Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/fO2DgMc97Q8
It's almost hard to believe, but it has been nearly 20 years since Band of Brothers was released on HBO. Band of Brothers is one of those rare examples of near perfection in a television series. In fact it to me this is not really a TV series, it's more like an incredible ten hour movie.
Based on a book of the same name written by Stephen Ambrose, this follows the real life exploits of the men of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne. We go from their formation and training to their jump into Normandy on D-Day and stay with them right through to Germany's surrender. Over the course of ten episodes we get to know several members of the Company, and experience the horrors and brotherhood of war all the way through.
Apart from the movie level budget, cinematography, visual and make up effects, what makes it so good is that it’s not just a birds eye view of each step of their journey. In each episode we get that wider view but we also get to spend some time with a member of the Company. Whether it’s Bull getting stranded in an occupied village, Doc Roe scrounging for medical supplies in Bastogne, or Lipton narrating an entire episode, each episode brings some sort of variety from the one previous. Likewise not every episode is full of combat, across all of it there is a good balance of personal moments, tension, and all out combat action. Each of those three aspects are skilfully executed too, so the show never gets boring, there aren't any lulls.
I recently watched the movie Midway and in my review of it I said that part of its downfall was trying to do too much by jamming seven months of war into two hours. Band of Brothers is the perfect example of what can be done when there is more time to tell the story. It never feels rushed, it's paced perfectly and its pretty easy to keep track of who's who all the way through.
Speaking of "who's who" this has so many “OMG it’s that guy” moments. Given that this was made 20 years ago there are a whole bunch of now-established actors making early forays into their careers, or whom you recognise now for completely different work. Of course there's Damien Lewis and Ron Livingstone front and center, but there's also Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, James McAvoy, David Schwimmer, Simon Pegg, Jimmy Fallon, Colin Hanks, Donnie Wahlberg, and Michael Cudlitz. There are of course many more, and each episode I found myself looking up online to see if that person I spotted was the person I thought it was.
I could go on and on and on about this show. I absolutely love it, it's a masterpiece and may well be my favourite mini-series of all time. Even now, 20 years later this remains a stunning achievement in television history and it is, in my opinion, must see TV.
