Band Of Brothers...

[bassfisher02]

Is anyone familiar with both the book and movie Band Of Brothers? I have a report to do finding the differences between book and movie, and even though I've read the book, and watched the movie, I cant seem to identify differences. I'm not too good with contrasting things and finding good detail in stuff like a book and movie, what I mean is when I watch the movie and read the book its hard for me to connect them and understand differences for some reason. any help would be much appreciated, and I've already tried looking on sites such as SparkNotes, etc etc. I've also Googled with no results. Tahnks again.

[JB]

First of all, I realize that my commentary about Band of Brothers is quite lengthy, and for that I apologize. But I feel I would be doing a great disservice to the Band of Brothers experience by not being as thorough as possible.

Experiencing Band of Brothers starts not in the battlefields of Europe, nor in Camp Toccoa, Georgia. It begins in your hand, with the classically beautiful packaging of the 10 episode, six disc DVD set that is housed in a metal tin that at first glance resembles a military I.D. dog tag. With sepia-tone printing and logo embossing that emulates photography of the period, the tin opens up to reveal an accordion style pull out of all six discs and a table of contents printed in the inside of the front cover. It would only make sense to house a story of such humanity and historical import in such a well-designed package. It's almost as if you are opening a time capsule of sorts, that reveals the story of a dieing generation of Americans. Just another example of the attention to detail that makes the Band of Brothers experience so riveting.

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have, on the heels of the success of 1998's Saving Private Ryan, collaborated once again to produce an HBO original television series that immortalizes the true events and actions of American soldiers in their campaign across northern Europe to destroy Hitler's reign of terror. They bring to life the writing of Stephen Ambrose, an author and biographical historian who has also written about Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower. With the largest budget to date for a television mini-series, over $120 million, Band of Brothers is a story of grandiose proportions that is one of the most moving and humbling video experiences in my life. What amount of money would be considered too high a cost to justify the documentation of a generation of Americans who risked everything, including their lives, so that generations to follow could live in peace and freedom? Don't even try to mention to me, the ramifications of an over-bloated budget and precedent setting expenditures. I just won't listen.

Despite its total runtime of over ten hours, Band of Brothers does not provide an all-engrossing look at the American military campaign in Northern Europe during World War II. Rather, it tells the true-life story of the soldiers of Company E of the 506th Parachute Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. The fighters of Easy Company. The HBO series featured 10 episodes, each beginning with interviews of anonymous living members of Easy Company recounting a short memory or experience of the events that would be covered in that episode. From the first episode that covers the soldiers' training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia, to the final episode where the men of Easy Company capture Hitler's infamous Alpine Lair known as The Eagle's Nest, we follow the soldiers battle by battle through their D-Day landing behind enemy lines in France, through Holland, Belgium and on into Germany. I watched all ten episodes on DVD and hereby proclaim them to be of superior quality both in audio and video properties. The blacks are deep and rich with no noticeable compression artifacting and the audio is ear shattering with bombs exploding in all directions, and bullets snapping past your ears in a frightful display of what it must be like to be in battle. During battle sequences, the camera operator switches from dolly and crane mounted cameras to actual hand-held cameras, giving a frantic first-person view of diving into foxholes and jumping behind trees and windows. The film is bleached out and highly polarized, giving it a soul-searing drab and gray realism.

[bassfisher02]

Thats a very well thought out and intruiging review JB, and I thank you for that. But can you also help me out on some differences between the book and movie? As I found, and also through searching on the net, there really isnt much difference at all. So thats where I ahve trouble, with the small detail. So if you can think of any differences at all, it would be very helpful.

[Rebbasser]

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 accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day

I always liked that speech. Sorry I can't help you, 02-haven't read the book.

[JB]

with out writing it for you bass02, This book is an autobiography of the company/battalion commander of the Co. E/2nd battalion/506 PIR/101st Airborne during WWII, Major Richard "Dick" Winters made famous by the HBO emmy award winning mini series and Best Selling Book, "Band of Brothers"
Maj. Winters recounts his pre war life, basic, AIT and pre combat training and extensive accounts of all major battles he fought in WWII. He jumped with the 101st on DDay and fought his way across Europe all the way the the heart of the Nazi Empire in Berchtesgarden.
If you read "Band of Brothers" and saw the mini series it follows along the same lines. He names the same people involved and describes the battles pretty much like they were portrayed.
This book is more about leadership than about his account. He is very generous with his praise for those around him both above and below rank. He pulls no punches either, he criticizes those above rank freely as well.
Winters is now about 87 years old and was a multi decorated veteran of WWII. His leadership style is first rate and is a man of utmost character. This country needs more men to lead as he does/did.
Personally I admire the man very much. He was an outstanding man, combat leader and dedicated to the mission. He pulls no punches, he killed people, saw friends blown up beside him and planned battles that cost the lives of some men he was very endeared too.
This book is not a "look at what I did" he gives a great deal of credit to the men he served with. The themes of the book are leadership and the bonds of comrades.
For those of you who like to read books on great men, I highly recommend this book. For the military folks around us, say no more, you will love the book.
For those who love a good biography, may be not the book for you, he does not get into his personal life that much. He deals a great deal with his experiences and memories of the army and the battles.
An excellent book by one of the greatest of the "greatest generation"

02, as far as comparing it to the movie,
Each chapter begins with brief recollections from surviving members of the real Easy Company. One survivor even points out how boys who weren’t allow to sign up eventually committed suicide. “A different time,” he states so poignantly. The first images we then see in Part 1 are of dirty, sullen-looking soldiers. They march as if they’ve been to hell and back, until we slowly come to the realization that they haven’t even gone into battle yet. They may have signed up to help for the good of the nation, but they were still boys, and scared ones at that.

Flashback two years earlier to training camp in Georgia where Capt. Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer) makes a habit of punishing his soldiers for the slightest of infractions. He also tests their endurance with the daily ritual of running up the nearby hill known as Currahee (“three miles up, three miles down”), a name which becomes their motto. Sobel’s second-in-command, Lt. Richard Winters (Damian Lewis), quietly suggests his disapproval of his commander’s methods, especially when it becomes apparent that Sobel talks the talk, but still isn’t up to walking.

The first part, directed by Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams, Sneakers), ingrains in us the grueling nature of their training and the hardships these men will suffer in the field (the various supplies they have to carry in their packs outweighs most of the men). Robinson also gradually builds up the growing camaraderie between the troops, not the least of which is their hatred and disrespect of Sobel and their increased approval of Lt. Winters. There are so many faces and names to keep track of that it may take you a second to identify them when they reappear throughout the episode. Still, by the end of the first hour, you may feel like a part of this assemblage and begin to understand their fears and what they’ll be willing to do for each other.

The second hour, entitled “Day of Days”, picks up precisely where part one leaves off, with all the various Companies en route to Normandy in the sky. The intrigue of this prologue is not just the horror our boys are in for, but how (or if they will try) to top the 30-minute D-Day invasion that dumbfounded us in Saving Private Ryan. Recall the beginning of that sequence with the terrified soldiers huttled together, listening to the sounds of gunfire and explosions getting louder and closer. Now imagine seeing those blasts light up the distant sky and being forced to parachute into it before your plane gets shot down.

This sequence, while notably shorter than “Ryan”’s opening is just as gripping. In just a few short minutes, the terror and tragedy of this event ranks with far more authority than the forty minutes director Michael Bay played with in this summer’s “Pearl Harbor”. Band of Brothers doesn’t play around with special effects the way that debacle did. While it’s apparent that a great deal of effects work did go into this project, most prominently in this opening onslaught, it never becomes about how “cool” it looks. The appreciation comes from the work of the actors, writers and directors in building up this event and then eviscerating us with sudden, shocking violence and even moments that follow the paratroopers from their first step off the plane and down through the firestorm.

Alongside this opening battle, this episode’s other highlight is a 13-minute extended engagement of Easy Company’s bid to take out the cannons of a German battery. Director Richard Loncraine (Richard III), who also directs Part Four, perfectly executes this operation from the strategy employed, the surroundings of the battlefield and the action itself, serving up what I’m sure is just a astounding prelude of even greater things to come.

The casting of many unknown and lesser-known actors only adds to the realism of the anonymity of the soldiers we may have never known about had it not been for the stories, memoirs and books shared throughout the years. Damian Lewis gets the most screen time thus far and makes the most of it with a quiet dignity as the soft-spoken Lt. Winters. He may not have any “flaws, vices or sense of humor” but Lewis convinces us that this is a man we trust and want to follow into battle.

[bassfisher02]

Thank You JB, this will very much help, since its been a good while since I read the book. I can never re-read a book I have once, no matter how good it is. I dont know why, I just cant. But this will deffinitely help, thanks again!

[Bo Dale James Jr.]

I'm not sure wikipedia could help you anymore than JB has done at this point.
He must have a great memory or worn out the tin can lid on his dvd set!
But I do agree it is a wonderfully done series and Winters is a man of great character.

[FlyRod]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

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 accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day

I always liked that speech. Sorry I can't help you, 02-haven't read the book.

Ahhhhh, The Battle of Agincourt! (10/25/1415) Good King Henry "Call me Hank" The Fifth may not have actually spoken the words, but Willy Shakespeare filled in the blanks. Nice reminder, Reb.

http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/battleshi...agincourt.html

FlyRod
Ruler of The Queen's Navee

[bassfisher02]

Thats where the idea of the name for the book and Series came from. Good Ole Shakespeare.