Rating: 
Summary: A must buy DVD
Review: Simply riveting...true heroes.
Rating:
Summary: The best mini series ever!!!
Review: It is a dynamic set of films with a great story to tell.
Rating:
Summary: Words can't do justice to this saga
Review: There are few greater achievements that have made their way to the small screen than the HBO mini-series "Band of Brothers". This 10-part epic is based on the book of the same name by noted historian Stephen E. Ambrose, which tells the story of the men of Easy Company, and elite World War II unit of paratroopers from the beginning of their training in 1942 through all their epic battles until the surrender of Germany in 1945. Ambrose's book is one of the best military histories I have ever read. With the "Band of Brothers" mini-series, the story of Easy Company is realized visually in a way that few war dramas or books have ever been. The 10-part, 12-hour length necessitated its development as a television mini-series, yet "Band of Brothers" far surpasses anything I have seen committed to the big screen. Each episode tells a different story from a different point of view along Easy Company's journey from training until the end of the war. Lieutenant (later Major) Richard Winters is the focal point of this series. It was Winters whose contributions and assistance helped Ambrose write the book in the first place, and he is the one who is conscience of the Company. Each episode brings a fresh perspective to the stories told and are briefly summarized:
Episode 1 - Curahee: This first episode focuses on the earliest days of Easy Company under the training of the vicious and petty Captain Sobel. Sobel's actions make Easy the finest company in the Regiment, but also prove him to be a petty leader and an inept battlefield commander. This episode shows how Easy originally came into being and how they developed in the unit that would become Hitler's worst nightmare. It ends with the spectacular image of the C-47s flying over the English Channel on the way to the start of the invasion with the massive Allied flight sailing below. Few images are as awe-inspiring.
Episode 2 - Day of Days: The second episode begins with the paratrooper drops behind German lines the night before D-Day and focuses on the assault let by Lieutenant Winters on fortified German guns on D-Day. Winters is thrust into command of Easy Company when the previous commander dies aboard his C-47 during the assault. The images of the nighttime airdrop are truly nerve-wracking and breathtaking. It should be noted that Lt. Winters' assault on the German fortified guns is still textbook material at West Point today.
Episode 3 - Carentan: Having successfully invaded France, the Allies (Easy Company specifically) are charged with capturing the town of Carentan, followed by a cross field battle with German armor. Much of this episode is told from the perspective of Private Albert Blythe, a soldier who is dazed by battle and must face his fears to become a good soldier. Lieutenant Spiers offers sage advice to Blythe by telling him "You have to realize that you're already dead. Then, you can do what need to do".
Episode 4 - Replacements: Many of the men who initially died are now being replaced by new soldiers. As they are not original Taccoa men, the replacements are not met with an enthusiastic welcome. This is all put aside as the disastrous Operation Market Garden is launched. The focus of this episode becomes Sergeant "Bull" Randlemen who takes care to watch out for his men and then must carefully maneuver himself to avoid capture by the Germans when he trapped behind enemy lines.
Episode 5 - Crossroads: Focuses on a surprise attack on two German companies in the crossroads dike. This stunning and resounding victory is Captain Winters last as Easy Company commander. He is promoted to Battalion Executive Officer. The story shifts to Winters reflecting on the war so far during his 'forced' 48-hour leave in Paris before returning the Easy Company men to battle when the Germans break through and start the Battle of the Bulge.
Episode 6 - Bastogne: Deals with the terror of repeated German shellings and assaults upon Easy Company's entrenched line. Doc Eugene Roe becomes the focal point as he tries to patch together wounded and preserve his own sanity. There are some gruesome wounds depicted in this episode.
Episode 7 - Breaking Point: The men of Easy are at their last threads as the constant mortar attacks continue to wounds some soldiers and claim the lives of others. First Sergeant Carwood Lipton keeps Easy together in spite of the inept leadership of Lieutenant Dike. In the subsequent attack on the town of Foy, Lieutenant Spiers relieves Dike when Dike freezes and leads Easy to a successful assault.
Episode 8 - The Last Patrol: Private Webster has rejoined Easy in Hagenau but is not well-received after having missed Bastogne. The men of Easy begin to realize that they may actually make it out of the war alive and are disheartened by dangerous assignments like a patrol to capture German prisoners for intelligence.
Episode 9 - Why We Fight: Captain Nixon deals with the consequences of his alcoholism while the Allied forces accept the surrender of 300,000 German soldiers. During a patrol in the Alps, Easy Company stumbles upon a horrible sight, a Nazi concentration camp. The images of the surrendering Germans are impressive. The images of the concentration camp are horrifying and saddening.
Episode 10 - Points: The war in Europe is over and Easy Company captures Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden and acquire the riches that lay within. While awaiting orders to head to the Pacific war, Easy must deal with the perils of idle time in which men are still dying or are being hurt. The story of Easy Company ends with the telling of the lives the men lived after the war ended.
There is no shortage of superlatives that can be heaped upon "Band of Brothers". This DVD is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to the bravery of the men of Easy Company.
Rating:
Summary: A Superior Achievement
Review: I rented this remarkable series over the last month. It was incredible. The acting is outstanding, the writing follows and fleshes out Mr. Ambrose's fine work. The use of the real men to introduce each episode provides us with the proper back drop - this is a real story about real men. It follows the men from jump school through the end of the war. I found the last episodes the most moving. The final Disc brings it all together with the interviews of the men of Easy Company. The 101st Airborne was decorated as a unit for their heroic efforts at Bastogne.The final line of the disc (I believe it is delivered by Major Winters) says it all. " 'My grandson asked were you a hero in the war grandpa? ' and I replied ' no but I served with a company of heroes'".
Rating:
Summary: Powerful testament to the human spirit
Review: BAND OF BROTHERS (USA/UK TV 2001): The trials and tribulations of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from the D-Day landings in Normandy to their capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Austria at the end of World War II.Co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, HBO's epic 10-part miniseries (based on a terrific bestselling book by the late Stephen E. Ambrose) was the most expensive TV undertaking of its day, costing a massive $120 million to produce. And, as the old saying goes, every penny is up there on the screen. Borne from the success of Spielberg's SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) - with which it shares a similar dramatic and visual style - BAND OF BROTHERS' recreation of a glorious (and hard-won) chapter in American history assumed an even greater patriotic significance during its initial US broadcast, when it coincided with the horrific attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in September 2001. Written with economy and grace, and directed with emotional intensity by a series of directors (including Phil Alden Robinson, Richard Loncraine and Hanks himself) whose combined efforts achieve a genuine aesthetic uniformity, the movie is a masterpiece of storytelling and historical documentation. Punctuated by horrific battle sequences, in which the camera is placed within mere inches of the death and destruction, the film manages to transcend its educational remit by its relentless focus on the human cost of war. Almost every episode opens with testimony from surviving members of Easy Company (none of whom are identified until the end of the series), which further strengthens the emphasis which BAND OF BROTHERS - book and film - places on the bonds which drew them together in times of conflict. And, because it's a true story, there's no telling from one episode to the next which of the 'characters' will live or die, which makes it all the more potent and visceral. The entire production represents quality writ large: Beautifully filmed on various European locations (including the UK and Austria), the movie is noble without being the least bit pompous or austere, and it manages to humanize a large cast of essential characters with small touches of humanity and humor, all of which serves to heighten the sense of terror as they descend into the maelstrom of conflict. The first - and longest - episode is deceptively staid, featuring David Schwimmer (a long way from TV's 'Friends') as the bullying, cowardly commanding officer Herbert Sobel, whose tyrannical methods nevertheless shaped Easy Company into a fighting force which eventually cut a swathe through the heart of occupied Europe. Brit actor Damian Lewis takes the spotlight thereafter as Easy Company's most respected platoon leader, Richard Winters, with Ron Livingston as his right hand man, Lewis Nixon. Other standout performances in a flawless cast include Matthew Settle as battle-hardened platoon leader Ronald Speirs whose wartime career was distinguished by numerous acts of bravery (fuelled by a unique - if morbid - personal philosophy), Shane Taylor as company medic Eugene Roe, Neal McDonough as 2nd lieutenant 'Buck' Compton (laid low by his horrific combat experiences), and Donnie Wahlberg as 1st sergeant C. Carwood Lipton, who maintained the morale of his fellow soldiers, even when the odds seemed stacked against them. Every episode has its merits, but stand-outs include David Leland's 'Bastogne' (ep. 6), which recounts the horrendous circumstances surrounding Easy Company's involvement in the Battle of the Bulge, and David Frankel's 'Why We Fight' (ep. 9), in which the full horror of the Nazi regime is uncovered in a German forest. Additionally, the closing moments of chapter 10 ('Points', directed by Mikael Salomon) are truly heartbreaking. Like the movie itself, HBO's region 1 DVD is magnificent. Housed in a beautifully embossed metal case, all ten episodes are spread across five discs (running a total of 624m 23s). The image is letterboxed at 1.78:1, anamorphically enhanced, and picture quality is stunning throughout, with faded colors (a deliberate artistic choice) and strong contrasts. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is spectacular and horrific, designed specifically to immerse the viewer in some of the most terrifying battle scenes ever captured on film. Closed captions are included, though there are no open subtitles. Crucially, each disc contains biographical information on the soldiers represented in every episode, which allows the viewer to keep track of an extensive array of characters, and there's a useful glossary, map and timeline of Easy Company's advance across Europe. Perhaps the number of chapters per episode could have been doubled (as it stands, there are six for each instalment), but that's a minor glitch in an otherwise exemplary presentation. The sixth disc in HBO's package contains a fascinating, feature length documentary on the real members of Easy Company (essential viewing), and a series of video diaries by actor Ron Livingston of the boot camp to which many of the cast were subjected in preparation for filming, during which the actors seem to have cultivated the same bonds of friendship experienced by real soldiers in combat situations. It's doubtful that a more fitting tribute to the men of Easy Company could have been devised than BAND OF BROTHERS, a truly remarkable experience, given the Rolls Royce treatment on DVD. By turns engrossing, provocative and deeply, profoundly moving, it stands as a testament to those who fought and died for our freedoms, almost a lifetime ago.
Rating:
Summary: Closed-captioned?
Review: Has anyone else had this experience? I rented "Band of Brothers" (DVD) from Blockbuster. When I watched it at home, I found no English closed-captioning. Seems like a real shame . . . but then again, it says in the product description that it IS closed-captioned . . . and yet . . . sure didn't see any. I know the version broadcast on HBO had closed-captioning. I had taped an episode, and I went back and checked it out. Yup, that one had it. ??? : )
Rating:
Summary: The truest statement of the greatest generation
Review: If you know nothing of what happens in conflicts or the sacrifices and experiences very ordinary men faced in the Twentieth century then this semi true docu drama will serve as the best pallet to experience it from. I hate war films for the uncanny Hollywood tendancy to deliver story arcs and nice endings. This is all about a journey of such an un repeatable nature that it could only be told in excruciating and beautiful detail. It is best digested in small pieces as the enormity of the work is truly over whelming first time around. Maybe best kept for rainy winter days.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT AND REAL
Review: I viewed Band of Brothers over several nights on DVD. This is an excellent series. It was something close to me because my father was a paratrooper during that time for the allies. My grandfather was also at the beaches of Normandy on June 6th 1944 as part of the invasion force fighting against the Germans. I think this film is a good film for teenagers to see what their grandfathers and great-grandfathers did in WWII. Teens sometimes get jaded and don't know or realize their history.
Getting back to Band of Brothers, story is excellent, photography is excellent and the acting is good and believable. All the actors are unknowns except David Schimmer (The guy from that show "Friends"). I thought he was the weakest point in the series. Other than him, the rest of the cast put in excellent performances especially the actor playing Captain Nixon. Very good film/series. Definitely a 5 Star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Great History Movie!
Review: This has got to be the best WWII film ever made. Period. The acting, special effects, scenery and plot are amazing. Go see this film.
Rating:
Summary: Real Life - BETTER than Fiction, but NOT Easy
Review: This DVD set is more than a documentary and more than a movie. It's 10 mini-movies based on the real World War II experiences of Easy Company of the US 101st Airborne Division. Band of Brothers covers the lives (and in many cases the deaths) of the brave men of Easy Company from boot camp, to Normandy, from defending Holland to liberating Nazi concentration camps, from Bastogne's Battle of the Bulge to Capturing Hitler's mountainside retreat known as the Eagle's Nest. Their name may have been Easy Company, but there was NOTHING "Easy" about what these men went through! I won't go into detail, since others have already done so, but I will say this. After watching all 10 episodes, as well as the documentary segments with the actual men who lived through it all, and the making of the movie... I feel it should be required watching for any American History student in college. (Some scenes are very bloody/gory, but that's war.) It doesn't sugar-coat the tragedy of man's inhumanity to man. It shows the ups, downs, good, and bad of war and the cost of liberty. It far surpasses other WWII movies done by "Hollywood" in the past. I highly recommend this series!
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