"Band of Brothers" (2001) TV mini-series

User Rating:

9.6/10   

Writers:

Erik Bork (part 8) and
Erik Bork (part 10)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

9 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

They depended on each other. And the world depended on them.

Plot:

The story of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division and their mission in WWII Europe from Operation Overlord through V-J Day.

Plot Keywords:

Concentration Camp | D Day | Comradeship | Training | WWII

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 22 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Damian Lewis	...	Maj. Richard D. Winters (10 episodes, 2001)
Donnie Wahlberg	...	2nd Lt. C. Carwood Lipton (10 episodes, 2001)
Ron Livingston	...	Capt. Lewis Nixon (10 episodes, 2001)
Scott Grimes	...	TSgt. Donald Malarkey (10 episodes, 2001)
Shane Taylor	...	Cpl. Eugene Roe (10 episodes, 2001)
Peter Youngblood Hills	...	SSgt. Darrel 'Shifty' Powers (10 episodes, 2001)
Rick Gomez	...	Sgt. George Luz (9 episodes, 2001)
Michael Cudlitz	...	Sgt. Denver 'Bull' Randleman (9 episodes, 2001)
Robin Laing	...	Pvt. Edward 'Babe' Heffron (9 episodes, 2001)
Nicholas Aaron	...	Pvt. Robert 'Popeye' Wynn (9 episodes, 2001)
Philip Barantini	...	Sgt. Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk / ... (9 episodes, 2001)
James Madio	...	Sgt. Frank Perconte (9 episodes, 2001)
Dexter Fletcher	...	SSgt. John Martin (8 episodes, 2001)
Ross McCall	...	Cpl. Joseph Liebgott (8 episodes, 2001)
George Calil	...	Pvt. James 'Moe' Alley / ... (8 episodes, 2001)
Nolan Hemmings	...	Sgt. Charles 'Chuck' Grant / ... (8 episodes, 2001)
Neal McDonough	...	1st Lt. Lynn 'Buck' Compton (8 episodes, 2001)
Rick Warden	...	1st Lt. Harry Welsh / ... (8 episodes, 2001)
Frank John Hughes	...	SSgt. William 'Wild Bill' Guarnere (7 episodes, 2001)
Dale Dye	...	Col. Robert Sink (7 episodes, 2001)
Doug Allen	...	Sgt. Alton More (7 episodes, 2001)
Michael Fassbender	...	Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson (7 episodes, 2001)
Matthew Leitch	...	SSgt. Floyd 'Tab' Talbert / ... (7 episodes, 2001)
Tim Matthews	...	Cpl. Alex Penkala / ... (7 episodes, 2001)
Rene L. Moreno	...	Pvt. Joseph Ramirez (7 episodes, 2001)
Douglas Spain	...	Pvt. Antonio Garcia (7 episodes, 2001)
Richard Speight Jr.	...	Sgt. Warren 'Skip' Muck (7 episodes, 2001)
Kirk Acevedo	...	SSgt. Joseph Toye (6 episodes, 2001)
Craig Heaney	...	Pvt. Roy Cobb / ... (6 episodes, 2001)
Eion Bailey	...	Pvt. David Kenyon Webster (6 episodes, 2001)
Peter McCabe	...	Cpl. Donald Hoobler (6 episodes, 2001)
Matthew Settle	...	Capt. Ronald Speirs (6 episodes, 2001)
Ben Caplan	...	Cpl. Walter 'Smokey' Gordon / ... (5 episodes, 2001)
Mark Huberman	...	Pvt. Lester 'Leo' Hashey (5 episodes, 2001)
Phil McKee	...	Lt. Col. Robert L. Strayer / ... (5 episodes, 2001)

Runtime:

705 min (10 parts)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Dutch | French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:14 (TV rating) | Brazil:16 (DVD rating) | Germany:16 | Germany:18 (episode 3) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R15 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The title of the series (and of Stephen Ambrose's book) is from William Shakespeare's "Henry V": "This story[of the battle] shall the good man teach his son, And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by From this day to the ending of the world But we in it shall be remembered We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In "Carrahee", when the C-47's are taking off for France some high-altitude aircraft contrails can be seen. It is unlikely that these were from high-altitude heavy bombers on their way to Normandy, since there were too few of them, and they were not in formation.

Quotes:

Richard Winters: [about Nixon's drinking] Nix, what are you going to do in battle?
Cpt. Nixon: Oh, I have every confidence in my scrounging abilities, and I have a case of Vat '69 hidden in your footlocker.
Richard Winters: [chuckles, thinks it's a joke. Pauses, realizes that he's not kidding] Really?
Cpt. Nixon: Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Band of Brothers' (2001) (TV)

Definitely at the top of my list for one of the best shows produced for television.

I didn't really want to comment on the show like others did, until it was actually concluded. Now that the show finished last night all I can think to say is Wow! This has truly been one of the best things I have ever seen produced for any format of entertainment, except novel since historian Stephen Ambrose fills in a lot more information that the series just couldn't handle. Every actor from Damian Lewis to the man who played Private Hall in the first episode performed admirably. Of special interest is Lewis who's character really matures as the show progresses, Ron Livingston who in episode nine loses some of the cockiness that his character Nixon exhibits throughout the show, Matthew Settle who plays the intimidating Capt. Ronald Speirs just seems to ooze the violent edge the character needs, and Donnie Wahlberg who unlike his brother seems to play more interesting characters. Also of special interest is David Schwimmer as Capt. Herbert Sobel. Even though the character is pretty much a piss ant, there is that one moment after he loses command of the company that you sort of feel sorry for him. Another plus is the production crew who really turned England into four different countries. No one place from Carentan to Bastgone looks like the same country. Another plus is the special effects, which really shine in episode two and four. The night jump on Normandy with the flak exploding around planes and one plane bursting into flames looks as good as anything done for a major film. Also whoever thought of including snippets of interviews with real easy veterans definitely help set the tone for the episodes. A good choice in my opinion. If you haven't seen this show you owe it to yourself to watch any repeat. If you love informative movies about WWII by the DVD Set which will hopefully be released sometime soon. Another thing to note is the documentary which has interviews, film footage, and war time photos of the actuall easy company. I hope its as good as it looks.