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As a general rule, I go into movies and TV shows knowing what to expect. I spend enough time reading about such things online and in magazines that by the time I get around to watching something, I pretty much know what I'm getting myself into. But watching "Band of Brothers" for the first time was a somewhat new experience for me. I mean, I knew about it. I knew it was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who collaborated just a couple of years earlier making the similarly WWII themed "Saving Private Ryan". But as much as I loved "Saving Private Ryan", I'd never gotten around to "Band of Brothers". Not that I wasn't interested -- just that the opportunity never presented itself. In retrospect, not making the time was a pretty big oversight on my behalf.
For the uninitiated, "Band of Brothers" is a 10-part miniseries which originally aired on HBO in 2001. The story chronicles the experiences of the men of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division during World War II. I could spend the rest of the day summarizing the various episodes, but in reality, I could never do them justice. Instead, I'll do my best to give the briefest of outlines. The story begins with Episode One ("Currahee"), basic training at Camp Toccoa. From there, the men are shipped overseas to prepare for D-Day which is shown in Episode Two ("Day of Days"). In Episode Three ("Carentan"), Easy Company are sent to liberate the French village of Carentan while Episode Four ("Replacements") documents the difficulties in being accepted as a new addition -- having not endured the same hardships as the rest of the original Company. In Episode Five ("Crossroads"), Major Richard Winters (Damian Lewis) leads an attack against the Germans but is haunted by the memory of killing a teenage soldier. Meanwhile, the men are sent to Bastogne to hold the lines, despite the fact that they are dangerously low on supplies, leading into Episode Six ("Bastonge") where we follow a medic who must tend to the men with limited means at his disposal. In Episode Seven ("The Breaking Point"), Easy Company is called upon to seize the town of Foy, but must deal with the glaring inadequacies of their Lieutenant. With the end of the war in sight, Episode Eight ("The Last Patrol") follows as a newly minted West Pointer seeks to experience the war before it comes to an end. Meanwhile, another soldier returns to the Company from a hospital stay, but the remaining soldiers are less than hospitable. In Episode Nine ("Why We Fight"), Easy Company discovers a concentration camp. The series concludes with Episode Ten ("Points") where Easy Company captures Hitler's Eagle's Nest and the end of the war is announced.
Unfortunately, words can't do this series justice. As I said, I can spend the rest of the day trying to summarize this series, but in the end it is best experienced by watching yourself. It's difficult to explain, but in the end, I found myself almost knowing the characters involved. Winters. Nixon. Lipton. Colonel Sink. Perconte. Toye. George Luz. Bill Guarnere. Buck Compton. Malarkey. These are just some of the names to become familiar with -- names that I just learned but won't soon forget. What I also won't forget is some of the memorable performances on display throughout this series. Names include Damian Lewis (Winters), Ron Livingston (Nixon), Donnie Wahlberg (Lipton), Scott Grimes (Malarkey ), Michael Cudlitz ('Bull' Randleman), James Madio (Perconte), Neal McDonough ('Buck' Compton), Frank John Hughes (Guarnere) and Kirk Acevedo (Toye). There are honestly too many names to continue. As much as you hate the guy in the movie, David Schwimmer was great in the role of Capt. Sobel. Also I was surprised to see James McAvoy and Simon Pegg in supporting roles before they became familiar "names". Finally, what makes the story all that more compelling is listening to some of the actual men involved as they introduce each of the series' episodes. Unforgettable.
In terms of special features included with this 6-disc set, each episode includes "In the Words of Easy Company", a picture-in-picture commentary with the surviving veterans involved. Also included is "In the Field with The Men of Easy Company", an interactive Field Guide which chronicles the story on an episode-by-episode basis. Available through this feature are timelines, maps and soldier profiles. Each of these features makes excellent use of the Blu-ray format to enhance the viewing experience. The set's final disc also includes the 80-minute documentary "We Stand Alone Together" where we hear from the men of Easy Company, some video diaries by Ron Livingston (who plays Captain Lewis Nixon), a 30-minute making-of featurette and a look at the series premiere in Normandy.
In retrospect, how this series escaped me for this many years, well it's almost embarrassing to admit. After all, it is the highest selling TV DVD of all time. How did I miss it?! If you haven't seen it already, I can't stress enough how much you are missing. And if you have already seen it, watch it again. The features included that take advantage of the Blu-ray format make this set well worth the investment.
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