Band of Brothers Review

I recently watched this series again for the first time since it originally aired on HBO. I remember loving it then, but I think I fell in love with it even more after I watched it again. Perhaps this is because I'm older now and can better understand the subtle nuances in the story line and how much effort was put into the production of "Band of Brothers."

I think this might have been one of the most historically accurate war movies, let alone WWII movie, ever made. Apparently, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and the other producers let each of the surviving men of Easy Company look at the script to check for any factual errors. I think Band of Brothers made the best casting decisions I've ever seen in a movie/television show/mini-series. Each actor looked eerily like the man he was portraying, to the point I could match the character with the elderly men in the opening of each episode. It was also interesting to see the cameos in "BoB." Other than the obvious Ron Livingston, Damian Lewis and Donnie Wahlberg, other cameos include David Schwimmer, James McAvoy, Tom Hanks, Colin Hanks, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Pegg, Rick Gomez, Matthew Settle and Jamie Bamber. It's fun to see which actors have become famous since they were "no-names" when "BoB" was first released.

It took my friends and I less than a week to finish watching all 10 parts of the series. Though we had our favorite episodes, each of the 10 parts was compelling and full of emotion, action, drama, history and a LOT of ammunition. Apparently, on a heaving day of filming, over 14,000 rounds of ammunition were used. "Band of Brothers" definitely makes "Saving Private Ryan" look like small potatoes. According to IMDB, "BoB" had over 500 speaking roles, 2,000 extras and the total budget for the mini-series was $120,000,000. In fact, by the third day, the "Band of Brothers" special effects team had used more pyrotechnics than were used in the entire production of "Saving Private Ryan."

So if you're looking for a truly authentic portrayal of WWII (which means blood, guts, guns and bombs, so skip this if you're squeamish)--let the men of Easy Company show you how they truly became a "Band of Brothers."

"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."
--William Shakespeare's "Henry V"