughout its travails and final triumph. And Lewis, a Brit who manages to lose his accent for the role, is perfect. Ron Livingston as Lewis Nixon, Winter's good friend and alcoholic but competent battalion staff officer, provides an additional thread of continuity from beginning to end.

Those who've both read the book and seen the miniseries will notice differences. Some events are shown in a different sequence, as when one of the Company E troopers is killed by a freak accident with a souvenir Luger pistol. More noticeably, an entire episode is more or less devoted to the heroics of a company medic during the defense of Bastogne, while another focuses on the unit's discovery of a Nazi enslavement camp. Both subjects are given but scant paragraphs in the original book.

The DVD also includes a bonus track on the nuts and bolts of the production. I watched this feature after the miniseries, and was amazed to learn that the forest setting for the defense of Bastogne episode, one of the best, was an indoor creation, snow and all!

I saw the ten episodes over a couple of weeks. Perhaps a better way to do it is have all your male pals over for a one-day viewing marathon to include pizza and beer (or C-rations and canteen water in an olfactory ambience of gun oil, blood, stale sweat, exploded earth, and open latrine trenches). Oh, did I mention that this is a Guy Flick? It's about young males bonding, jumping out of airplanes, fighting, killing, getting maimed and killed, and enjoying the fruits of victory (booze, women and looting). There's no female role of significance, and no love interest. It's Warrior Life at its best and worst.

Historic Project
Thank God for HBO. In recent years, they have successfully delivered series after series of adult comedy and drama that networks would never touch. A prime example of this quality adult entertainment is Band of Brothers, quite possibly the finest TV mini-series ever produced. I say TV miniseries with hesitation, as that often holds a negative connotation. No, Band of Brothers is more like a series of ten mini-movies, each expertly crafted with real meaning and brilliant and emotional acting. It will serve as a testament to all involved in the project, but especially the soldiers themselves. Through the graphic and powerful imagery, any viewer learns to have an amazing amount of respect for the real life heroes the actors portray.

The series is based on the book by Stephen Ambrose, which followed a company of airborne soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. The company is tracked from their training days, through D-Day, Bastogne, and into Germany itself. The characters change as many are killed or wounded, but some, the lucky few, manage to make it all the way through the war more or less intact. Each episode is just beautifully crafted, with a gritty kind of darkness many viewers will recognize from Saving Private Ryan. The environments are amazing, with well crafted European architecture. I was really shocked at how much attention to detail they had, as the viewer really feels like they are looking back in time. Even more brutal and shocking are the action scenes. They are absolutely brutal and realistic, with some gory results. However, it is not done for the sake of sensation, it is what war is. The series does not flinch from portraying reality. Not all the soldiers were heroes, nor were they all good men.

Some of the performances are really special. Probably the best one throughout the whole series was Damian Lewis, who plays Captain Winters, an amazingly strong, sober man who is so dedicated to his men and their mission. He is really the rock of the series, as he is steadily promoted. His compatriot and the other series standout was Office Space veteran Ron Livingston as Lewis Nixon, a good-natured officer who steadily descends into depression and alcoholism. One of the special aspects of the series is how they splice in real life testimonials from the veterans themselves, it lends a real somber attitude to the stories. The episodes that stood out to me include the one centering on the night jump into France on D-Day, the battle of Bastogne, and, probably the best of them all, the ninth episode in which the unit comes upon a concentration camp. Horrible stuff.

A historic series that will be treasured for years to come.

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