Band of Brothers.

L

l00p

10,000+ Posts
I am about to begin watching this as a box set from the beginning. I have never watched an episode before but everybody raves about it. I am stoked for it but keeping it controlled so I don't ruin it for myself. Should I be anxious and is is totally awesome?
 
It's the best thing I've ever seen on any size screen. Amazing realism and outstanding performances all around. You really begin to feel like you are part of Easy Company.

I really love the battle scenes in Ardenne.
 
Don't be surprised if you get a little confused with the characters. It is easy to do since there are a lot of them. It took me watching it a second and third time to pick up on some of the little things. The book has so much extra info also.

On the box set for each part there is a special feature that you can click on from the main menu that will give you a rundown of the characters for that part. There is also a map guide that is useful.

I still maintain that every American should be forced to watch this. Great mini-series. Love the soundtrack also....
 
To compare with any of my experiences while serving?

Dead Horse, are you saying I should click those special features while I watch it the first time?

That some of you watch it over and over and have done so recently really gets me stoked. I think I will begin on July 4th! I will post after the first 3 episodes if I can wait that long. Man, you guys have me more amped than before.
 
The series inspired me to do some research on some of the members of the 506th. I have spent hours there since then.

The Men of Easy Company
flag.gif
 
I would watch the first episode and then click on the character tabs. From there you can figure out what works best for you. You won't get too lost with the characters until well into episode 3 or 4.

The cool thing about the series (and also what makes it hard to follow sometimes) is though a character may be central to an episode he could die at anytime or get injured and be done for the series. I found it confusing since some characters you have no idea what their name is even though their names come up in the dialogue several times.

I had no idea who Captain Meehan was for some reason because he wasn't central to their episodes during training at Taccoa. The book cleared it up but I read the book after watching the series 10 times.

Happy watching. It is by far my favorite mini series of all time. I second the idea of you blogging after each episode. I know that after watching episode 1, I sat down and watched all of it straight through.
 
if u have at&t uverse, its on the hbo on demand feature. i watched the entire series over 2 nights a couple of weeks ago. it really is great. im looking forward to the pacific theatre version that is supposed to be coming out.

"captain sobel, we solute the rank, not the man...."
 
loop,

I assure you -- you won't be disappointed unless you don't like good writing, good acting, good direction, good set design and good effects.

BoB has it all. It is, in a word, incredible. In fact, I think I will start watching it again this weekend!

flag.gif
 
I'll add my endorsement. On the weekends where Bravo or the History Channel marathon the episodes, I have to be careful not to turn it on or I'll be hooked for hours.

Your expectations can't ruin this fine series. It, in my opinion, far exceeds Saving Private Ryan which is BoB's forerunner and from which much of the production sensibilities come from.
 
Not so much for comparisons with your time in, simply because I would love to "observe" someone experiencing BoB for the sirts time. Especially someone like you, who I KNOW is going to be sucked in.

I may watch it saturday too, on my new LCD.

Hmmm, I REALLY like that idea.
 
I'm jealous of those that have never seen the series before. One of the most amazing experiences I've ever had was taking a "Band Of Brothers" tour while in Normandy. We went to sites shown in the book/series and saw things as best we could as they saw them. It was pretty amazing.
 
Please do yourself a favor and watch it on Blu-Ray. And as big a screen a you can - you will definitely believe that you are part of easy company. And I agree - could watch once a month for all the things you pick up on.
 
I'm reading the book "Retribution" about the war in the Pacific. Its a good jumping off point for people who want to take up this chapter of WW2.

I've been absorbed with the war in Europe for a couple of years now......I've never paid much attention to the Pacific...until now.
 
I, too, never had much interest in the Pacific. But not too long ago I learned that my dad, who was a combat medic in Europe, was sent to the Pacific after Europe was done.

So now I am anxiously awaiting HBO's new mini-series, to see what dad saw in the Pacific.
 
Sad to read about Shifty Powers - RIP Shifty.

Best program I have ever seen. I read the Steven Ambrose book before this series came out. It is truly amazing what these band of brothers did. Loopy, I will be surprised if you don't really appreciate and enjoy this series. I have seen it 20+ times over 8-9 years since it was released... still not tired of it. I watch it like it was the first time I am seeing it.
flag.gif


Texanne - that is interesting about your father. My Uncle Joe was a Pharmascist Mate in the Navy and was later made a Corpsman landing at Normandy on Omaha Beach. He survived that bloody battle and was later shipped to the Pacific. He landed at Iwo Jima with the Marines where he was wounded by a Jap grenade the second day of the battle. He rarely talked about the war over his lifetime - too horrific those close to him said. He died at 88 yrs of age in Gilmer TX a couple of years ago.
flag.gif
 
That's a GD shame Wolfman. If half of American's today, myself included, strived to be half of what the men of Easy Company were, this country would be in a whole different place.

RIP Shifty, you've Damned sure earned it!
 
BOB starts out very confusing, it is shot in an almost black and white, each charactor blends together till about Crossroads. Because of the slow start I think BOB is the second best mini series ever made behind Earth to the Moon.
 
Manchester's "American Caesar" about MacArthur is another great book largely concerned with the war in the Pacific.

We're the battlin' ******** of Bataan
No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam
No rifles or ammo or artillery pieces
No aunts, no uncles, no nephews, no nieces
And nobody gives a damn.

The fall of Bataan will break your heart. The Japanese attacked us, but we immediately concentrated on Germany.
 
I highly recommend the Blu-ray as well.

Review by DVD VerdictThe Link
I had never seen Band of Brothers before this Blu-ray set showed up at my door, and I was initially unimpressed with the video quality. The show has a Saving Private Ryan-processed look about it, with lots of sepia tones. I noticed some noise here and there in the darker scenes, and an occasional lack of fine detail in skin surfaces (which looked a bit like digital noise reduction to my eyes). Then, I popped in a borrowed copy of the original DVD, and all my worries flew right out the window. Whatever problems this Blu-ray presentation has, they pale in comparison to the improved clarity, consistency in color, and detail. Revelation is an overused word, but it seems appropriate. The audio is not as huge an upgrade, but there's a clarity and transparency to the DTS soundtrack that keeps the dialogue audible and the combat earth-shaking.

The video improvement alone would have probably warranted an upgrade for fans of the show, but HBO has ponied up a pair of new extras to entice fans further. First, I should mention that all the extras from the DVD edition are here, including the making-of documentary, the documentary on Easy Company, Ron Livingston's video diary, and the premiere at Normandy. Now, however, fans get to hear more from the survivors of Easy Company with a Blu-ray exclusive picture-in-picture commentary for each episode. As I'm not a huge fan of this type of commentary, I wish these were standalone interviews, but it's wonderful to hear more from these fascinating gents. This alone might also be worth the upgrade for fans of the series. The other new extra is an interactive "field guide," where during certain points in the series the viewer can access extra information about soldiers, battles, and historical details. Again, I'm not a huge fan of this style of extra, but the info is nice to have.
 
"Best mini series ever. Major WInters and Captain Spears are total bad asses. "

I would say second best after Generation Kill but awesome nonetheless.
 
**** all. A couple of people including the Gweilo have mentioned some mini's that I have not seen or heard of. I have some watching to do. Dammit.

Gweilo, check your email, holmes.
 
Hornin, I will admit, I feel I could debate the argument of Generation Kill vs. Band of Brothers as best ever from EITHER side pretty successfully. One gives you insight into the battles fought by our greatest generation, the other gives you insight into the minds and hearts of our present-day warriors. Win-Win either way.

I was just waiting for Loop to watch BoB first and then send him to GK. Speaking of which loop, I have the Generation Kill mini on DVD if you need to borrow it when you're done with BoB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top