Band of Brothers

In 2007 Col. Ed Shames stopped by the Barnes & Noble where I work one day and we had an enjoyable conversation. In Band of Brothers Shames was made out to be quite an a-hole but he impressed me as being an outstanding person. He has not published his own Easy Company book but I believe he wrote the foreword in the Osprey book GT182 mentioned.
 
A few years ago, Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton (a platoon leader in Easy Company) spoke at my unit's Christmas formal. He was quite a speaker.

For those that don't know, he went to law school after WWII and became a prosecuter in Los Angeles. He was the prosecuter in the infamous Sirhan Sirhan trial. He certainly served for a lifetime and not only helped vanquish the Nazis, but also put the man who assasinated Robert Kennedy behind bars for life.

What a life of service. Easy Company, 506 PIR, 101st Airborne; Los Angeles Police Department, a criminal prosecuter and finally a California Appeals Court judge.
 
FengZ said:
now imagine taking the style of Band of Brothers, and applying that to Star Wars - taking place after Sith and New Hope...showing how the Empire crushes the Rebellion....every episode focusing on a specific story and directed by different directors (just like BoB)......would be so cool huh? hmm....
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I'd prefer a "Clone Wars" scenario, like in "Republic Commando". Now that would be cool.
 
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As a somewhat interesting anecdote regarding Band of Brothers: the actor who plays Dick Winters (name escapes me for the mo) is actually a hard-core Brit. Something like Hugh Laurie in House, he re-vamped his accent before applying for the role in BoB. Apparently (according to a blurb I read on the subject), the other actors and the casting staff had a hard time believing he wasn't a true "Muriken".

I also liked him very much in the series, "Life".
 
It's Damian Lewis, Jon!

Funny thing:
I purchased the Band of Brothers DVD box recently (I love to watch movies and shows un-dubbed, just to improve my english...).
After watching all the episodes in two days - which was quite exhausting, because this show really knows how to raise emotion - the new "Life" season was aired on TV the following day. Watching "Life", I used to wonder why Col. Winters wears civil clothes...

Cheers,
Markus.
 
HighGround22 said:
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As a somewhat interesting anecdote regarding Band of Brothers: the actor who plays Dick Winters (name escapes me for the mo) is actually a hard-core Brit. Something like Hugh Laurie in House, he re-vamped his accent before applying for the role in BoB. Apparently (according to a blurb I read on the subject), the other actors and the casting staff had a hard time believing he wasn't a true "Muriken".

I also liked him very much in the series, "Life".
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There are quite a few British actors in BoB (and The Wire to mention something otherwise completely unrelated)

Shame there aren't a few more British characters in the series given that there were quite a few of them in the area at the time after all :kilroy: (including my Great-Uncle Sonny, 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment, now at Bayeux War Cemetary). I know it's the story of a few soldiers from the 101 but even so, you'd think they won the war single handed if you didn't know any better. Twas ever thus in Hollywood I suppose!
 
HighGround22 said:
.
As a somewhat interesting anecdote regarding Band of Brothers: the actor who plays Dick Winters (name escapes me for the mo) is actually a hard-core Brit. Something like Hugh Laurie in House, he re-vamped his accent before applying for the role in BoB. Apparently (according to a blurb I read on the subject), the other actors and the casting staff had a hard time believing he wasn't a true "Muriken".
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Alexander Skarsgard aka Brad "Iceman" Colbert from Generation Kill is actually - you guessed it right - a Swede. It's all just a matter of language training. Even I could pass of as an American with a bit of practice. ;)
 
OH man... Das Boot is amazing. I read it when it came out back in either 1976 or 1984, cant remember. It was a NY Best Sellers list for a long while. Then they made a movie of it in Germany and it won awards for years. Took a while for us to get one translated. The first time I saw it, it was in German with subtitles.

Those guys went through HECK down there in those iron coffins. Smelly, horrible, cramped conditions, 20 to 30 days at a time.

The best part in the book was when they had to endure something like a week or more of an atlantic storm. Every so many hours, they would dive to 50 meters or so and rest for a while, then back to the surface to ride the mountains, poking out of walls of water, then sliding down into gigantic valleys of ocean water, bursting through the next edge.

Horrible...

In the book, the writer, a war correspondant (journalist) went on 3 patrols on that boat.

Side note; Boot is Boat in German, short in this case for Unterseeboot (Under Sea Boat or Submarine), which was directed towards U-Boots, short for subs in German.

Its a blessing we were able to find technologies for tracking down these subs. Its a shame for the loss of life. If we hadnt been able to shut down the U-Boot menace, the war could have been much worse and far more lives lost. The cost of war and life..


Bill
 
hmmm.. i'd like to watch some of these but i need to ask a question...

Watched a show not long ago called "The Lost Battalion".. near the end, the germans start walking in 72mm's on top of the good guys.. took me two days to come back.

armed with that information, are there trigger factors in these other shows like hat one?? am i going to end up in a corner ( jail, the psyche ward ).. or will it be ok??
 
Hey Pam,

The one I watched the other night, where they find the Jewish death camp, is 'not' for you. It put me down for a bit. Glad I saw the movie, but man, that was one rough part to deal with.. .




Bill
 
I recently replaced my DVD boxset with the blu-ray version. Amazon were selling them for £15.98; practically giving them away. I thought I'd be a fool not to upgrade, at this price. The increase is PQ is well worth it, and I'd highly recommend the blu-ray version to anyone who has a player.
 
Pam, knowing you like i do, steer clear of Band Of Brothers, after my first operational tour i decided to watch it, in the Forest when they start walking in 88's well that had me departing my chair seeking cover as second instinct, then again i did watch it with the volume right up... but now i can look back on that moment and laugh... i've steeled myself to war, knowing what i do is un-avoidable but must be done to ensure safety for others...

back to Band of Brothers, yeah it's a great series, as you say theres quite a few Brits in it, and who Mentioned House.... i love that show... not as good as when Hugh Lawrie was in Blackadder but still good :jump:

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Some thoughts.....

Years ago I bought the DVD box. My daughter has watched all episodes at least a dozen times (the first time together, but I think I did quit after the third time). She was very impressed and I'm convinced it contributed much to her insight.

Personally I think the fact they give a far more realistic view on war than the herioc war movies, which were made in the 50's and 60's, is the good thing of these series. However as these series are focussed on a very small part of the war, they often lift some events out of their context and make them sometimes more important than what they actually were.

As I grew up in Western Europe, my view on war has been distored by the fact I only saw the Hollywood coverage of the war. Therefore I hardly had realised the war in Eastern Europe had been much more decisive for this part of the world. It took me even longer to fully realise that Germans and Nazis are two very different things. And that facisme is not restricted to a few countries or a few people, but that perhaps a small fascist is hidden in all of us.

Cheers,
Huub
 
Warchild, Lets ask this question:

Have you seen the begining of Saving Private Ryan? If you had/have problems with that footage, then you may want to avoid Band ...
 
Lionheart said:
The best part in the book was when they had to endure something like a week or more of an atlantic storm. Every so many hours, they would dive to 50 meters or so and rest for a while, then back to the surface to ride the mountains, poking out of walls of water, then sliding down into gigantic valleys of ocean water, bursting through the next edge.
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The relief the crew must have felt when diving down from this mess - even if it was for a short term only - is also very well depicted in the movie!
No computer-animated effects, just some very authentic sets, talented actors and a manic director - what else do you need to create a good movie?

Its a blessing we were able to find technologies for tracking down these subs. Its a shame for the loss of life. If we hadnt been able to shut down the U-Boot menace, the war could have been much worse and far more lives lost. The cost of war and life..
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Well said, Bill!

He did it before:

"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U Boat peril"
Winston Churchill ...
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