Band Of Brothers (DVD 2002)

Band of Brothers, is just the perfect series having to do with World War II. Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, directed by Phil Alden Robinson ("The sum of all fears") and Richard Loncraine ("Gathering storm"), starring Damian Lewis ("Dreamcatcher") and Ron Livingston ("Office Space"), this is the ultimate dvd for your collection.
It is the story of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne of the United States Army, and their amazing achievemnts between 1942 and 1944, in other words until the fall of Nazi Germany.
The series are based on the excellent book by Stephen Ambrose, and will remind you a lot "Saving Private Ryan". In the box set, you will find six discs, the five first of which contain ten episodes, which are the following:
1) Currahee
2) Day of days
3) Carentan
4) Replacements
5) Crossroads
6) Bastogne
7) The breaking point
8) The patrol
9) Why we fight
10) Points
The last disc, contains all the extras: a) an eighty - minute documentary named "We stand alone together", b) "making of" (thirty minutes), c) a TV spot for car company Jeep, and d) a very interseting "who is who" section".
Movie: 5/5
Extras: 5/5
Sound (Dolby 5.1): 5/5
Picture (1.78:1 widescreen): 5/5
Overall: 5/5
I would absolutely recommend you this dvd. Very nice, -and with historic importance- selection for your collection.

Band of Brothers follows the fortunes of Easy Company in WWII from initial training through the trauma of battle, all the way to victory in 1945.
I have been hoping that this was coming out on DVD - I watched the whole series on BBC2 and was completely engrossed by the story, the production, the acting and the sound. I have seen many war films (from Apocalypse through Full Metal Jacket to Saving Private Ryan) and can honestly say that I have never been so moved by a film of any genre. This was the first time that the real horror of fighting a war has sunk in.

The combination of its length (c.10hours?) and its engaging script meant that you develop a deep understanding of the characters and the hell they had to go through (coupled with the knowledge that it is based on true events). The relationship that you as the viewer build with the members of Easy is intense - you really feel the extent of their loss as slowly their numbers reduce.

This is not so much a movie as a insight into history - it should be seen by everybody as a reminder of what these and other soldiers go through in the middle of a war. It's realism is astonishing (not that I've ever been unfortunate enough to witness the real thing).

I am hoping they come up with the goods on DVD (proper 5.1 soundtrack and plenty of additional scenes) - I'm sure that a 'Director's Cut' could take it past 12 hours, each one of which I would be happy to see again and again. The interviews with the surviving members of Easy Company were incredibly moving and served as a reminder that you were in fact watching real life and not just a throw-away two hour slice of entertainment.

Much praise is heaped upon crap Hollywood blockbusters. This is what I call quality film entertainment, however (as far as I have heard) it has remained largley low key.