"Band of Brothers" is astounding

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 1:47 pm

Boys:
 
 I know I´m late to the party on this one, but I finally got around to renting the first six segments of the HBO war series, "Band of Brothers," last night.
 
 I watched the first two segments and was stunned how good this series is. I didn´t touch my Xbox last night, and I doubt I will tonight.
 
 It takes special television to do that, and "Band of Brothers" definitely falls into that category.
 
 Take care,
 PK

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 1:56 pm

The same team of filmmakers are supposed to be making a Pacific, or it could´ve been Vietnam, version of Band of Brothers for HBO as well.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 1:57 pm

That is one of the best mini-series I´ve ever seen. It combines the you-are-there feel of Saving Private Ryan with more engaging characters. The performances are top-notch, including what I thought was a surprisingly good job by David Schwimmer.
 
 I don´t think any network can touch HBO´s original programming. Thankfully, now that they put everything on DVD, I don´t have to pay for it every month.

Arkin710 · Post by **Arkin710** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:01 pm

As I recall, HBO also intends to put out a Revolutionary War based series as well.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:08 pm

That miniseries is based on a book by a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. In fact, the book itself may have won the prize.
 
 Those HBO box sets are $60-70 after discounting.
 
 I don´t know, I pay $12 a month for HBO and even when most of their series are on hiatus, I feel I´m getting my money´s worth.
 
 Their original movies are good too and Angels in America just received raves and good ratings too apparently.
 
 They do have a couple of shows that aren´t on DVD yet, like The Wire (in some ways better than the Sopranos and Six Feet Under have been recently) and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
 
 They will eventually make it to DVD and you can find VCDs of all the HBO shows on eBay or get them yourself on bittorrents.

BBReBozo · Post by **BBReBozo** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:23 pm

It took me a while to get into "Curb Your Enthusiasm" but it is now in my Top 5 shows on TV. My wife was the same way. She couldn´t stand the show at first but we´re both in love with it now.
 
 And my dog howls everytime the theme music plays, which is pretty funny too.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:27 pm

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD>Quote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><BLOCKQUOTE>
 On 2003-12-11 09:57, Brando70 wrote:
 The performances are top-notch, including what I thought was a surprisingly good job by David Schwimmer.
 </BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>
 
 Good job and David Schwimmer should NEVER be in the same sentence.

BBReBozo · Post by **BBReBozo** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:31 pm

Yeah but he really did do a great job as the hard-ass drill instructor. I kept waiting for him to sort of slump onto the scene in front of his troops and go "hi" like Ross but he was full-on intense in BoB.
 
 I sort of lost interest in the BoB series after episode 4-5 but what I saw, I liked.
 
 Carnivale has been extremely enjoyable as well. I was talking to siam yesterday and he said they´ve slated new eps for that show to come out in 2005(!!), which sucks because the storyline is pretty intrigueing and I don´t want to have to wait more than a year to find out what happens.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:40 pm

It is also that rarest of cinematic feats. The movie is better than the book. The book is standard Stephen Ambrose: compelling stories, dramatic (and occassionally overly-dramatic) narrative and several major errors and omissions.
 
 Stephen Ambrose was a very interesting character. He is wildly popular, but his work is staggeringly inconsistent. He deserves rich praise for generally raising the level of interest in WWII and also providing a body of work which, on balance, helps to educate those interested in the topic.
 
 That being said, much of his work on WWII is marred by glaring inaccuracies and an almost perverse indifference to factual errors with regard to technical matters and even the detailed historical record. He spent an admirably extensive amount of time compiling personal histories from GI´s, but seemed to often take their stories at face value. He was infamous for shrugging off corrections made from the community at large when errors were pointed out, choosing instead to rely on the recollections of his subjects.
 
 His style can also be seriously heavy-handed at times, with purple prose and cliche-ridden passages at every turn. But conversely, he can be an intermittently moving writer when events call for that style of writing.
 
 All that being said, he did do some important work in gathering the GI´s stories and also some interesting work in the non-WWII areas. His Lewis and Clark book was a wonderful bit of work, even if it broke no historical ground. And some of his shorter works like Pegasus Bridge can be compelling.
 
 In short, I´d suggest that if you´re interested in anything beyond the most general history of the Second World War, and if you´d prefer not to be fed certain innacuracies over and over, you seek out more substantive books in the area.
 
 In particular, I´d recommend Company Commander by Charles MacDonald as perhaps the best first-person account of the European War from a GI´s perspective.
 
 My other recommendation, and the finest and most educational book I´ve ever read on the war is Closing With the Enemy by Michael Doubler. I give this book my strongest recommendation for anyone interested in either tactics or the way that the U.S. Army learned how to fight over the course of the war.
 
 Of course there are few areas of history more overpopulated with books than WWII. I suggest that anyone interested in further exploration check out the "Bookshelf" section at www.battlefront.com and their forums as well. Most knowledgeable bunch of WWII grogs you´ll ever find hang out over there.
 
 I also have an extensive list of recommended reading on the ETO if anyone is interested. It was once part of a Combat Mission-related web page, and has lots of cool titles on it.
 
 Finally, for those interested in the 101st (my dad´s unit in Viet Nam FWIW) specifically from watching BoB should check out Donald Burgett´s series of books on his amazing tour with the Screaming Eagles. These are also a first-person account and while it suffers from a few problems, they are terrifically compelling books. They´re also available in very reasonably-priced paperbacks.
 
 Sorry to threadjack, but like I said I think Ambrose is a fascinating character. [ This message was edited by: RobVarak on 11-12-2003 10:44 ]

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:48 pm

BOB is amazing. It makes you truely respect what those guys over there did for us. The mini-series was so great b/c it featured all of the same characters over a long period of time. You sort of got the opportunity to get to know everyone in "Easy Company."
 
 Its also sad as we are losing our WWII heroes at a very rapid pace. If you are lucky enough to know one sit down and listen to their story and thank them every chance you get. [ This message was edited by: bdunn13 on 11-12-2003 10:49 ]

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:08 pm

I thought it was very telling in the opening segment of the first episode when one of the vets interviewed said two guys in his hometown committed suicide because they COULDN´T be drafted due to medical reasons.
 
 The guy concluded his story by saying, "A different time ... "
 
 That was one of the most cutting, understated lines I´ve ever heard about something regarding WW II. And I can identify with it, in a certain way.
 
 My father turned 18 in August 1946. And to this day, I sincerely believe he regrets that he wasn´t born 2 years earlier so he could have served in World War II.
 
 He has read countless books on both theaters of WW II and watched nearly every documentary available on the subject. His motivation is an interesting mix of fascination, respect for history and guilt that he was too young to fight.
 
 A different time, no doubt.
 
 Take care,
 PK

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 5:30 pm

PK.....I was impressed I bought the complete series on DVD. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and will make shed a tear or two. Enjoy!

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 5:51 pm

I only watched about 3 or 4 episodes because I came into the series late.
 
 This is why network television should disragard the FCC and develop shows like this. HBO is doing what netowrk television should be doing.
 
 BoB, Sex in the City, Curb Your Enthusiam, Carnival, Six Feet Under, Sopranos. Look no cop shows. All network television has become is cop shows, reality shows, and lawyer shows. Only shows like the West Wing, Everybody Loves Raymond, Alias, American Dreams really push the evelope for quality television. Sitcoms are dying in favor of the reality show. I know it´s network television where ratings mean everything but if HBO is doing so well and the network basic pandar to the lowest common denominator something has to be said about the attitudes. Maybe the netowrk go after the sure bets and HBO has more room to gamble, I don´t know.
 
 That´s the end of my rant. It´s quite sickening the the best shows on American aren´t even available to the mass public. Sure a lot of people have cable but still these shows are the ones that should be on in primetime every night.

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:08 pm

Band of Brothers is the only thing I´ve asked my wife and kid for, for Christmas.
 
 I´ve yet to see it..which is surprising with my military history. I just for some reason, never rented it because I knew one day I would own it... one way or the other.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:31 pm

PK, if I remember correctly, when the show aired, they emphasized the influence Pearl Harbor had, making people want to enlist. You have to remember that the nation was against entering WWII even as reports came out about the Blitzkrieg and the concentration camps (which will figure in the later episodes of BoB).
 
 So it wasn´t eagerness to volunteer for a farflung adventure so much as a perception that we were being directly attacked and hence, the call to duty was more compelling.
 
 People compared 9/11 to Pearl Harbor but it would be interesting to see if enlistment increased in the wake of that event. The problem is, the War on Terror has an abstract target, or at least one that´s not so easily identified as the Nazis and the other Axis Powers. And I don´t blame current soldiers or young men if they´re not as enthusiastic about volunteering for a mission like Iraq, where the objectives are not so clear and the sense of defending the homeland isn´t as imminent.
 
 JRod, one of the best HBO shows is The Wire, which is nominally a copy show but nothing like what you´ve seen on network TV other than perhaps Homicide (Wire is produced by many of the Homicide alums). They also have Project Greenlight, which is a reality show of sorts, again with an HBO twist.

TheMightyPuck · Post by **TheMightyPuck** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:12 pm

I´m planning on getting BoB for Xmas as well. Must...resist...temptation...to...infringe...copyright...

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 2:55 am

I would hate to see BoB lumped in with all the other HBO "Original" programming. It is head and shoulders above their normal episodic stuff.
 
 "Band of Brothers" was exec-produced by Tom Hanks, basically inspired I´m sure by his experience on "Saving Private Ryan." I was nuts about it when it aired, and can´t wait to sit down and watch it all again. Frankly I was blown away by it; the long-form of motion picture story telling is simply way, way under utilized. This is an example of how good it can be.
 
 Hanks´s first project as exec-producer for HBO was the 12 part (I think it´s 12) "From the Earth to the Moon," which IMO is equally as good in its own way, although entirely different. This one he did after he had done Ron Howard´s "Apollo 13." Certainly not the same thing by a long shot, but these two mini-series are my favorite made-for-TV productions of all time. That´s right, of all time. Ranked 1 and 2. (OK, actually I forgot about Ken Burns´s "The Civil War." So the Hanks productions would be my #s 1 and 2 NARRATIVE TV productions of all time. But I actually saw "The Civil War" in 16mm, so that was a wee bit dfferent. Anyway. . . .)
 
 Earth to Moon is fascinating because the main characters of each episode and the story lines are entirely different, and there is a different director for each episode. (Note that with both this and BoB, the DP is the same throughout the series, even though the directors change. And note that they are both incredibly superb works of cinematography.) The styles of the different episodes vary widely. Of course, some characters/actors are the same throughout, most notably Deke Slayton. It follows the whole Apollo project from before it began to the end. Hanks directed at least one episode (not the best ones of the bunch, and as I remember he directed at least one of BoB´s episodes, too; much much better), and for example Sally Field directed an episode all about the experience of the astronauts´ wives. Despite the completely different casts and directors, styles, and stories of each episode (one of my favorites is more about the LEM and Grumman than it is about the astronauts who first flew it), there is a solid coherence to the whole thing, and the diversity among the episodes does a lot to express the breadth of the massive Apollo project. I ate this one up when it aired, and have seen it again on DVD, and loved it even more.
 
 Admittedly, I am a space nut, but I would highly recommend this mini-series to anyone who has an interest in the US space program, especially the Apollo years. Or to anyone who enjoyed "Apollo 13," appreciates Tom Hanks, and is impresed by "Band of Brothers." Here´s hoping Hanks continues to use his insanely massive clout to get quality productions done on TV, in the long form that only a mini-series can do. [ This message was edited by: hugo on 11-12-2003 23:02 ]

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 3:04 am

I watched Episodes 3 and 4 tonight. I´m slackjawed and can´t wait to rent all the rest.
 
 Xbox is on hold for a bit, boys ...
 
 Take care,
 PK

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 3:05 am

PK and those who have yet to see it: enjoy the heck out of it.
 
 I wish I could watch it for the first time, again.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 3:06 am

Hugo:
 
 Glad you brought up "The Civil War." Still the best piece of television I´ve ever seen.
 
 I wept a number of times while watching that, during especially poignant segments. TV and film simply doesn´t do that to me normally.
 
 Take care,
 PK