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Band of Brothers

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

The mini-series centers on the experiences of E Company ("Easy Company") of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, United States Army 101st Airborne Division and one of its officers, Richard Winters (played by Damian Lewis), 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 in the mini-series are based on Ambrose's research and recorded interviews with Easy Company veterans. A lot of literary license has been 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 in the mini-series 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).

A new 10-part mini-series from the creators of Band of Brothers (Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman), called The Pacific, is in development. The new mini-series will focus on the Pacific Theater of Operations and the United States Marine Corps. The project is due out in 2009, although this is subject to change.[5]

Contents

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 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,
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.

Wikiquote: 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

The miniseries has been in development since back in 1998 and is based on the Band of Brothers book by Stephen E. Ambrose. It was largely developed by Tom Hanks, 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 basic training at the Currahee training site and ending with the capitulation of Germany. The experiences of Major Richard Winters (1918?) are primarily at the forefront, 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.

As the series is based on real-life events, characters befall the same fate as their real world counterparts. As such, 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 thereby central in the story of the miniseries.

Production

Budget and promotion

Promotional poster for Band of Brothers.
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 dollars.[7] In fact, the budget consisted of approximately $125 million dollars, which comes to an average of $12 million dollars per episode, more expensive than any other television show, including other HBO-produced shows as The Sopranos.[7] An additional $15 million dollars 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 chartered by train to the site, where the series premiered on June 7, 2001.[11][9] Sponsoring the miniseries was also 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 dollars 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 £15 million for the rights to screen Band of Brothers.[13] Negotiations were monitored by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, who personally spoke to co-executive producer Spielberg.[13] Producer of comedy film An Everlasting Piece Jerome O'Connor alleged in a 2001 lawsuit against DreamWorks, Spielberg's own filmstudio, that Blair also loaned military equipment and 2,000 troops, while Spielberg gave Blair's son Euan a job in the production.[14] 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.[14]

Location

The series was shot over eight to 10 months at the Hatfield Aerodome in Hertfordshire, Britain, on which various sets, which included 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.[15]

Crew

Historical accuracy

In order to preserve historical accuracy, independant research was done outside of the Band of Brothers book by Ambrose, by Spielberg and Hanks. 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 Bill Guarnere, Ed Heffron and Amos Tayler were asked for input.[7][16] Dye (who also plays the role of Col. Robert F. Sink) also had the actors undergo a 10-day boot camp.[16] Similarly, there was a great attention for details on weapons and costumes. Simon Atherton, the weapons master, corresponded with veterans to match weapons and to scenes and assistant costume designer Joe Hobbs extensively used photos and veteran accounts.[7]

Similarly, most actors got into contact with the people they were meant to portray, often by telephone and several of the veterans came to the production.[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]

For additional accuracy, the veterans saw previews of the series and had to sign off on the episodes before they would be aired.[17]

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.

Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston as Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon respectively.
Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston as Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon respectively.
Since Band of Brothers focusses on the exploits of the entirety of Easy Company during the Second World War, the series features a large ensemble cast. It's important to note that all characters in the series are based on existing people. 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.[18]

Ron Livingston portrays Captain Lewis Nixon (1918?1995), Major Winters' best friend and frequent confidant during the series. The episode "Why We Fight" largely centres around 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 rumours between the soldiers starting in the third episode "Carentan".

Appearing alongside Winters and Nixon in all 10 episodes are Donnie Wahlberg as Second Lieutenant Carwood Lipton (1920?2001). The episode "The Breaking Point" features him prominently and the importance he carried in regards to Easy Company's morale. Scott Grimes as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey (1921?) and Peter Youngblood Hills as Staff Sergeant Darrel "Shifty" Powers (1923?).

Appearing in 9 episodes are Rick Gomez as Technician Fourth Grade George Luz (1921?1998), Michael Cudlitz as Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman (1920?2003), Robin Laing as Private First Class Edward "Babe" Heffron (1923-), Nicholas Aaron as Private First Class Robert "Popeye" Wynn (1921?2000), James Madio as Technician Fourth Grade Frank Perconte (1917-) and Shane Taylor as Technician Fifth Grade Eugene "Doc" Roe (1921?1998). Both Denver "Bull" Randleman and Eugene "Doc" Roe were the subjects of their own episodes, "The Replacements" and "Bastogne" respectively. The first featured Randleman's escape from a Nazi-occupied village in the Netherlands, and the latter Roe's experiences as a medic during the Siege of Bastogne.

Neal McDonough as First Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton (1921?), Dexter Fletcher as Staff Sergeant John Martin (1922?2005), Ross McCall as Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Liebgott (1915?1992) and Philip Barrantini as Private Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk (1922?1999) appear in 8 episodes.

Appearing in 7 episodes or fewer are:

Episodes

# Episode title Director Main character Original airdate

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 David Schwimmer's performance in the first episode, "Currahee" and the generation gap between the viewer and characters, which the journalist felt was a significant hurdle.[19]

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.[20]

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."[21]

Ratings

The premiere of Band of Brothers on September 9, 2001, drew 10 million viewers.[22] However two days later the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred and HBO immediately ceased its marketing campaign.[22] However, the second episode still drew 7.3 million viewers.[22]

Awards

The series was nominated for nineteen Emmy Awards, and won six, including "Outstanding mini-series," "Outstanding Casting for a miniseries, Movie, or a Special," and "Outstanding Directing for a mini-series, 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 mini-series were released in a DVD boxset on November 5, 2002. The set includes five discs containing all the episodes, and a bonus disc with the behind-the-scenes documentary We Stand Alone Together 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.

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 Mbp/s 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 March 31, 2008 Senior Vice President of Marketing for HBO, Sophia Chang, stated that a Blu-ray release of Band of Brothers is in the works and would be ready for release later in 2008. Warner Bros.'s has set a release date of November 11, 2008.[23]

Historical inaccuracies and errors during filming

Both Ambrose's book and the resulting series have been criticized with numerous minor and some major inaccuracies, many noted by 101st veterans. Among the historical errors in the television series:

Episode 1: "Currahee"

  • Thirteen non-commissioned officers in Easy Company submit a notice to resign their positions in the company. This could be considered mutiny, and was punishable by death under military law. The reason for this was their refusal to serve under their current commanding officer, Captain Herbert Sobel, whom many of the men considered to be inept as a combat leader. While Sobel was considered inept by many, and the 13 non-commissioned officers did not wish to serve with him, the resignation never took place. Amos Taylor, an Easy Company veteran stated that:
"What was said in the mini-series, that all of the noncoms had turned in their stripes or said they were going to turn in their stripes and resign, was not true. Harris and Ranney went to (Richard) Winters-he was the one officer that everybody thought they could trust-and explained the situation to him. Nothing was said about the rest of the NCOs at the meeting."

Episode 2: "Day of Days"

  • Lieutenant Colonel Robert Strayer is referred to as a major twice in this episode, he was still a major at the time but the mini series has LTC logo on his uniform. By a soldier informing Winters and Compton that he is looking for Easy Company's CO and later by Winters during the briefing for the Brecourt Manor assault.
  • Colonel Sink's Jeep driver, Private Gerald Loraine, goes to Brecourt Manor with Easy Company for the assault on the 105 millimeter guns. While the Germans are retreating, the mini-series shows Loraine shooting his rifle at the Germans and missing with all his shots. Seeing this, Sergeant Bill Guarnere insults Loraine, calling him a "jeep jockey", and then proceeds to shoot the Germans with his submachine gun. This is inaccurate as during the real assault, Loraine was the one who killed the Germans after Guarnere missed. According to Ambrose, in the book, three Germans were running away, Loraine hit one, Winters hit one, and Guarnere missed his man, and then Winters shot that German in the back. Then Guarnere shot all three wounded men.[24]
  • While assaulting the German artillery battery at Brecourt Manor, Carwood Lipton, climbs a tree to get a better view. While at the base of the tree and while climbing it, the soldier is armed with an M1 Garand. However, once in position at the top, the soldier is armed with an M1 Carbine.

Episode 3: "Carentan"

  • Albert Blithe fires twelve rounds from his M1 without reloading during the Battle of Bloody Gulch,[25] even though, in reality, the M1 can only hold eight rounds. Same inaccuracy recurs in the episode "Crossroads", when Captain Winters fires ten rounds from his M1 without reloading.
  • Blithe is shown to be wounded on D+25 (in the series), but got his Purple Heart (earned by being shot while investigating a farmhouse) on June 25 (D+19) and was awarded it on June 29 (D+23) in England.[26] In the Ambrose book, Band of Brothers, he indicated that the shooting happened on June 21 (D+15). Easy Company was pulled off the line on June 29 (D+23), relieved by 83rd Infantry Division. They returned to England on July 12 (D+36).[27]
  • The end of episode three states: "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948". Fellow Easy Company Currahee veterans interviewed while writing the mini-series Band of Brothers had thought that Blithe did not recover from his wounds, which they mistakenly recalled as a neck wound (in actuality he was shot in the right shoulder). Albert Blithe remained on active duty, was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in combat, served in the Korean War and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant, married with two children. He died in December 1967 of complications of surgery for a perforated ulcer after attending a memorial ceremony in Bastogne and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.[26][28]

Episode 4: "Replacements"

  • Bob Brewer is shot in the throat by a German sniper outside of Nuenen. In reality, he was shot while the 506th entered Eindhoven. The battle portrayed in the episode takes place in Nuenen, when in reality it took place between the town and Helmond, and the British tanks were all Cromwells, but in the miniseries they are reduced to three Cromwells and three Shermans. Lynn "Buck" Compton is loaded onto an army 6x6 truck after being shot through the buttocks, when he was actually loaded onto one of the two surviving Cromwell tanks.[29]
  • When the tanks are arriving to Nuenen, David Webster says that Vincent van Gogh was born there. In fact van Gogh only resided there from 1883 to 1885, van Gogh was born in Zundert.
  • On several occasions in the episode Private Webster translates Dutch into English, a language he did not speak.

Episode 5: "Crossroads"

  • According to Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich, Richard Winters was promoted to Major before David Webster returned to Easy Company from the hospital after getting injured in Holland. However, in "The Last Patrol", Winters was still Captain until he received his promotion at the end of the episode.

Episode 9: "Why We Fight"

  • The date says April 11, 1945 as the episode opens with the paratroopers overlooking German civilians cleaning up their streets. At the end of the episode, the show returns to this scene, at which point Captain Nixon tells the others that Hitler had killed himself. Hitler did not commit suicide until April 30, 1945.
  • Donald Malarkey was incorrectly portrayed as being present at the concentration camp. Also, he was incorrectly portrayed as being present at the taking of Eagle's Nest in the episode "Points". In fact, Malarkey was recovering at a hospital due to wounds he sustained.

Episode 10: "Points"

  • It is stated that Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Liebgott became a San Francisco taxi driver after the war, but most accounts, including that of his son, state that Joseph Liebgott in fact became a barber after returning home from the war.[30]
  • The series states that Easy Company was the first unit into Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest, capturing the town and surrounding area without incident. Historians usually identify the first Allied troops to arrive as the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division who secured Berchtesgaden and the Berghof, followed four days later by the French 2nd Armored Division who secured the Eagle's Nest, then 1st Battalion of the 506th, led by Company "C." This, however, may be incorrect. The 2nd Battalion of the 506th came into Berchtesgaden by a different route and lost men in a skirmish with the crews of two German 88 mm guns.
  • Controversy has come up in recent years as to precisely which unit captured Berchtesgaden, but in the book Beyond Band of Brothers, Major Dick Winters states "Major General John W. 'Iron Mike' O'Daniel's 3rd Infantry Division certainly seized neighboring Salzburg without opposition and may have had their lead elements enter Berchtesgaden before we (2nd Battalion, 506 PIR) arrived in force, but let the facts speak for themselves. If the 3rd Division was first into Berchtesgaden, where did they go? Berchtesgaden is a relatively small community. When I walked into the Berchtesgaden Hof with Lieutenant Welsh, neither of us saw anyone except the hotel staff. Goering's officers' club and wine cellar certainly would have drawn the attention of a Frenchman from LeClerc's 2nd Armored Division or a rifleman from the 3rd Division. I find it inconceivable to imagine that if the 3rd Division were there first, they left those beautiful Mercedes staff cars untouched for our men" (one staff car is in The Canadian War Museum).
  • Major Winters accepts the surrender of a German Colonel, who offers him an ornate Luger pistol. In the scene, Winters tells him to keep his sidearm, but in the Bonus Features DVD, the real Winters recalls the incident and shows the pistol (a Walther PP) he accepted. In Ambrose's book of the same title, he describes how when Winters examined the firearm, he found it had never been fired, and he hasn't fired it since. He shows this firearm in the HBO documentary We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company Also in book Beyond Band of Brothers: The war memoirs of Major Dick Winters written by Cole. C. Kingseed with Major Dick Winters it is said that the pistol was accepted but the rank of the German soldier was a Major not Colonel.

Notes

External links

Official websites

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