“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Like Roots, Shogun and I, Cladius before it, HBO's Band Of
Brothers is essential viewing when it comes to television mini-series events. Telling the historical events recorded in Stephen Ambrose's
biographical World War II novel of the same name, this 10-part mini-series is an
experience not easily forgotten.
The series follows "Easy Company": the 101st
Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, from their paratrooper training in Georgia,
U.S.A. right up to the taking of The Eagle's Nest in the mountains of
Berchtesgaden, Germany.
While in most war films you really get a small idea of the
different emotions a soldier will go through, BoB gives the viewer a more
in-depth look over the 10-plus hours.
This allows for a more poignant experience than usual, that may or may
not be welcome, depending on how emotionally drained you're prepared to be by
the final moments. Each episode mainly focuses on one particular soldier and
unfolds like a short film in itself.
Evenly distributing out the history, military strategies, character
development and intricate battle scenes gives a little something for everybody
to be drawn into. There might be a few historical inaccuracies, both
intentional for dramatic purposes and some unintentional but as a whole you get
the bigger picture that's intended with such subject matter.
Complimented with mind-blowing sound design, beautiful
photography (both dreary and colorful), a career defining musical score from
the late Michael Kamen, rich character development and an impressive ensemble
cast of mostly unknowns (however keep an eye out for Simon Pegg, Jimmy Fallon,
Michael Fassbender, James MacAvoy and Colin Hanks), Band Of Brothers is truly
an unforgettable experience.
10 Episodes. Roughly
60 minutes each.
Plus a 90 minute documentary follow-up.
Buyer’s Guide:
Available in both DVD and Blu-Ray sets on it’s own and
packaged with it’s companion series The Pacific.
5 Stars out of 5
1 comment:
I see you squeezed it out. Yay.
5 essential viewing for EVERYBODY out of 5
Post a Comment