Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-11-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Turkish, Dutch, Bulgarian, Romanian, Arabic
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 782 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A genuinely epic achievement, the 10-part World War II drama Band of Brothers is a television series that makes big-screen Hollywood war movies look small in comparison. Based on the book by historian Stephen Ambrose, the series follows the US 101st Airborne Division's "Easy" E-Company from initial training through D-Day and across Holland, Belgium, Germany and Austria until the end of the war. Coproduced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the series take its initial inspiration from Saving Private Ryan and borrows that film's visceral visual approach to combat scenes using hand-held camerawork and de-saturated photography. But where Band of Brothers excels is in its scrupulous attention to the realities of military life (retired US Marine Captain Dale Dye, who also co-stars, is the man to credit).

After the high drama of the parachute drop on D-Day, Easy's greatest trial comes during the Battle of the Bulge, when they are besieged at Bastogne in the depths of winter. In one of the most harrowing and credible depictions of war ever committed to film we see the men enduring the repeated artillery attacks of the German forces and experience, if only vicariously, some of the sheer terror of the assault, while being humbled by the soldiers' courage and determination. Such feelings are enhanced by the series' masterstroke--bookend interviews with the surviving members of Easy Company, who talk with barely suppressed emotion of the experiences we see recreated. The endorsement of these veterans elevates Band of Brothers beyond any mere "war film"--its extraordinary achievement is that it shows the horror and savagery of war without gloss or jingoism, and yet celebrates the fraternal bonds and dogged heroism of the men who fought.

On the DVD: Band of Brothers arrives handsomely packaged in a six-disc box set with two episodes on each of the first five discs. Sound (Dolby 5.1) and picture (1.78:1 widescreen) only enhance the series' epic credentials. Disc 6 contains all the extras, the meatiest of which is the marvellous 80-minute documentary "We Stand Alone Together" about the real men of Easy Company. There's also a first-rate, genuinely interesting 30-minute "making of" feature about actor boot camp, visual effects and blowing up fake trees among many other things. This is complemented by actor Ron Livingston's revealing Video Diaries of boot camp. Additionally there's a "Who's Who" section and footage of the HBO premiere at Utah Beach, plus a TV spot for car company Jeep. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
"We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company" (80-minute documentary)
"Behind the Scenes: The Making of Band of Brothers" (Ron Livingston's Video Diaries)
Who's Who: The Men of Easy Company
Premiere at Normandy
Jeep Spot
Experiencing the War (DVD-ROM feature)

Synopsis
This 10-part HBO television miniseries focuses on Easy Company, a group of American soldiers in World War II, tracking their experiences from the beginning of boot camp to the end of the war. Anchored by actors Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston, the series gives detailed attention to their experiences as a group, as well as the way that each of them develops individually. Based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose's book of real-life accounts, BAND OF BROTHERS was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who worked together on SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Hanks also directed one episode, featuring his son, Colin Hanks.

Customer Reviews

Band of Brothers comments
excellent series.
no rambos here.
makes you wonder why we still keep killing each other.
maybe that's what it was meant to do??

Outstanding, apart from the snow in episode 6!
As all have said, this is a magnificent series, and a wonderful companion piece to 'Saving Private Ryan', despite giving my son the impression that World War 2 started in 1944.

The only criticism I can make is of the snow in Episode 6. It is so clearly artificial. And because the episode is shot in a studio, it feels almost like Narnia. Some of the actors aren't even good at looking cold.

However the Bastogne story is totally redeemed by Episode 7, which can stand on its own as a lesson in appalling and great leadership. And they get the snow right too!

War: never been so much fun
An astonishing series, much superior to the Saving Private Ryan movie. The Bastogne episodes are particularly mesmerising, and chilling. I would like to see similar series covering North Africa, the invasion of Italy and the Eastern Front, but I suspect that is just wishful thinking. In an era of particularly vapid television, this series stands out as something substantial.