Band of Brothers
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Movie Reviews of Band of Brothers
Movie Review: "Band of Brothers" is the defintive Everyman's epic of the European theater in WW2
Summary: 5 Stars
The accolades cannot pile up high enough to overwhelm HBO's epic 10-part miniseries, "Band of Brothers." Based on the famous book by the late, great historian Stephen Ambrose, "BoB" sets a high-water mark for television.
On a personal note, I watched this miniseries after falling in love with HBO's "The Sopranos" and watching the first four seasons of that mesmerizing series. I have to admit that I was a little concerned about going back to the gosh-darn solidity and goodness of the Greatest Generation after being steeped in the murderous cynicism of the Soprano family for a few weeks. How could the noble soldiers of D-Day compare to the awful, glorious humanity of America's favorite crime family? I was prepared to slog through ten hours of bland goodness and sacrifice, spiced only by action scenes.
I shouldn't have worried. Stephen Ambrose served as co-executive producer of this series, along with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and other noteworthy talents. Gifted writing and directing showed the intimate details of the life of Easy Company as it is forged in basic training and the D-Day invasion and the pounding it took in Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and Operation Market-Garden, up through discovering one of the first concentration camps to the taking of Hitler's famed Eagle's Nest in the Alps. Rather than serve up a bunch of cardboard cutouts, the creative team shows a cast of soldiers full of hopes, dreams, sins, virtues, and flaws.
In short, "BoB" tells the real story of real men who did amazing things during their 434 days in Europe. Even though the action scenes are legitimately amazing (often rivalling the best scenes from "Saving Private Ryan," if not surprassing them), the strongest elements of "BoB" are the quiet ones. Whether showing the struggles of a man raised from the ranks to become an officer, or the pain associated with losing a beloved comrade on one of the last patrols of the war, or the fury that only comes from being ordered about by a complete cretin, "BoB" captures the essence of what it was to be a "grunt." Ambrose was famously a fan of Eisenhower, Marshall, and the infantryman. That love comes through in this series in spades.
Spicing most of the series are interviews with actual members of Easy Company. To watch these old soldiers recall these dark days with such humility simply stuns you into silence.
HBO has done an amazing thing with "BoB." By focusing on a company that was seemingly everywhere in the Allied advance across Europe, "BoB" tells as comprehensive a tale as can be told of our experiences over there. This is worthy television and demands to be seen.
Movie Review: Perhaps the best WW2 film ever?
Summary: 5 Stars
In short, the entire series is one, huge film following the true-life epic story of men from the 101st Airborne who fought in Europe during World War 2. The acting is wonderfully understated. No superstars taking over the show here. Dialogue and sequencing are authentic. Fans of "Saving Private Ryan" will immediately appreciate "Band of Brothers" for its uncompromising look into the very darkest heart of the war. But "Band of Brothers" seems even better than "Saving Private Ryan" if only because, this time, the script is based on reality. The men who live and die on screen, really did live and die, as shown, and the gripping nature of this film is a testament to the real and brave heroics of those who stood against one of the greatest political and military menaces of the modern age. Those who carp or complain about the film "glorifying" warfare simply miss the point. This is not a typical hollywood blockbuster. This is not "Top Gun". This is the real war as seen through the eyes of the real soldiers who fought it, and I found it awesomely moving since we see first-hand how tough the average American 'mongrel' trooper really is: the hell he went through protecting the freedoms we Americans now enjoy, the turmoil the war brought to his personal and professional life, and the ultimate sacrifice he often made for his nation, his unit, and his buddies in the trenches. This film is not a love letter to war itself. It is a love letter to the valor and strength of the common free man. Though certainly not child's fair, I would recommend this film to any parent who has a child that loves "Lord Of The Rings." Show your son or daughter the REAL heroes and epic warfare that rescued our world from a REAL army of darkness.On a personal note, I found the bonus "behind the scenes" DVD to be a real winner. Some bonus CD's are crud, but this one is a must see, not only for the in-depth interviews with the real-life guys upon whom this series is based, but also for actor Ron Livingston's home movie of the "boot camp" the actors were put through prior to filming. As an Army Reservist I found myself laughing to the point of tears at some of the stuff Ron and the other guys went through, and I also found myself shaking my head that these guys found their ten-day mini-Basic to be so "tough." Hey guys, try the real thing--9 weeks plus however many extra weeks you do in your Advanced school! Ouch! Anyway, even my Army training experience pails next to what the original Airborne troops had to go through. My hat is off to the men of Easy Company, who paved the way for those of us in later generations, and who stand as shining examples to us all of what real heroes are made of.
Movie Review: As A Woman, I Really Love This Series
Summary: 5 Stars
Right off the top - good looking men in uniform all over the place
doing manly things.
I originally bought this as a VHS set at a thrift store to give to my brother. I do not have cable, so I decided to give it a whirl. I was not expecting much but a modern standard war movie that would probably turn me off. Not so. Being that it is based on true events, I found it fascinating.
The characters are fairly well-developed for as many as there are, though I had a hard time figuring out who some of them were in relation to where I had seen them either earlier or later in the series.
I read a review online somewhere that said they had the same issue with it and that there was too much backdrop that it interferes with the characters. However, they had a lot of people in that company and they had to fill this one out with more characters than most people are used to seeing in one film.
I have now watched this 10 times and I am keeping it in my collection. Every time I watch it, I pick up on more and understand the characters and their situations a little better. I read somewhere else that another viewer's experience was greatly enhanced by reading the book along with the series.
The authentic detailing of the sets and the props really gave me some historical perspective on what that time period was like as it pertained to war. I learned much about the logistics of WWII, being largely uneducated on the subject.
The camera work is amazing as well and you can tell that Spielberg had something to do with the way this movie came out as an artistic piece.
The special effects are pretty good too.
There are also some really humorous scenes complimented by camera angles that I still like to watch. The acting is also superb in this film. Mathew Settle is one of the most handsome actors I've ever seen and does a great job of playing the effective, cool and collected Lt. Spiers.
I enjoyed the fact that there are interviews of the veterans who were actually in this company and talk of their experiences. A whole segment is dedicated just to them as well as having some shorter interviews before episodes.
Being a woman, the violence in it is not too bad - not like the serious blood, guts, and gore you see in other adventure or horror movies. However, it still gives you a realistic look of how horrible war is in terms of overall death and destruction.
I'm still wondering where they got the very thin people to play the concentration camp prisoners. I guess I am going to buy the DVD set for the extras and special features next.
Movie Review: Not just another war story
Summary: 5 Stars
Band of Brothers is the HBO miniseries adaptation of Stephen Ambrose's book of the same name that detailed the actions of the 101st Airborne Division's Easy Company during World War II. The story starts during paratrooper training and takes us to D-Day and Bastogne and eventually to the end of the war. I don't know how the miniseries holds up against the book, but as a stand alone series, this is some great stuff and is about as close to "must see" television as possible. The drama of individual characters is sacrificed for the drama of the war itself so this is no star vehicle for any one actor and the stories of the soldiers themselves are never brought into the plot. The tension in the battle scenes is palpable and because of their realism, they're very difficult to watch.
Congratulations to Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks and HBO. This is about as close to perfect as anything on the screen can be. Each episode starts with some brief comments by actual members of Easy Company and each episode ends with a brief written summary of what was happening in the war after the time frame of the episode. The inclusion of these two pieces helped frame each episode beautifully.
Please don't turn away from Band of Brothers because you don't like war movies because this is an amazing series that goes beyond being "just" another war story. As the title implies, this is ultimately the story of soldiers, ordinary men in an extraordinary situation, who live through, and deal with, some horrible situations and how they cope and survive and become really more than brothers. It's also an easy-to-swallow history lesson.
I'm still going to hold out on I, Claudius being the best miniseries ever made, but Band of Brothers is right up there. My only complaints with the series was that I would have liked more individual character development of the soldiers and I felt that it was assumed the viewer had at least basic knowledge of the events being covered in each episode which seemed a little unfair to some viewers. However, the Field Guide in the DVD extras and the performances of Donnie Wahlberg, David Schwimmer and Neal McDonough (three actors I've never cared for before seeing them here, but who all turned in brilliant performances) were enough to counter any small complaints I may have had.
Recommended for everyone with the caveat that this miniseries contains scenes of very graphic violence and intense combat action.
Also recommended for anyone interested in movies about some of the events covered in the miniseries are Battleground (1949) and The Longest Day (1962) and A Bridge Too Far (1977).
Movie Review: Don't listen to the negative foreigners! :-)
Summary: 5 Stars
Apparently some people from different countries say this movie is very inaccurate and suffers from patriotic tunnel vision. I can only wonder what movie they watched! LOLWe just watched this movie and it was spectacular. It is from the perspective of one group of American men, so don't expect the story to give you a sweeping view of the war, views from other units or any perspective from Russian, German, or French soldiers.. If those countries want movies from those perspectives I suggest they gather together some money and MAKE THEM.
Some critics claim the movie doesn't depict Germans as humans with feeling or intelligence. I guess they missed the whole segment of the film that attempted to do just that. Another critic claimed that Spiers was a "war criminal" and missed the entire segment of the movie that made it very clear Spiers didn't kill the German soldiers after giving them cigarettes and it was just a wild rumor. Another person said it never depicted American soldiers as less than perfect, apparently missing the entire segment about the drunk American shooting his fellow officer and the other soldiers almost beating him to death! Another said the movie only showed Americans as brave and loyal, apparently missing the entire segment about the soldier that hid without firing his weapon on D-day. C'mon people, WATCH the movie before making inaccurate criticism.
I really enjoyed the review that claimed that Americans are only taught about history having to do with America and know nothing about the rest of the world. As a writer I can personally attest that other countries are SIMPLY awful about including American facets of life in their literature. My books published in England have any little detail that is American edited away because English children might not "relate" (God forbid they learn something about America!) I've been exposed to literature from Europe, especially England, with nary a change in text since I was very young. So that to me is just a bogus "anti-American" sentiment rearing its ugly head.
The movie is accurate and realistic in so many ways. Americans fought with bravery and cowardice. But the facts can't be denied--by far the majority of American soldiers that fought in WW2 were of a special breed from a special time. Those men/boys fought with distinction and valor. They weren't perfect but they were unusually honorable and heroic. This movie shows much of those aspects and we strongly recommend it. There was one sex scene that came out of nowhere which was over the top. Find that scene so you're prepared with the remote if watching it with kids (I suggest over age eleven).