Band of Brothers

[ATLHARP]

By far one of the greatest mini-series ever produced on TV. A testament that everything on TV doesn't have to suck!

ATL

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by ATLHARP

By far one of the greatest mini-series ever produced on TV. A testament that everything on TV doesn't have to suck!

ATL

Agreed. Great show!

[colgate]

Originally Posted by TheSmokingHiker

I think the Band of Brothers series is one of the best war movies of al times. In case you dont know, it is a series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg about the 101st Airborne during WW2. I own the box set on dvd. Anyone else enjoy it?

I watched it back a couple years ago and why just last Saturday while telling my sons NO when they grabbed GTA San Andreas I caught a glimpse of the box set Band of Brothers. They love war movies and this one is the topper! Anyway my youngest who is convinced he's a soldier like his grandpa (he's been talking about this since he was 5 and he's still talking about it at 13 so I guess it's more than a passing fancy). I watched again after they finished. Awesome awesome series. The old soldiers at the start, man that's powerful. My dad's practically one of those guys they brag up, the NCO like the hero of the series (well they are all heros) but you know the main character along with Nix. Both those guys were playing the part of NCO. My dad got his NCO in WW2, pacific theater I want to say.

In the history of warfare there is nothing more horrific than when two western armies meet on the battlefield. You had it in the Civil war, WW1 and WW2. Two evenly matched western armies is a prescription for total war and total death. I'm glad we are mostly on the same side now.

If you guys are interested in getting into the WW2 era and how it felt to be alive then, I suggest picking up a copy of Studs Terkel's The Good War. It's a compendium of interviews he did with thousands of people who experienced it first hand. If you want to get into the strategy and personalities at the top read the Eisenhower book by David Eisenhower. It's goes over D-Day, Market Garden and the Italy invasion, forget the code word, in detail and is somewhat technical.

[etenpenny]

I own hundreds of movies, this by far is my favorite thing I have watched

also fyi, "the pacific war" began shooting last summer off and on

here is some info http://www.the-pacific-war.com/

make sure to check out their forumn to find the best info

[etenpenny]

by the way
clint eastwood will be directing a new movie on the battle of iwo jima based off the book flags of our fathers alot sooner the the pacific war will be released

although alot of the movie will focus on the soldiers that raised the flag on mt surbachi and their stuggle coming back to the states in the war bond drives

I hope eastwood dosent stoop to a america bashing film like many of his hollywood friends have in the past

[stevefrench]

Excellent series. I just picked up the book.

[Wetterhorn]

Originally Posted by stevefrench

Excellent series. I just picked up the book.

I was amazed out how close the series followed the book! Great job by Hanks and the other guy!

[God]

Had watched most of the series when I could catch them on HBO when they were running and really enjoyed them. Had wanted the box set for a long time and was surprised a week ago when my wife bought it for me. Have been going thru each episode every night with the last one for tonight.

Excellent viewing and I'm glad to hear that they are working on a Pacific series. My father in law served in the Pacific so that will be interesting to watch when it is released. I'm sure time is of the essence in completing the series as these guys are leaving us a an accelerated rate (my FIL passed away several years ago) and their first hand memories are an integral part of the film.

Their personal views and memories are an important piece of history that will be lost when they are gone if not recorded.

Hats off to Hanks and Speilberg for preserving it.

[stevefrench]

Originally Posted by Wetterhorn

I was amazed out how close the series followed the book! Great job by Hanks and the other guy!

Exactly! I just finished reading the book over a couple of weekends. Great story!

[mikey202]

My wife and kids got me the box set when it first came out a couple of years ago...it is an awsome piece of work.

[Jechelman]

Agreed, it is an awesome series that does justice to the book and honors the men of the 101st. Have box set and love it.

[fitzsmoke]

Super series!
Well written, cast, acting, directed, etc.
One complaint about action scenes were a little herky-jerky to these old eyeballs. Was that done intentionally for effect? Or just the way digital enhancement plays out. I watched it on a regular t.v.

One of the guys interviewed in the film was Donald Burgett (sp?) who wrote one of the best first-person war books titled "Curahee" about his experiences in the 101st (?) airborne. Excellent read.

Can't wait for the Pacific version. A really good book by Robert Lecke (sp?) is called "Strong (or brave?) Men Armed" all about his experiences in the Pacific with the USMC.

Both these books are quite old but really bring home the intensity of WWII on both fronts.

[woobie]

Originally Posted by fitzsmoke

One complaint about action scenes were a little herky-jerky to these old eyeballs. Was that done intentionally for effect?

I think it was intentional to make it more immersive. Saving private Ryan did the same during the beach landing.

I've rewatched a few episodes of the series the last 2 weeks. Even after watching them 4 or 5 times now they are still as enjoyable as the first time around.

I think by doing it as a miniseries rather than doing a 2-3hr movie and taking a hatchet to the book they made a very wise decision. The character developement just wouldn't be there in a shorter time frame of a movie.

[dyj48]

I bought the DVD series when it first came out since I was an Ambrose fan (even with the charges of plagerism). Took it home and started to watch. I think it was on a Friday, I didn't stop except for food and water until it was finished a day later...Couldn't sleep...just stayed up and watched it all. Yep, it's got my vote for the best miniseries as well as the best all around war film tho "All Quiet in the Western Front" was close....

[God]

Here is a website for the Pacific series... nothing new since last year however but appears to still be in production.

The Pacific War