Bonding with Band of Brothers

I don’t have cable, so my television intake consists of watching movies and renting seasons of televisions shows. A few weeks ago, Jeff and I rented Band of Brothers. We just finished watching it last night, and I want to talk a moment to rave about how good it was.

As both a history-lover and a “war-related specialist,” I was eager to watch this critically-acclaimed miniseries. When it came out in 2001, I was only about 14 years old, and was avidly watching other things. When I started taking history courses at university, my classmates couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it. I promised I would, and now, three years later, I finally did.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the miniseries, here’s a bit of background:

The 10 episodes take viewers through the WWII adventures of Easy Company, an American volunteer paratrooper unit. It outlines their activities from the time they first jumped behind enemy lines on D-Day, to the end of their tour at Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s mountain.

All of the actors played real men, many of whom were still alive while Band of Brothers was being filmed. At the beginning of each episode, the real-life soldiers shared memories and anecdotes. Real footage of Easy Company was followed and re-created, and many of the actors even resembled the real soldiers they portrayed.

Overall, it was one of the best depictions of events during the Second World War that I have ever seen.

What about the acting?

The cast included a variety of well-known and unknown actors. Donnie Wahlberg (Dreamcatcher), Ron Livingston (Sex and the City series, Office Space), and Damian Lewis (Dreamcatcher) had lead roles, and each man was fantastic.

I was initially sceptical about Livingston in a title role, and during the first few episodes all I could picture was Berger from Sex and the City. I also wasn’t sure about Wahlberg, but I had already seen his performance as Duddits in Dreamcatcher, and knew that he could act.

I must also admit that I have a huge crush on Damian Lewis. Not because he’s some sort of hunky sex symbol, but because the man can seriously act. He made Dreamcatcher. I was truly terrified of him when he became the creepy alien guy. I was especially scared of the alien’s voice. I did a bit of research, and Lewis is actually English. He was doing an American accent, and then falling back into his traditional voice for the alien. Good work.

Other outstanding actors who stood out for me included Scott Grimes (Robin Hood – 2010), Neal McDonough (88 Minutes), and Frank John Hughes (Catch Me If You Can).

Watch Band of Brothers. It’s worth it...

The special features at the end are also seriously worth a look. Included is the documentary of Easy Company that was produced in conjunction with the miniseries. It features commentary from all of the men still alive today. They share memories and anecdotes as we are taken, step by step, through their journey across Europe.

I will warn you, though, that the documentary is pretty serious stuff. I cried my way through the last thirty minutes. Not because it was horrible to experience, but because watching men remember the war is both saddening and inspiring. It`s important to talk about what happened, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Lest we forget.