The SmarK DVD Rant For Band Of Brothers

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The SmarK DVD Rant for Band of Brothers

“But we in it shall be remember’d;

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile”

– King Henry V, Act IV, scene 3.

Hey, I’m not normally a Shakespeare kinda guy, but sometimes you just have to go for it.

The Film

For those of you living under a rock for the past couple of years, Band of Brothers is the Hanks/Spielberg collaboration covering the exploits of one company of paratroopers (the 506th Airborne — “Easy Company”) during World War II, based on the books by Stephen Ambrose, via a 10-hour mini-series that cost nearly $120 million to make and ran for 10 episodes on HBO in 2001.

In a nutshell, Band of Brothers is a big story about little people. What I mean by that is that generally movies about the Second World War are told from the perspective of the people who were in control of the situation — the leaders, the Pattons, the politicians — and the soldiers were portrayed mainly as pawns in a giant game of chess. However, the slew of Vietnam movies in the 80s and 90s seems to inspired a new breed of war movie, following the human side of things instead of the political side of it. The how and why of the fighting becomes less important than the fighting itself and the effects on the characters, and that was shown to great effect in Saving Private Ryan, and it’s spiritual sequel, Band of Brothers. While there are expensive special effects and CGI used here, it’s rarely done for the sake of having it there. Everything is from the point of view of the characters — we’re only in the air when they’re jumping, and when the Zeroes start bombing them, we only see the bombs, not the planes. Much like the adults in Charlie Brown are rarely-seen rumors talked about by the kids, larger authority figures like generals are restricted to giving off-screen orders via subordinates. Once a character like Richard Winters moves up to the rank of Major in the ninth episode, he is both symbolically and literally moved out of the main action of the story. This series is about the grunts — the privates and enlisted men, who can only hope to make Sergeant, or at best, a field commission to lieutenant. It only covers a year and a bit, but feels like it’s covering a decade, because the experience ages the main characters so much. By the end, bright-eyed young privates have become war-weary and gruff sergeants who shrug off the German bombing runs of a small town, because they’ve already resigned themselves to dying if it comes to that. That’s powerful stuff. It’s also a story about a weird kind of alienation and camaraderie, where men are granted status within the group by “taking one for the team” via war injuries, but excised for spending too long recovering in the hospital rather than breaking out and rejoining the company on the front lines, where certain death awaits. It makes for some very complex relationships between the men, especially when that gung-ho attitude results in death or serious injury and the survivors are left to feel the guilt for pushing them to that limit.

The episodes are either intro’d or outro’d by the real members of the 506th Airborne, upon whom the characters in the miniseries were based. Listening to them telling their stories about what happened is almost as powerful (and in some cases, more powerful) than seeing it played out on the screen, because you know that it’s no act.

The show is comprised of 10 episodes, as follows

Disc One:

– Curahee. The introduction to the main characters sees them training in the Toccoa training center in Georgia, going through the intense physical and mental toughening needed to be a paratrooper. The name comes from Curahee mountain (“We Stand Alone, Together”, also the theme for the series), which the troopers were made to run up and down every day, without water or rest. For many, it became a matter of pride to do so even without prompting. This episode introduces Lieutenant Richard Winters (Damian Lewis), first lieutenant of the company, and Captain Sobel (David Schwimmer, playing totally opposite his character on Friends), who is a fabulous motivator for training but has little natural feel for the battlefield. The battle of wills between the two men leads to an understated (but fabulously satisfying) payoff moment in the final episode. Other minor characters who become important later include smartass radio specialist Private George Luz (Rick Gomez, looking eerily like Sam Rockwell) and tough-guy Bill Guarnere, one of the most animated and likeable of all the characters. Even the real person comes across as lively and ready for a fight, 60 years later. As the episode closes, the men are prepping to jump for D-Day.

– Day of Days. One of the real “showoff’ episodes as far as CGI and sound design go, this is D-Day as seen from the eyes of those jumping OVER the enemy lines and trying to figure out where the hell they are and where the rest of the company has gotten to. War, of course, is rarely as organized as the newsreels would have you believe. This leads to Winters leading an assault on German guns hidden at a farm called Brecourt Manner, in a maneuver that became famous for its almost flawless execution and earned medals for everyone involved. The story also introduces a young private named Hall, who pays the price for his innocence and youth by the end. That happens a lot over the course of the series.

Disc Two:

– Carentan. Focusing on Easy’s campaign to take back the French town of Carentan, this one revolves around Private Blithe, who finds that summoning the will to kill some Germans is harder than it seems. After a massive bombing from the Germans leaves several of the members of Easy injured or worse, everyone heads back to England to recover, only to find that they’re headed back to France again right away, for an attempt to liberate Holland in the disastrous Project Market-Garden.

– Replacements. This is about the drop in Holland, and how the deaths of the paratroopers in France caused a rift between the survivors and the replacement troops. Viewed as outsiders by those who lived through D-Day, the replacements are forced to not only prove themselves as soldiers to the army, but to their comrades as well. Around here we start to meet some of the other major characters, like the crazed (but effective) Lieutenant Ron Spiers, and Lieutenant Buck Compton. Unfortunately, although their march through Einhoven is met with delight by the citizens there, by the time the Germans have shelled the shit out of the town and left several members of Easy either dead or injured, the jubilation has worn off and Easy is left weakened and outnumbered again. And things are about to get much worse

Disc Three:

– Crossroads. Another Winters story, although the last one really focusing on him, as he recounts the events of a mission in Holland for Easy Company where he fires his last shots for the war, killing a young German solider and setting off a rather huge firefight with a German force that is invading from both sides of the hills and yet still loses. For this, Winters is promoted to XO of the battalion, although he considers this a demotion because he loses control of Easy Company. With the weather worsening, Easy is informed that they will be going to Batogne in France, holding the line (without ammo, food or shelter) in the famous Battle of the Bulge.

– Bastogne. Part of a mini-movie within the miniseries, Bastogne focuses on digging holes in the snow and nervously waiting for the Germans to bomb the shit out of you, and what that does to your psyche. Hint: It doesn’t help. The main character here is “Doc”, who is of course the medic, and is hampered by the lack of bandages, plasma, and especially sharp scissors needed. A friendship with a French nurse calms his nerves somewhat, but you know what happens to good people in war. Easy Company is informed that General Patton will be rescuing them soon, which is news to them because they don’t think they need rescuing. This one makes you realize exactly what soldiers were having to face, not only from the enemy but from the elements, every day in Europe, and it’s a damn fine episode, too.

Disc Four:

– The Breaking Point. The second part of the Battle of the Bulge mini-movie, as Easy is faced with a moronic commanding officer who always seems to be going on long walks while the Germans are escalating hostilities. The episode focuses on the excellent Donnie Wahlberg as Sergeant Lipton, who becomes the natural choice for leader of the company, although he himself doesn’t realize it. This is also one of the goriest episodes, as two people lose their leg in graphic fashion, and another two are blown to bits while sitting in their foxhole. Despite the deaths and the cold, Easy Company has pushed on to Foy by the end of the battle, and the Germans are pretty much done for and no longer fighting with the same heart they once had.

– The Last Patrol. Another episode about alienation, as Pvt. Webster returns from the hospital, only to find himself an unwelcome guest with his own company. While stationed on the outskirts of Germany, the high command decides to go for prisoners, resulting in a midnight run across the river to a German encampment and the senseless loss of a life. Tom’s son Colin Hanks stars as a lieutenant fresh out of West Point and looking for combat experience, which he gets in all-too-real fashion in short order.

Disc Five:

– Why We Fight. Well, since Spielberg is producing, you knew there was gonna be a death camp episode, and this is it. Not to trivialize it, of course, but it was somewhat predictable that they’d go that route eventually. By now the war is pretty much done with and the Americans are just mopping up the massive amounts of surrendering Germans (300,000 in one shot — and you thought that France was pathetic!), and suddenly discovering giant camps of starving Jews on the outskirts of the cities. The title comes from a hilarious exchange on the back of a truck between Luz and a private, about the news article entitled “Why We Fight”. The answer to that turns out to be more simple than you’d think. You see, apparently the Germans were bad people. How about that. By the end, everyone is ready to go home, but first one last objective remains: Germany itself, and Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.

– Points. The final episode of the series sees the bored and drunk troops waiting for anything to do while sitting around in Austria, and violence frequently results. A trip to the Eagle’s Nest provides momentary distraction, but soon everyone is informed that they’ll be shipping off for Japan, and training begins in earnest once again. This provides a nice bit of closure to the Sobel-Winters relationship, as Winters is now a Major and wants the proper salute from the visiting trainer as a result. And the show closes, as it should, with the men, as the war is declared officially over and Winters recounts what happened to the major players in the story and we get to meet the real (surviving) people and put names to the faces.

An obvious labor of love for Spielberg and noted war-buff Hanks, Band of Brothers is more than just an epic war movie, it’s a story about regular people forced by circumstance to become something more, and an exploration of how far those regular people can go in the name of serving a cause and a group of people who they bond with. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts, and the final quote from one of the surviving members says it all: “I wasn’t a hero, but I served with a group of them.”

Band of Brothers is a moving and gripping experience that you owe it to yourself, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II, to watch. Never overly sentimental about the deaths and yet maintaining a human face on all the carnage at all times, you cannot help but come away from this series changed forever, at least in the way you view the Second World War. With amazing acting, directing and writing, there is no weak episodes here or “star turns” that detract from the team spirit shown throughout, both in the story and behind the camera. Everyone is equally human, and anyone can die. Just like in real life.

The Video:

As you’d imagine with Spielberg, this looks nothing short of breathtaking on DVD. HBO has smartly chosen to put only two one-hour episodes per disc, resulting in staggeringly beautiful video that is reference quality. The colors are exactly as meant to be seen, with varied color-timing techniques used to de-saturate things (ala Private Ryan) and give a feeling of being in a 40s documentary at times. By the end of the war, in Austria, the full greens of the hillsides and blues of the sky are back, and it’s like looking out a window. I couldn’t find any compression artifacts, contrast problems or flaws in the video at all. Truly amazing.

The Audio:

If the video doesn’t floor you, the sound will. Available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS, be prepared to hit the deck when bullets start flying over your head, or hold onto the coffee table when the Germans bomb Bastogne and cause the subwoofer to BOOM in time with the explosions. Crystal clear and powerful on both tracks, they are among the best war-movie soundtracks I’ve ever heard, including the amazing Saving Private Ryan Utah Beach scene. I prefer the DTS because I’m something of a DTS snob these days, but either one will leave your skull vibrating, so PLAY IT LOUD.

The Extras:

There’s two main extra features. The first is located on all five of the episodic discs, as you get a “field guide” that covers everything from maps to an explanation of the ranks and insignias used. This is a truly ingenious addition to a sprawling war movie that can get confusing at times. The second is an entire sixth disc, devoted to two documentaries. There’s “We Stand Alone Together”, which is an 80-minute special from HBO essentially collecting the interviews with the Easy Company survivors and presenting them as one cohesive program rather than snippets before each episode of the show. It’s grouped into a timeline following that of the main program, and makes the show that much more powerful when you see how closely the real events were followed and the effect it had on the real people. Watching Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron proudly walk through the forest of Bastogne in 2001 is a moving experience, and the whole thing is excellent and would have made a fine DVD alone. The second documentary is a 30-minute HBO featurette that goes behind-the-scenes of making the series, and it’s the usual stuff, with cast and crew interviews and a neat look at the CGI used. Hearing Damian Lewis (Winters) talking with his natural British accent is a bit off-putting at first. Finally, there’s Ron Livingston’s Video Diaries, as the producers gave him a camera and let him loose, filming everything as he went. Neat stuff. You also get the usual DVD-ROM weblinks.

The Packaging:

Another very cool thing here is the case, which is a no-bullshit metal case that screams military efficiency. Unfortunately, the discs inside are folded into a weird cardboard backing that can be awkward to maneuver (I have enough trouble with roadmaps, let alone DVDs based on that design ) and is only attached to one side of the case. So if you want disc one, you have to unfold the whole thing. Awkward to use, but it looks cool as hell.

Ratings:

Film: *****

Video: *****

Audio: *****

Extras: *****