I had always wanted to buy the full dvd series, but at over $100.00 it was pretty pricey.
However, this week there was a sale on the series and I picked it up.
I have been watching it over the past few days and I have to say what a truly excellent series this turned out to be. It has exceeded my expectations.
The acting, writing, the action scenes, the attention to detail, all are top notch. It really makes you feel you are actually there in battle. I was surprised to see Jadgpanthers, StuGs, half-tracks, Tigers, etc....
Most importantly of all is the respect the creators of this series has shown to their subject matter. In an age of anti-heroes and of apologetic WWII movies, this series is a real pleasure to behold.
Filled with extras, and enclosed in a metal case, this 10-hour series comes highly recommended. If you haven't seen it yet, or if you are looking for a great purchase for the summer time, then this is the series to get. Truly one of the very best things HBO has produced.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
An impressively rigorous, unsentimental, and harrowing look at combat during World War II, Band of Brothers follows a company of airborne infantry--Easy Company--from boot camp through the end of the war. The brutality of training takes the audience by increments to the even greater brutality of the war; Easy Company took part in some of the most difficult battles, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the failed invasion of Holland, and the Battle of the Bulge, as well as the liberation of a concentration camp and the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. But what makes these episodes work is not their historical sweep but their emphasis on riveting details (such as the rattle of a plane as the paratroopers wait to leap, or a flower in the buttonhole of a German soldier) and procedures (from military tactics to the workings of bureaucratic hierarchies). The scope of this miniseries (10 episodes, plus an actual documentary filled with interviews with surviving veterans) allows not only a thoroughness impossible in a two-hour movie, but also captures the wide range of responses to the stress and trauma of war--fear, cynicism, cruelty, compassion, and all-encompassing confusion. The result is a realism that makes both simplistic judgments and jingoistic enthusiasm impossible; the things these soldiers had to do are both terrible and understandable, and the psychological price they paid is made clear. The writing, directing, and acting are superb throughout. The cast is largely unknown, emphasizing the team of actors as a whole unit, much like the regiment; Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston play the central roles of two officers with grit and intelligence. Band of Brothers turns a vast historical event into a series of potent personal experiences; it's a deeply engrossing and affecting accomplishment. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Based on the bestseller by Stephen E. Ambrose, the epic 10-part miniseries Band of Brothers tells the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army. Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as soldiers' journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these men who knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear. They were an elite rifle company parachuting into France early on D-Day morning, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and capturing Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. They were also a unit that suffered 150 percent casualties, and whose lives became legend.
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Band-Brothers-Dav ... B00006CXSS
NEW HBO PACIFIC WAR MINISERIES
HBO Films has given the green light to "The Pacific," the 10-hour miniseries from executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg that serves as the follow-up to the duo's Emmy-winning 2001 HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers."
It will start filming this summer.
A companion piece to the World War II saga "Brothers," "Pacific" tracks the intertwined odysseys of three U.S. Marines -- Robert Leckie, John Basilone and Eugene Sledge -- across the vast canvas of the Pacific, from the first clash with the Japanese in the jungles of Guadalcanal to the triumphant return home after V-J Day.
As far as budget goes, "Pacific" will out-pace "Brothers," which in 2001 became the most expensive miniseries ever at more than $120 million. Sources indicated that "Pacific" will cost nearly $200 million.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 1c1949270f
http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-hbogr ... 3322.story
http://the-pacific-war.com/
