Band of Brothers

Fantastic work! The creators took the best of Saving Private Ryan (a naturalistic and technically brilliant depiction of the war), got rid of the disgusting patriotic pathos, and focused their series on believable flesh-and-blood characters who make mistakes and behave like real people. The narrative concept, in which each episode focuses on a different point of view and pays attention to different characters, is initially confusing, but once you get used to a few key faces, Band of Brothers becomes a truly addictive affair. The image of war is appropriately harsh, immediate and indeed brilliantly transmitted through the eye of the camera to the viewer's brain. The perfectionism of the camera and the direction is astonishing, and even though we have already seen most of the tricks in Spielberg's war tale, it is only in Band of Brothers that it truly feels immediate. Michael Kamen's majestic music is also excellent, and of course the screenwriters deserve maximum recognition, who managed to mesh the seemingly disparate war images into a completely coherent whole and create the potential for film images as powerful as the miniature love story of the medic and the French nurse in Bastogne. Band of Brothers is not just a spectacular experience, it is also a supremely impressive portrait of war suffering and everyday heroism... (05/23/2006)

Probably the best war series or film I've ever seen. Except for minor details, it has absolutely realistic combat scenes, weaponry and equipment, a well-written script, and well-cast characters. I would never have expected to see anything like this made by the Americans. They never seem to bother with historical accuracy of combat equipment. Those who've seen Battle of the Bulge know what I'm talking about. Their strategy is the following: a tank’s a tank, and as long as it has tracks, who can tell the difference? This series shows that with a little effort they can achieve greatness. Plus, the show doesn’t just focus on combat action, it also portrays the characters very well, which makes it even better and more interesting. The only disappointment came when the final episode was over. (07/21/2016)

A true masterpiece that describes with great veracity and naturalism every aspect of the lives of "brothers in arms" in the face of their enemies. The battle scenes are without exception visually and aurally breathtaking, while all the scenes where the rifles remain lowered are absolutely stunning in their emotional authenticity and their naturalness, which is downright chilling. I have always shuddered at the thought of war, how I would die a painful death amidst the filth and blood; after watching this series, I fear I will survive it in physical, but not mental health. This is the true face of war. 100% (12/24/2014)

I'm probably damaging the series by giving only four stars because it features excellent craftsmanship and is one of the peaks of the genre. It is a realistically presented war drama, brilliantly cast with well-drawn characters, without cheap pathos, and at the same time with a sufficiently large budget to create a visually attractive series. I only mind the distorted American view of World War II, which only a good history expert fully realizes. Although Band of Brothers is essentially civil, it lacks the traditional infamous patriotism, and the viewer naturally does not find out while watching the series how low the combat morale of the American units was on the Western Front, and how low the support for the war was in Europe among the American public. The United States had long been drawn into isolationist policies, partly due to its bad experience in its involvement in World War I. The European war was not popular, and actually, only the drastic shots from concentration camps and the depiction of German atrocities at the end of the war subsequently justified entry into the war and wartime losses in the public eye. That's why the anti-Jewish pogroms also attracted such strong attention. The American command wanted to minimize losses and conducted the war campaign very cautiously with regard to public opinion at home. The usual tactic was to decimate the enemy through intensive bombing and artillery shelling to avoid any resistance if possible. Even in the last months of the war, when American units faced a demoralized enemy running out of fuel and supplies, they advanced only an average of 3-5 km per day, despite their overwhelming superiority. Viewers of the series simply won't learn about many of these things or at least won't learn about them to the full extent. Although there was dying and suffering on the Western Front too, it is incomparable to the dramas that took place on the Eastern Front or during partisan warfare. Overall impression: 90%. (05/11/2007)

Amazingly shot series with the best take on the WWII that you can see. From the moment I met the cast of characters in Episode 1, I cared about all of them, and it stayed that way until the end. And on top of that a wonderful soundtrack, set design, effects, sound. This is how you properly use a generous budget. (03/01/2012)