Band Of Brothers - Complete HBO Series commemorative gift set (6 Disc Box Set) [2001]

After the high drama of the parachute drop on D-Day, Easy's greatest trial comes during the Battle of the Bulge, when they are besieged at Bastogne in the depths of winter. In one of the most harrowing and credible depictions of war ever committed to film we see the men enduring the repeated artillery attacks of the German forces and experience, if only vicariously, some of the sheer terror of the assault, while being humbled by the soldiers' courage and determination. Such feelings are enhanced by the series' masterstroke--bookend interviews with the surviving members of Easy Company, who talk with barely suppressed emotion of the experiences we see recreated. The endorsement of these veterans elevates Band of Brothers beyond any mere "war film"--its extraordinary achievement is that it shows the horror and savagery of war without gloss or jingoism, and yet celebrates the fraternal bonds and dogged heroism of the men who fought.

On the DVD: Band of Brothers arrives handsomely packaged in a six-disc box set with two episodes on each of the first five discs. Sound (Dolby 5.1) and picture (1.78:1 widescreen) only enhance the series' epic credentials. Disc 6 contains all the extras, the meatiest of which is the marvellous 80-minute documentary "We Stand Alone Together" about the real men of Easy Company. There's also a first-rate, genuinely interesting 30-minute "making of" feature about actor boot camp, visual effects and blowing up fake trees among many other things. This is complemented by actor Ron Livingston's revealing Video Diaries of boot camp. Additionally there's a "Who's Who" section and footage of the HBO premiere at Utah Beach, plus a TV spot for car company Jeep. --Mark Walker

For me, the series highlights include the Bastogne sequence, the capture of Foy, and the jubiliant scenes following the taking of Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest.' At no point is the momentum lost, with fierce battle scenes piercing the poignant character moments like loud machine-gun fire.
If you are like me, you will not want it to end. Watching it all in a short period of time on DVD is certainly the way to watch this, as the immediacy adds to the effect.

Overall, a scintillating piece of television, almost perfect. If you don't like war, its maybe not for you, but equally B.O.B should not be dismissed just as a 'war' series. There is far too much depth and character for that...

If the men of Easy Company were in a class of their own, then this series is fittingly superior in its own field and is a worthy testament to them.


Band of Brothers is better than any war film!   October 14, 2004
45 out of 47 found this review helpful

Band of Brothers is the epic mini-series (although mini is the oppisite of its scale) produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. By this info, we can already tell its going to be great. Each of the 10 episodes is directed by a different person, giving each episode a different flavour.

It tells the story of Easy company 506/Parachute infantary Regiment of the 101st Airbourne, an elite group of around 100 parachutists. The series show all of their expieriences from the rigorous training they go thorough, capturing a gun battery and a town in Normandy (D-Day), parachuting into Holland and showing the companies leader, Major Richard Winters, single handedly take on 100 crack SS troop (with a little help from his platoons after about a minute of him fighting them), holding the line at Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, facing massive artillery and mortar attacks every day in arctic conditions and, taking the famous 'Eagle Nest' at Bertchesgarten, Hitlers personal holiday home in the German Alps. And the more amazing thing is, everything in this series really happened in WW2, and all the characters are based on real people!

Seriously, I cannot tell you how good this series is, just get it. After watching it, you can't help being inspired by the men of E company, who also are interviewed at the start of some of the programmes.

The acting is superb, the special and visual effects are breath taking, the camera work is amazing and the bonus features (An hour and 20 minute ,long programme dedicated to archive footage and interviews with the real E company men, a 'making of' featurette, Ron LIvingston's (the actor who plays Captain Lewis Nixon) video diary of the actors bootcamp, a 'whos who' in Easy Company and ,a slighty random, spot of advertising from jeep)
just puts the icing on the cake


A must-see   April 23, 2005
Koz (Sheffield, United Kingdom)
38 out of 39 found this review helpful

I was forced into watching this by a friend and only really agreed because i'm a Damian Lewis fan but i now have to admit that it was absolutely superb! I cannot criticise any aspect of this programme. I genuinely felt like I knew the characters and, as the end was approaching and casualties were amassing, I desperately wanted the 'brothers' to make it through. The scenery was so realistic that it could easily have been war-torn Europe in the 1940's.

As someone who doesn't generally like war films I can honestly say that this isn't typical of the genre as it is character based rather than just a stream of special effects laden scenes (although there are some amazing special effects). A particularly unique feature is that the surviving members of 'Easy Company' introduce each episode, as the entire story is based on real events. Spielburg even had the forethoughht to not inform the audience of the identity of the veterans until the end so that we wouldn't know who lived or died.

This programme reminds us of what normal men did for their countries and the world and I think 'B.o.B' shows us that we should never forget what those heroes endured for us all.

'Band of Brothers' is truly poignant and moving, a credit to the excellent cast and crew (and not forgetting the real men of 'Easy Company'), and I cannot recommend this highly enough.


Awesome   August 23, 2002
37 out of 42 found this review helpful

I sat glued to the series on TV, and have been waiting for it to appear on DVD ever since. It is one of those series' that really brings home to the viewer what the combatants actually went through 60 years ago.

Although the actions of the characters are undoubtedly heroic, they're not portrayed in the normal Hollywood 'gung ho' manner - you get a realisation that these men were absolutely terrified, yet did their job in spite of this crippling emotion. As such, you feel a genuine sense of shock and sadness whenever one of them dies. Again, this is a welcome departure from the Hollywood style, where all the good guys live and all the bad guys die.

I'm not sure the experience of fighting a ground war under such conditions could ever be realistically portrayed on TV; nevertheless, this series does as good a job as I've seen. It's very reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan in its use of documentary-style camera work, especially during the battle sequences. This effect really helps to enhance the realism, and involves the viewer more deeply than most war movies.

It's a shame that virtually the only Brits in the film are portrayed as idiots; still, I suppose we should allow the Americans their conceit in thinking they won WWII single-handedly.