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Band of Brothers (miniseries)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kusonaga (talk | contribs) at 06:23, 16 November 2009 (→‎Cast and characters: BoB had a very large cast; we don't need to list all of them, prominent characters/cast members are those listed in the opening credits). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Band of Brothers
Band of Brothers intertitle
Written byNovel:
Stephen Ambrose
Screenplay:
Erik Jendresen
Tom Hanks
John Orloff
E. Max Frye
Graham Yost
Bruce C. McKenna
Erik Bork
Directed byPhil Alden Robinson
Richard Loncraine
Mikael Salomon
David Nutter
Tom Hanks
David Leland
David Frankel
Tony To
Starringsee Cast below
ComposerMichael Kamen
Country of originUnited States
United Kingdom
Original languagesEnglish
German
French
Dutch
Spanish
Italian
No. of episodes10 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersSteven Spielberg (executive)
Tom Hanks (executive)
Preston Smith
Erik Jendresen
Stephen Ambrose
CinematographyRemi Adefarasin
Joel J. Ransom
Running time705 minutes (in total)
Production companiesDreamWorks Television
Home Box Office
Playtone
British Broadcasting Corporation
Original release
ReleaseSeptember 9 (2001-09-09) –
October 4, 2001 (2001-10-04)

Band of Brothers is a 2001 ten-part television World War II miniseries based on the book of the same title written by historian and biographer Stephen Ambrose. It was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks after their collaboration on the World War II film Saving Private Ryan (1998).[1] The episodes first aired in 2001 on HBO and are still run frequently on various TV networks around the world.[2][3]

The narrative centers on the experiences of E Company ("Easy Company") of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, from Easy's basic training at Toccoa, Georgia, through the American airborne landings in Normandy, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of Bastogne and on to the end of the war.[1]

The events portrayed are based on Ambrose's research and recorded interviews with Easy Company veterans. A large amount of literary license was taken with the episodes, and other reference books will highlight the differences between recorded history and the film version.[4] All of the characters portrayed are based on actual members of Easy Company; some of them can be seen in prerecorded interviews as a prelude to each episode (their identities, however, are not revealed until the close of the finale). Spielberg is producing a sequel miniseries called The Pacific that will premiere in March 2010.[5]

Title etymology

The title for the book and the series comes from a famous speech delivered by Henry V of England before the Battle of Agincourt in William Shakespeare's Henry V; Act IV, Scene 3:

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
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,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. q: Shakespeare King Henry, V

A shortened version of the quotation appears on the first page of the book, and is also quoted by Carwood Lipton in the final episode.

The phrase was also often used by Horatio Nelson referring to his subordinate captains: "I had the happiness to command a band of brothers."

Development

Band of Brothers was largely developed by Tom Hanks and Erik Jendresen, who spent months detailing the plot outline and individual episodes.[6] The role of Steven Spielberg most prominently consisted of his being "the final eye" on the series and using Saving Private Ryan, the film on which Hanks and Spielberg worked together earlier, as a template for the series.[7] The accounts of Easy Company veterans such as Don Malarkey were later used in production to add as much detail as possible.[7]

Plot synopsis

The Band of Brothers miniseries details, if at times exaggerated or condensed, the real-life exploits of Easy Company during the Second World War over the course of ten episodes, starting with their jump training at the Currahee training site in Toccoa, Georgia and ending with the capitulation of Germany. The experiences of Major Richard Winters (1918–) are a primary focus, as he attempts to keep his men together and safe. While the series stars a large ensemble cast, episodes generally feature one character prominently, following their particular actions during certain events (for example, the Siege of Bastogne and Operation Market Garden).

As the series is based on real-life events, the fate of the characters is the same as their real world counterparts. Numerous characters either die or sustain injuries, some of which lead to them being sent home or escaping from the hospital to rejoin their comrades at the battlefront. The experiences and the moral, mental, and physical hurdles the soldiers must overcome are central to the story.

Production

Budget and promotion

Promotional poster for Band of Brothers.

Band of Brothers is the most expensive television miniseries ever made by HBO or any other television network.[8][9][10] An early report placed the budget at $110 million.[7] In fact, the budget was approximately $125 million, which comes to an average of $12 million per episode, more expensive than any other television show, including other HBO productions.[7] An additional $15 million were allocated towards the promotional campaign, which involved, among other things, hosting screenings for WWII veterans.[8]

One of those screenings was at Utah Beach, Normandy. On June 7, 2001, 47 Easy Company veterans were flown to Paris and then by chartered train to the site, where the series premiered on 7 June 2001.[11][9] Also sponsoring the miniseries was then German-owned automobile manufacturer Chrysler, as its Jeeps were used to great extent in the series, with an estimate of 600 to 1000 vehicles.[12] Chrysler spent $5 to $15 million on its advertising campaign, based on and using footage from Band of Brothers.[12] Each of the spots was reviewed and approved by co-executive producers Hanks and Spielberg.[12]

The BBC paid £7 million ($10.1 million) as co-production partner, the most it had ever paid for a bought-in program, but screened it on the minority BBC Two channel. It was denied that this was because it was "not mainstream enough."[13][14] Negotiations were monitored by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, who personally spoke to co-executive producer Spielberg.[15] Producer of comedy film An Everlasting Piece Jerome O'Connor alleged in a 2001 lawsuit against DreamWorks, Spielberg's own film studio, that Blair also loaned military equipment and 2,000 troops, while Spielberg gave Blair's son Euan a job in the production.[16] According to O'Connor, his movie was "sabotaged" because DreamWorks feared it would interfere with Spielberg receiving his British knighthood, which he did in 2001.[16]

Location

The series was shot over eight to 10 months at the Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, Britain, on which various sets, including replicas of European towns, were built.[11] This location was also used to shoot the film Saving Private Ryan.[7][10] Twelve different towns were constructed on the large open field, including the towns of Bastogne, Belgium; Eindhoven, Netherlands; and Carentan, France.[17]

The village of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England was used extensively in the early episodes to depict the site of the company's training in England and also for scenes later in the series.

The scenes set in Germany and Austria were shot in Switzerland, in and near the village of Brienz in the Bernese Oberland and the nearby Hotel Giessbach. Some of the landscapes described as being in Austria are of famous and identifiable views of this part of the Swiss Alps (namely the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau).

Historical accuracy

In order to preserve historical accuracy, additional research was done outside of the Band of Brothers book by Ambrose, Spielberg, and Hanks. One such source was Easy Company soldier David Kenyon Webster, a budding writer. His memoir, Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich, was published by LSU Press in 1994 after his untimely death in a boating accident. Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers book quotes liberally from Webster's then-unpublished diary entries. Webster's trained eye, honesty, and writing skills helped give the book and miniseries a tone not available in other G.I.s' diaries because it captured in detail the daily life of the infantryman working his way with comrades across Europe.

Dale Dye, a retired Marine Corps captain and consultant on Saving Private Ryan, as well as most of the surviving Easy Company veterans, such as Richard Winters, Bill Guarnere, Ed Heffron, and Amos Taylor, were asked for input.[7][18] Dye (who additionally plays the role of Robert F. Sink) had the actors undergo a 10-day boot camp.[18] Similarly, great attention was paid to details of weapons and costumes. Simon Atherton, the weapons master, corresponded with veterans to match weapons to scenes, and assistant costume designer Joe Hobbs extensively used photos and veteran accounts.[7]

Similarly, most actors had contact with the people they were meant to portray, often by telephone, and several of the veterans came to the production site.[7] Nonetheless, co-executive producer Tom Hanks admitted that they could not provide complete accuracy: "We've made history fit onto our screens. We had to condense down a vast number of characters, fold other people's experiences into 10 or 15 people, have people saying and doing things others said or did. We had people take off their helmets to identify them, when they would never have done so in combat. But I still think it is three or four times more accurate than most films like this."[11]

As a final accuracy check, the veterans saw previews of the series and approved the episodes before they were aired.[19]

Nonetheless, some inaccuracies did manage to get into the series, such as in the case of Albert Blithe. Blithe is a focal point of the third episode, which incorrectly states that he died in 1948. In fact, Blithe lived on to 1967[20].

Cast and characters

Note: Ranks displayed are the ranks that the soldiers had at the end of World War II (15 August 1945), which is also the end of the series.

File:BoBWintersNixon.jpg
Damian Lewis as Major Richard Winters and Ron Livingston as Captain Lewis Nixon.

Since Band of Brothers focuses entirely on the exploits of "E" (Easy) Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during the Second World War, the series features a large ensemble cast, based on existing persons. The main character of the show is arguably Major Richard Winters (1918–), played by Damian Lewis, who leads the cast for most of the episodes and is the main subject of the episodes "Day of Days", "Crossroads" and the final episode, "Points". Tom Hanks, co-executive producer of the miniseries, explained that they needed a central character to tie the story together, and felt that Damian Lewis was best for the role.[21]

Ron Livingston portrays Captain Lewis Nixon (1918–1995), Major Winters' best friend and frequent confidant during the series. The episode "Why We Fight" largely centers on him, dealing with his problems with alcoholism in particular. Captain Ronald Speirs (1920–2007), played by Matthew Settle, leads the Company into the field in the latter half of the series and is subject of rumors between the soldiers starting in the third episode, "Carentan."

Appearing alongside Winters and Nixon in all ten episodes are Donnie Wahlberg as Second Lieutenant Carwood Lipton (1920–2001), Scott Grimes as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey (1921–), Peter Youngblood Hills as Staff Sergeant Darrell "Shifty" Powers, (1923–2009) and Shane Taylor as Technician Fifth Grade Eugene "Doc" Roe (1921–1998), although both were uncredited in the opening sequence. The episode "The Breaking Point" features Lipton prominently and the importance he carried in regards to Easy Company's morale, while "Bastogne" Features Doc Roe's experience as a medic during the siege of Bastogne.

Appearing in nine episodes are Rick Gomez as Technician Fourth Grade George Luz (1921–1998), Michael Cudlitz as Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman (1920–2003), Nicholas Aaron as Private First Class Robert "Popeye" Wynn (1921–2000), and James Madio as Technician Fourth Grade Frank Perconte (1917-). Denver "Bull" Randleman was the subject of his own episode, "Replacements". This featured Randleman's escape from a German-occupied village in the Netherlands. Robin Laing as Private First Class Edward "Babe" Heffron (1923-) and Philip Barrantini as Private Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk (1922–1999) are both uncredited in the opening sequence but also appear in nine episodes.

Neal McDonough as First Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton (1921–), Dexter Fletcher as Staff Sergeant John "Pee Wee" Martin (1922–2005), Ross McCall as Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Liebgott (1915–1992) appear in eight episodes. George Calil as Sergeant James "Moe" Alley Jr. (1922-2008), Nolan Hemmings as Staff Sergeant Charles E. Grant (1922-1985) and Rick Warden as 1st Lieutenent Harry Welsh (1918-1995), although uncredited in the opening appear in eight episodes.

Credited in the opening in seven episodes or less are:

Episodes

Main article: List of Band of Brothers episodes

Reception

Critical reception

Band of Brothers has been met with largely positive reviews. Caryn James of The New York Times called Band of Brothers "an extraordinary 10-part series that masters its greatest challenge: it balances the ideal of heroism with the violence and terror of battle, reflecting what is both civilized and savage about war." However, the article did criticize the generation gap between the viewer and characters, which the journalist felt was a significant hurdle.[22]

Robert Bianco of USA Today said the series was "significantly flawed and yet absolutely extraordinary — just like the men it portrays", rating the series four out of four stars. Bianco noted that it was hard to keep track of and sympathize with individual characters during battle scenes.[23]

Tom Shales of The Washington Post was not as positive, stating that though the series is "at times visually astonishing", it suffers from "disorganization, muddled thinking and a sense of redundancy". Shales noted the lack of presence from the cast: "few of the characters stand out strikingly against the backdrop of the war. In fact, this show is all backdrop and no frontdrop. When you watch two hours and still aren't quite sure who the main characters are, something is wrong."[24]

Ratings

The premiere of Band of Brothers on 9 September 2001, drew 10 million viewers.[25] However, two days later the September 11, 2001, attacks occurred and HBO immediately ceased its marketing campaign.[25] The second episode nonetheless drew 7.3 million viewers.[25]

Awards

The series was nominated for nineteen Emmy Awards, and won six, including "Outstanding miniseries," "Outstanding Casting for a miniseries, Movie, or a Special," and "Outstanding Directing for a miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special." It also won a Golden Globe for "Best miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television," an American Film Institute award, and was selected for a Peabody Award for "...relying on both history and memory to create a new tribute to those who fought to preserve liberty." It also won a 2003 Writers Guild Award (Television, Adapted Long Form) for episode six ("Bastogne").

DVD release

All ten parts of the miniseries were released in a DVD boxset on 5 November 2002. The set includes five discs containing all the episodes, and a bonus disc with the behind-the-scenes documentary We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company and the video diary of actor Ron Livingston, who played the character Lewis Nixon. A collector's edition of the box set was also released, containing the same discs but held in a tin case. Band of Brothers is the highest selling TV DVD of all time, having brought in over $200 million in revenue.[26]

Released as an exclusive HD DVD TV series in Japan in 2007. Spread on 5 HD DVDs, the set has 1080p MPEG-4 AVC video and DTS-HD @ 2.0 Mbps Japanese and English audio tracks with optional Japanese subtitles. HD DVD 5 has the documentary We Stand Alone which is shared with the normal DVD Set. Unlike Japanese HD DVDs, this set is housed in traditional HD red cases. Released by Showgate and Toshiba. They are currently out of production.

On 31 March 2008 Senior Vice President of Marketing for HBO, Sophia Chang, stated that a Blu-ray release of Band of Brothers was in the works and would be ready for release later in 2008. It was released on 11 November 2008 and has become a Blu-ray Disc top seller.[27]

See also

Band of Brothers books

A variety of books have been published, either before or after the HBO miniseries, which give further insight into Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne, the company known as the original Band of Brothers.

Books include:

  • Band of Brothers, by Stephen Ambrose.
  • Parachute Infantry, by David Kenyon Webster Published posthumously in 1994. (Webster died in a shark fishing accident in 1961).
  • Beyond Band of Brothers, by Major Richard Winters and Colonel Cole Kingseed. The first of Dick Winters' memoirs.
  • Biggest Brother, by Larry Alexander. The second of Dick Winters' memoirs.
  • The Way We Were, by Forrest Guth and Michael de Trez. This is a collection of Guth's war time pictures, published by a European company.
  • Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends, by William Guarnere and Edward Heffron with Robyn Post. Book hit the New York Times Best Seller List.
  • Call of Duty, by Lt. Lynn Compton with Marcus Brotherton. Recounts how Buck Compton went on to have a career as attorney and prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy.
  • Easy Company Soldier, by Donald Malarkey with Bob Welch.
  • Easy Company, by Genesis Publications. This is a limited edition, large-format, coffee-table styled book.
  • We Who Are Alive and Remain, by Marcus Brotherton. Oral history book released in 2009 featuring 20 of the surviving members of E Co.

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Drama: Band of Brothers". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved: 2008-06-09.
  2. ^ Snead, Elizabeth. " Tom Hanks Jumps on Bandwagon". TV Guide. 22 June 2001. Retrieved: 2008-06-09.
  3. ^ "Band of Brothers Minisite". History.com. Retrieved: 2008-06-09.
  4. ^ In particular, the books Biggest Brother: The Life of Dick Winters and Parachute Infantry, an autobiography by David Kenyon Webster. Also, the website Trigger Time by 101st historian Mark Bando has a detailed discussion of the miniseries' historical accuracy.
  5. ^ http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=24621 Empire magazine April 23, 2009
  6. ^ Mifflin, Lawrie (2001-06-07). "TV Notes ; World War II, The Mini-Series". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Hohenadel, Kristin (2000-12-17). "Television/Radio ; Learning How the Private Ryans Felt and Fought". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)[1]
  8. ^ a b Carter, Bill (2001-09-03). "On Television ; HBO Bets Pentagon-Style Budget on a World War II Saga". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)[2]
  9. ^ a b Levin, Gary (2001-04-18). "HBO Cable network sets itself apart with daring fare". USA Today. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ a b Levin, Gary (2001-01-09). "'Brothers' invades fall lineup HBO's WWII miniseries battles network premieres". USA Today. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b c Riding, Alan (2001-06-07). "Arts Abroad ; A Normandy Landing, This One for a Film". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ a b c Elliott, Stuart (2001-09-10). "The Media Business: Advertising ; Jeep's manufacturer seeks to capitalize on the vehicle's featured role in 'Band of Brothers.'". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ BBC News: Spielberg epic loses prime slot, August 15, 2001
  14. ^ The true drama of war The New Statesman, October 8, 2001
  15. ^ Hellen, Nicholas (2001-04-08). "BBC pays Pounds 15m for new Spielberg war epic". The Sunday Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ a b Rush, George and Molloy, Joanna with Oggunnaike, Lola and Anderson, Kasia (1999-12-01). "No 'piece', no justice, says suit". The Independent. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Garner, Clare (1999-12-01). "Hatfield prepares for invasion of Spielberg brigade". The Independent. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ a b Huff, Richard (2001-09-09). "Actors & Vets Bond In 'Band Of Brothers'". Daily News (New York). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ MacDonald, Sandy (2002-09-15). "Miniseries put actors through boot camp". The Daily News (Halifax). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association website - MSG Albert Blithe - June 25, 1923-December 17, 1967, (accessed 2009-01-01).
  21. ^ Kronke, David (2001-09-02). "Battle ready; World War II Miniseries by Hanks, Spielberg Coming To HBO". Los Angeles Daily News. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ James, Caryn (2001-09-07). "TV Weekend; An Intricate Tapestry Of a Heroic Age". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Bianco, Robert (2001-09-07). "'Band' masterfully depicts horror, complexity of war". USA Today. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Shales, Tom (2001-08-07). "'Band of Brothers': Ragged WWII Saga Off to a Slow March". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ a b c Lyman, Rick (2001-10-16). "Fewer Soldiers March Onscreen; After Attacks, Filmmakers Weigh Wisdom of Military Stories". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Video Business 12 August 2008 [3]
  27. ^ DVD Shop: Band of Brothers. — Warner Bros.
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