Customer Reviews

Band of Brothers

5 star:		(1,584)
4 star:		(80)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

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.

Band of Brothers is an awe inspiring and visually stunning tribute, not only to Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, but to the "Greatest Generation." But for their sacrifices, would we share the freedoms we so cherish and covet to our vests today! Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg deserve all of the awards and accolades they received for bringing this epic to HBO and now this incredible DVD box set!

Part 1 - Currahee - Currahee is a wonderful beginning to this unprecedented HBO miniseries. Outside of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" there has never before been such a realistic series such as this one. Currahee poignantly highlights the training that was necessary for the newly designed Airborne Infantry. While some may think that Captain Sobel was a complete idiot, in all truth, his combat skills were obviously lacking however, as a trainer, he put Easy Company in a very good position as a well trained unit.

Part 2 - Day of Days - D-Day has arrived and Easy Company makes the jump that they've been preparing two years for. As history unfolds, the German flak has caused nearly every plane to miss their designated drop zone. 1LT Winters finds he's in Normandy, lost his weapon and his company. He finally arrives at the assembly area and is given the mission to take out a German artillery position. Day of Days is an excellent episode that doesn't miss out on 1LT Winters depth of emotions as he loses his first soldier in combat.

Part 3 - Carentan - Easy Company is ordered in to take the French village of Carentan. While encountering only minor resistance, they take light casualties. After successfully taking the town, they're ordered to move on to the next objective. En route, they encounter the German force sent to retake Carentan. They stalemate for the evening, expecting to forge a full assault in the morning. The Germans have other plans though and counter attack in the morning with a combined force of mechanized infantry and armor. Fortunately for Easy Company, they are finally rescued by the 2nd Armored Division. Shortly after this action they are lucky enough to get some R&R back in England. The show ends with orders back to the front and a very poignant final scene to yet another wonderful episode.

Part 4 - Replacements - Replacements jumps forward to September and Easy Company is on R&R in England. They're called into Operation Market Garden. Easy Company is given the mission to take Eindhoven, Holland. They were told they would be running into light resistance. Operation Market Garden turns into a huge failure and the Allied Forces are turned back with heavy casualties. Sgt "Bull" Randleman is quite unfortunate enough to get stuck behind enemy lines. "Replacements" is another excellent episode.

Part 5 - Crossroads - Crossroads is one of the best shows of the whole miniseries. Captain Winters, due to the costs of war, garners advancement from Easy Company Commander to Battalion Executive Officer. The episode is shown, through the eyes of Captain Winters as he is preparing a report on the actions of October 5th when he led his company in the attack of a German SS position. The more telling part is later in the episode when he gets an R&R in Paris and the horrors of war catch up to him.

Part 6 - Bastogne - To quote Captain Winters, "we're paratroopers; we're supposed to be surrounded." Bastogne tells the tale, from Easy Companies point of view, about the 101st Airborne Infantry being surrounded by German forces and holding the line during the Battle of the Bulge. This is also the combat action where the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne replied to the German Commanders request for their surrender, "nuts."

Part 7 - The Breaking Point - January 1945 and Easy Company is on the verge of attacking the Germans in Foy, Belgium. Due to heavy resistance, Easy Company endures nearly a month of being barraged by German artillery on the front line. This episode is very telling as far as the how demoralizing the artillery can be.

Part 8 - The Last Patrol - Easy Company is on the front line in the Alsacian town of Haguenau. They now have the sense that the war is coming to a close, as they are just across the river from Germany. The brigade commander orders a patrol across the border to secure German prisoners. This episode again brings to the forefront the emotions of the soldiers as they again are counted on to accomplish their mission!

Part 9 - Why We Fight - This episode is clearly the most poignant of the series as Easy Company finds and liberates a concentration camp. Although there had been rumors of these concentration camps, no once could truly comprehend what they were about until they were faced with them! This episode alone should've garnered several awards.

Part 10 - Points - Easy Company takes Eagles Nest, Hitler's mountaintop fortress. The company settles in as an occupation force, yet expecting to be redeployed to the Japanese warfront. A very emotional what happened to several of the units members after the war. Overall, this episode is a fantastic conclusion to the "Band of Brother."

Disk Seven

We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company - An outstanding documentary containing interviews with surviving members of Easy Company! Once you've seen all of the episodes, this documentary introduces you to the real members of Easy Company.

Ron Livingston's Video Diaries - This is an exceptional set of clips filmed by Ron Livingston, who played Lieutenant Nixon, covering the "actor boot camp" run by Captain Dale Dye, USMC Retired.

HBO's The Making of Band of Brothers' - This is another excellent "Making of" clip by HBO, covering the creation of this spectacular miniseries! {ssintrepid}

The series is based on the book "Band of Brothers" written by the late Stephen Ambrose. When I read the book a few years ago I just couldn't put it down. It is without question the best book on WW II I have ever read; and this made for TV series, "Band of Brothers", does not disappoint. Each segment is simply outstanding. From basic training, to the drop into Normandy, to Holland, to the Battle of the Bulge, and finally to Hitler's Eagles Nest.

Just for the record, despite what the below reviewer states (1 star); the book and this series are right on the money historically. I'm not sure what historical facts the fellow below is referring to because the Book "is based on the first hand account interviews" with the very solders that did the fighting. Interesting how some guy who wasn't there seems to feel he has a more historically accurate understanding of the events then the men who where actually there.

This series does not glorify war nor does it offer and arrogant boastful image of the American solder. What it does offer is an inside view of the tremendous sacrifice these men made for all of us. Most of these men were citizen soldiers. Some where from poor backgrounds, some from more affluent backgrounds. Some with high school educations, some with Ivy League educations. In fact one member of the 101st was an all-American catcher and football player for UCLA, who played in the 1943 Rose Bowl.

Nothing is sugar coated. The series depicts both great victories and missteps encountered by the 101st in their fight. I found the depiction of the training prior to the Normandy drop to be particularly interesting. It leaves the viewer asking themselves if they themselves could have endured the training and physical demands imposed by the CO's.

The acting is superb, the story line is excellent, and each series creates a very accurate portrayal of the book. I strongly recommend this series, however I would recommend reading the book first. Simply an excellent book and series.

There is also an added bonus; "We Stand Alone Together, The Men of Easy Company". This is a 120 minute Documentary with the men of Easy. It offers interesting interviews, insight and vintage footage of the men.

I have to say that this series blew me away. I was so impressed with the effort put into Saving Private Ryan to give it a documentary look and feel. Band Of Brothers falls from the same tree. Once again, Hanks and Spielberg reunite to produce this epic cable series of WW2 as told by the men themselves. Every episode has interviews from the soldiers who were there. Very realistic and emotional stuff.

First off, the set comes in a metal box with fold out style disk holders. Exactly like the standard dvd edtion a few years ago.

The Blu-Ray edition has 6 disks total. 2 episodes per disk on the first 5 with many, many extras on number 6.

The quality of the picture is perfect. These films were shot with tons of natural grain for that documentary style look. The lenses also give the look of a 40's camera used in the field. Although the film itself is washed out and very rough, it has awesome detail. You will notice so many things going on in the background. The size of the shots sometimes leave you in awe. The blacks are sometimes unstable, but that is the intent. The daytime scenes are beautiful in their full scope. The greatest thing about this series is the uncompromising attention to detail. From the uniforms to the weapons. The skintones are spot on and very nice looking with great detail. The majority of these episodes were shot outdoors. So, the landscapes look fantastic! From the coast of France, to the mountains of Austria, this has some amazing and beautiful scenery. While the picture may be " washed out ", it looks and feels just as you would expect from the point of view from a combat photographer. The battle scenes are simply unbelievable. It takes you to a new level realism.

The sound is second to none. You will easily be blown away with the audio track quality. You have to turn down the volume at many points during battle scenes. The voices are crisp and clean, but the battle scenes really rock your sound system. All of your speakers get a good workout. The subwoofer really hammers out the explosions. The rear speakers have tons of gunfire from all directions, as do the side speakers. You will have a true surround sound experience. Many movies do not make full use of the full audio possibilities. This one does!

There are great extras here as well. Great in depth interviews from the soldiers themselves. A really cool making of documentary called " We stand together: The men of easy company " And many other things for the history buff. Cant say enough about this product. If you are a war genre lover, this is one of the best. If you love history, and dont want a watered down, made for Hollywood war film. This is how it happened as told by the men of the 506th E Co. You will have a new respect for these guys who gave so much. It is hard to believe that some people could give so much for so little. Thank god they did.

First of all let me just say that i have never seen Band of brothers before so I'm not a blind fanboy or anything like that , and because I'm not an american so i thought this mini series is not going to be interesting to me , However this mini series is highly praised everywhere and it have 9.6 score on IMDB plus it won the Golden Globe award and Emmy as the BEST series made for TV , so i said to myself lets give it try

So far i have seen only 5 episodes on the BLU-RAY and i have to say that the picture quality is insanely good i own over 30 Blu ray movies and series like Planet Earth, Band of brothers picture quality beat every movie i have ever seen ,yes even Disney Blu rays like pirates, the colors is perfect and its crystal clear, its just UNREAL how good its, i was really surprised i didn't expect TV series picture quality to beat Movies picture quality (Its simply the Best picture quality so far on blu ray to me, but sometimes picture quality jump from crystal clear to "extremely" Grainy on some parts which is intended i believe)

Blu-ray.com reviewed the series today also and gave the picture quality 5/5 and everything else 5/5 kinda XD

I have only seen 5 episodes so far! and i don't want it to end ;( that's why i'm watching it slowly, to be honest i have always hated and avoided World war Movies because to me they are boring as hell, i have heard the story god damn million time in books/video games and Hollywood movies even school books and most of the times each version of the movie is different so you don't know which version is real or accurate about what happened in the world war 2 because a lot of movie directors change events and make them different to sell tickets, but with band of brothers the men who went to the war speaks to you and tell you there REAL story "there is picture in picture mode where you can watch the movie and small screen like 1/4 of the TV pop and the Real people who was at the event speaks and its optional"

Band of brothers is a masterpiece its Story,Characters,Script, Events,Sound is too good plus its very emotional story.... i don't know where to start about this series it just blow my mind from its goodness

I hope this review was helpful to you

This superbly acted and directed DVD centers around the troopers of Company E (Easy), of the 506th (5 Oh 6th) Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles) from their training in Camp Toccoa and Curahee Mountain in Georgia through part of the occupation of Germany after victory in Europe.

Their story begins with interviews of the now older men who recount how they volunteered for the airborne (paratroops). Thoughtfully, the director did not include the questions from the interviewer, only the accounts of the veterans. These accounts precede and conclude most episodes.

The men, like the title of the song of the Screaming Eagles, have a "Rendevous with Destiny" engaging in some of the most important campaigns of World War II. They were dropped in Normandy just prior to D-Day, Holland in Operation Market-Garden, defended Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, liberated a concentration camp, were the first to occupy Hitler's lair in Berchtesgarden, and occupied some of the most beautiful country (I have ever seen) in Salzburg, Austria.

This is a story about men, not war. It is a story about civilians who became the army's elite--paratroopers, and developed a brotherhood from the nightmare of their shared experiences, and the losses of their fellow troopers. The non-commissioned officers held their company together inspired by officers with outstanding leadership skills, or in spite of officers with dismal ones.

The story concludes with answers to the question of whatever happened to the men. We learn of how they reentered civilian life, and when some of them died. We see the older veterans attending their reunions and their grown children telling the camera how they never knew what their fathers went through because they didn't talk about it. Fittingly, the story ends with former Major Winters who was one of the commanders of Easy Co. telling us that his grandson asked him if he was a hero in the war. "No," he replied, "but I served in a company of heroes."

Spoken like a true leader.

Don't pass this one by. This is a story about our fathers and grandfathers. You will watch several segments over and over again.

Curahee!

Band of Brothers is an HBO original series, based on the book of the same name by historian Stephen Ambrose. It is the true story of a company of American warriors in World War II - E (Easy) Company of the 506th Infantry Regiment, a component of the famed 101st Airborne Division. Band of Brothers is based in large part on the accounts of surviving members of that group. It follows the men of Easy Company from their gruelling training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, through their airborne drop into France on D-Day; their involvement in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge (where they gained great notoriety as the "battered bastards of Bastogne"); their conquest of Hitler's Eagle's Nest; and the end of the war.

If you've seen Stephen Spielberg's fictional World War II epic Saving Private Ryan, you already have some inkling of the horror and constant peril accompanying the allies' assault on Fortress Europe in 1944. Ambrose's true account of the remarkable soldiers of the 101st Airborne will leave you wondering how any of these fellows survived at all. That they not only survived but achieved victory is a tribute to their training and their hardihood, but most of all their devotion to one another. The title is based on Henry Plantagenet's battlefield oration to his outnumbered and beleaguered men on St. Crispian's Day in Shakespeare's Henry V:

"He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, and say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars and say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day....'This story shall the good man teach his son; and Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remember'd - we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother...."

Band of Brothers is permeated by that same sense of comradeship through shared danger - of glory based not on conquest but on the loyalty of ordinary men one to another. Saving Private Ryan alumni Spielberg and Tom Hanks are the Executive Producers of the 11-episode HBO series, and Hanks is the Executive Director as well (in which capacity he directed one episode, co-wrote another, and closely oversaw the whole production). Spielberg's influence is evident in the look and feel of the work; but where Saving Private Ryan is austere and ultimately repelling, Band of Brothers is warmer, more accessible - more personal. One of the most successful features of the series is that each episode begins with reminiscences of one or more survivors. As the series progresses, you come to know these old guys and like them enormously. When the whole thing is over, you feel you really have seen the war through their eyes.

"We sweated bullets in order to achieve authenticity," Hanks said in an interview with the BBC. "There are two types of authenticity. What's relatively easy to accomplish are things like making sure the buttons on the uniforms are right, the ammunition is correct and the locations look like they looked in the photograph. The thing that's much harder is the motivation and the nature of the interplay between the characters. So we were always forcing every moment of every page of the script through this sieve of authenticity. We said, 'look, if we can't be sure what they said and did at any given moment, we must at least capture the emotional reality of being there."

Successful acting in a miniseries, especially one as long as this one, is really a different enterprise than in a two-hour production at the cineplex. Dynamism and inventiveness are less important to a performance than subtlety and sustained character development. (Do you really want to watch a dozen hours of Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth? Didn't think so.) Judged by that standard, the performances in Band of Brothers are very fine indeed. Damian Lewis, the young British actor who stars as Captain (later Major) Richard Winters, painstakingly reveals a new facet of Winters' adamantine character with each successive episode. In the role of battalion intelligence officer Lewis Nixon, Ron Livingston beautifully portrays Nixon's gradual descent into despair and alcoholism. Supporting performances of note include Donnie Wahlberg as Carwood Lipton, Frank John Hughes as Bill Guarnere, and Rick Gomez as George Luz. The miniseries' other production values - soundtrack, effects, cinematography, constumes, etc. - are likewise top notch.

There are a few flaws in the series. The earlier episodes in particular sometimes drag a bit. There is also a tendency from time to time to toss in a little melodrama, some small "moment" that is the war movie equivalent to the rising organ notes at the end of a 60s soap opera. Generally, though, the filmmakers resist such temptations to yank on the heartstrings. That is especially appreciated in parts like episode 9, "Why We Fight," in which Easy Company stumbles across a concentration camp for the first time. The encounter is handled with a degree of restraint that makes the shock and enormity of the discovery all the more affecting...

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.

This series follows Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division from training through the end of WWII. Casting, character development, story, cinematography...everything about it outclasses every theater WWII movie I've ever seen including Saving Private Ryan, which doesn't hold a candle to this. You just can't do it right in 120 minutes.
Extremely addicting and very re-watchable. You WILL cry. You WILL be thankful for their sacrfice. You WILL cherish this as your most prized DVD in your collection.

As the years pass and less of the WWII generation is around to tell the story, this is a thoughtful edition to the library of anyone wanting to record their sacrifice. The men of Easy Company together with the expertise of Tom Hanks and Steven Speilberg tell one of the most compelling stories I've ever seen. If actual history is your thing and you didn't see this when it was aired on HBO then I can guarentee you won't regret getting this. If you did see it and you're debating on getting this DVD, it is impotant to remember the sacrifice given when the outcome wasn't at all predetermined. For me, it helps me keep my little troubles in perspective.