Band of Brothers

"I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said "Grandpa, were you a hero in a war?" and Grandpa said "No. But I served in a company of heroes." "

Title: Band of Brothers
Year of Release: 2001
Creators: Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman
Genre: War/Drama/History
Rating: 10/10

Band of Brothers is about Easy Company of the 101st US Airbourne division as they fight their way through the war. Each episode focusing usually on a different person in particular or a different aspect.

This is probably the most human and most realistic war film/miniseries I have ever seen. Everything from the characters in this, to the fighting to the portrayal of Germans feel so real and it's almost as if it's teaching you about World War II. It's a great portrayal of how the War was for those who were affected by the war, especially the soldiers. It makes a big deal of developing the characters, even if only for 30 minutes, just for them to be killed or badly wounded which is really affective. Though the Germans are commonly seen as bad during World War II, it doesn't show them as bloodthirsty savages, which is what separates this from other War set films or shows, which have a tendency to show the Germans quite biased, sure there was a lot of bad German Nazi's, but not everyone was, and it makes a strong point of this in one episode. After walking across a group of German prisoners of war, one of the American soldiers asks a rhetorical question as a joke to one of the Germans, "Where you from?", the German replies in English to their surprise of a location somewhere in America (I can't quite remember it) the soldier is shocked. They begin talking and it turns out the German soldier's parents told him to return to the Fatherland, Germany, to fight for them as requested by Germany. This German soldier not only lived there, but was born there, in America, his fate.. obviously not too bright.

You hear about the terror of war, and how it takes a toll on soldiers not just physically, but mentally, this does a great job showing this aspect of war perfectly. During the Battle of the Bulge, mainly in episode six, is where this is shown in quite detail. It's a very sad episode and probably the best episode. All the soldiers are frozen, they cannot light a fire, because if they do, they will become targeted by the Germans, that are not too far away from them, because they are located in a forest, during winter, so, there is snow everywhere. Fighting breaks out randomly, each time men die, some you don't know, but some of them are characters you will like, I'm sure. The soldiers are greatly affected by what happened in Bastogne, which is also shown in a later episode, the resentment for replacements, or even a man who missed this horrific time which dramatically changed each of the soldiers.

Each episode opens with several old men who fought in World War II, they talk about their experiences, which relate to the episode that follows. These guys are really sad to watch because you can see it on their faces that they struggle to talk about the tough times, and that they lost good friends to the war. So their words not only sets the mood but gives a feel of authenticity to each episode, particularly the last one, you'll see.

The acting from everyone was perfect. Well, minus Simon Pegg's poor American accent, which I think I'll let slide since he has a tiny role. It makes me sad that not everyone in this show were instantly launched into successful films or a successful show, or anything along those lines. But, you will find that a lot of the people in this show look quite familiar. David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) plays a role in this film, Donnie Walhberg (Sixth Sense, Saw II) and Damien Lewis (Life). With some other people playing certain roles you may recognise, like James McAvoy, he has a small role, but it's always interesting seeing someone before their prime, especially when they did better in this. As I said, the acting was amazing, and the men weren't required to just put on a sad face when they were sad, and an angry face when they were fighting, they had to show a wide range of emotion because you really see these men develop over time, as friends die in some gruesome and sad ways, it takes affect. No one was a let down, which isn't common, usually there is at least one.

For those who are researching World War II (the fighting in Europe only) or your just interested in that topic, this is definitely what you should watch. It covers a lot of the most important parts of the war, D-day, Battle of the Bulge, the Holocaust and the affects of war, among more things it will be a great help, though, it is dramatized, it gets the point across and stays true. If you liked Saving Private Ryan, you will definitely enjoy this as they are quite similar, though, this is better, more realistic and is full of people, and with no "characters". This is quite a violent show, I must admit at times I couldn't watch as just the thought of the agony is quite overwhelming. A must see show, probably the best thing I have seen that was made directly for television. A true modern masterpiece. I look forward to the next project by the guys who created this that focuses on the Pacific side of WWII.