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This is an older article, but with Band of Brothers reaching its 25th anniversary today, we thought it appropriate to highlight this presentation and article. The original article continues.
November is here, and everyone’s attention has quickly shifted to the upcoming holiday season. But before we start cracking those Christmas specials and hunting for those bargains, let’s get to November 11th. The day goes by different names depending on where you come from, such as Remembrance Day or Veterans Day, but it is the same thing: remembering those who gave their lives in the service of their countries during the war. Due to its influence and finances (many of us had family members who fought, for example), the Second World War receives a lot of attention, and therefore, there is a lot of media that shows that war. But if I were to recommend one piece of media to include, I would recommend HBO’s Band of Brothers.
What is it?
Band of Brothers the ten-part miniseries that appeared on HBO back in 2002 from producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, a few years after the team with Ryan’s Private Rescue. The show documents the many conflicts faced by the men of Easy Company, who were part of the US paratroopers, from their days in training all the way to the end of the war in 1945. There is no real direction, because the main character changes with every event; if we had to choose a “main character”, it would be Richard “Dick” Winters with Damien Lewis. Lewis plays the character as a quiet but very professional and enthusiastic recruiter in the army. He has quickly risen to a leadership position and helps lead Easy’s men into unknown territory: parachuting from an airplane behind enemy lines in Europe during World War II. It’s something that hasn’t been done before in war, at least not at that level, so the physical and mental training required a special person with a special mind who was willing to do that job. I found that some of Winter’s best scenes were often when he was socializing and working with his friend and colleague Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston), who begins to feel the weight of war as they crawl into Germany years later.
The company begins the show training down in the States, under the leadership of Captain Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer who is very punchy), a high-ranking, powerful and potentially incompetent leader. Their training eventually moves to Europe, as they simulate jumping out of planes with nothing but their gear and a parachute. From there, it’s the events of D-Day, with the company going from the north of France to Bastogne in Germany until war is declared in 1945. Although it’s not a 100% historically accurate series, the show goes to great lengths to dramatize a lot of historical events and figures and at the same time makes for an engaging drama. There are events that are quiet that focus on the individual, or perhaps take a breather between events that are more chaotic that are sometimes almost entirely located within a battle or two. The cinematography is also on point, showing the scope of the war while keeping things close to the company and the events on the ground. You won’t see many tree shots, for example, but you will be in the foxholes with the soldiers.
Why watch it?
In addition to seeing a project from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the latter of whom even directs an episode, you should watch the show for acting and the scope of the campaign. In films depicting long wars, such as World War II, much of the battlefield is removed during the running time. Often we get a few days and not enough time with the characters. With this ten part mini-series, we really start to learn about these men, what makes them tick, where they come from and why they signed up for the Paratroopers. Each episode opens with interviews from the real soldiers without revealing their names, leaving us wondering who they are compared to their on-screen counterparts. It is also a way to shock the audience when their friends eventually die in the war. Many characters, unfortunately, don’t, and not only does the show do a good job of making us care about them, but it also makes the pain their companions feel that much more real because we’ve seen them interact with each other over many events, going through hell and back. When the real soldiers report on certain events, you can see them smiling at the memory of their friends or breaking down in tears at the memory of their death.
These soldiers were not really in the war as a profession; they had other professions before they signed up, so the final show is about how these ordinary people decided to jump out of planes to try to stop World War II. The show also pulls no punches about the horrors of war. Although the show certainly shows the bravery and honor of many soldiers, it also brutally shows how war brings out the worst in us too. Blinded by anger or enjoying war a little too much, the show is open that the war also took away some humanity, and many people had to see these actions being carried out and live with these images as well. It’s a very difficult thing to do in the end: make us care about these characters, their intentions and motivations, while at the same time making them flawed and even cruel individuals at times. But these are some of the people who fought in Europe to try to stop tyranny, so it’s an interesting assessment of both character and war. Before episode nine of the series, the show takes off the gloves and shows us why the soldiers were really in Europe, and it’s a very powerful episode.
The show also has a full cast and will be the starting point for many great actors working today, such as Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Tom Hardy. Other notable actors on the show include Michael Cudlitz, Neal McDonough, Simon Pegg, Donnie Wahlberg and Dexter Fletcher, and everyone brings their A-game, giving us weak but brave men who fight for what they believe is right. Additionally, we buy into the bond of friendship that these men develop in a time of war, which is vital to the show. They don’t always get on, and there is an internal struggle, but at the end of the day, they have a bond built on training and the hardships of war, and that is a testament to the writing and casting.
So if you’re looking for something to watch before the holiday cheer to put some holiday cheer into perspective, honestly there are a lot of options, but I think this one really does a good job of showing how horrible the war was, who the real people were that fought in it, and how it changed them so we can live in the world we have today.
