Band of Brothers

There really is very good television. I think that working in TV has made me that much more aware of the massive chasm that seperates truly good TV from truly useless TV. So much of what is produced (yes.. including a lot of what comes out of the CTV) is neither here nor there. You know that kind right? Where, if you saw the show, you'd be fine, and if you didn't, you wouldn't particularly be lacking in anything either.

Band of Brothers was an incredible TV experience for me. Incredible. Much like Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers is a Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks collaboration that attempts to paint a picture of life in the days of World War 2. In Saving Private Ryan, the story followed a small group of soldiers who landed on Utah on D-Day, fought for the beach, and eventually moved on to other missions. Band of Brothers is about a company of paratroopers who parachute into enemy territory on D-Day and then move from mission to mission through the duration of the war.

They're called 'Easy Company', and are historically recognized as one of the most effective, most used companies in america's war effort (i'm just learning this from the show). You learn that some of the most important and momentum-turning events in the war found Easy Company on the front line doing the majority of the fighting.

'Brothers' is beautiful. It benefits massively from the sheer length of the package.. 10 hours total divided into several DVDs. It follows E company exclusively, but focuses primarily on an officer 'Winters', who starts as a fellow soldier but moves his way up through the ranks throughout the series.

It is factual. Before every episode, the actual vets who are being played in the episodes talk about their memories of the various events and battles.

Following the series, there is a 1-hour full of interviews with the various members of the E company who are still alive. They talk their way through each individual battle and share their thoughts on the war, each other, and the whole experience.

I can't describe how moving this series is. Granted, the violence is intense, and some of the episodes are extremely unsettling.. But then, war is/was so unsettling. The production manages to walk that thin line that is rarely walked in these types of things... where you never feel that they're exploiting those actually involved, or forcing the story to artificially extract emotions. The only glory portrayed is that which actually existed, and I'm left in a state of complete respect, and humility.

If you're able to handle violence, rent this and watch it with an open heart.

J