I had read historian Stephen Ambrose's "D-DAY" and "Citizen Soldiers" before I read "Band of Brothers." I thought both of the former works were excellent, and could understand why many claim that this author has made history popular among the general public again. Steven Spielberg had originally planned to adapt "Citizen Soldiers" into a mini-series to represent the stories and experiences of American GI's in WWII, and this would have been an enormous, almost impossible task. Tom Hanks convinced him to go with "Band of Brothers," since the work covered a Company of soldiers, not that of the entire United States Army in the ETO. However, "BoB" wasn't such an easily adaptable book.
"Band of Brothers" turned out to be not much smaller in scope than Ambrose's other works. Nor was it as narrowly focused. Following an entire company of soldiers is not as intimate as the producers may have expected. This resulted in a weakness that has drawn the most criticism--that (with some exceptions) it is hard for us to distinguish between the many characters whom we meet throughout the mini-series, and that none of them are examined closely enough for us to really know them. The book was even broader, without giving us the luxury of having faces to attach the many names to. Being a fan of this material, I followed the characters tediously as they appeared on screen, using the book to remember who they were and what roles they played in the story. I doubt any casual viewer did this, and that's why the series drew much criticism.
But the creators of "BoB" must definitely be commended for their mostly successful efforts to pick and choose the stories to put an emphasis on, and for going outside the source material when they needed to. Ambrose surprisingly sped through and devoted little to many of E Company's most dramatic moments, like Captain Sobel's loss of command, the gloomy story of private Blythe, Denver Randleman's extremely tense fight with a German soldier in a barn, and the company's liberation of a concentration camp. Certain characters who have large roles in the mini-series (like Percante, Blythe, Medic Gene Roe, etc.) were mentioned only on one or two pages in the book.
The episodes are well selected stories from the book. The first two that aired simultaneously were very well done, although viewing them gave me more of a sense of adventure, exhilaration and heroism than they did of sacrifice. That theme comes off best in the episode "Breaking Point," which is probably the best installment of the series. Most of the emphasis of the early episodes is on combat, later it focuses more on the characters. I couldn't get enough of the realistic, jarring battle sequences, however they are becoming more commonplace in the wake of "Saving Private Ryan." I wasn't too surprised that that film expressed the theme and efforts of the greatest generation superior to this series after viewing all of the episodes.
The production is of course very impressive. Gunners on top of Sherman tanks, convincing German vehicles, hundreds of soldiers on screen at a time, and well constructed period sets give the series a feeling of great authenticity. It is quite bloody, and gorier as the episodes progress. Casual observers may feel that they've got all that they need from watching a few episodes. But for many of us that would not be enough. I'm glad that it was completed, at such a grand scale. I can't wait for the DVD. Grade: B+
"Band of Brothers" turned out to be not much smaller in scope than Ambrose's other works. Nor was it as narrowly focused. Following an entire company of soldiers is not as intimate as the producers may have expected. This resulted in a weakness that has drawn the most criticism--that (with some exceptions) it is hard for us to distinguish between the many characters whom we meet throughout the mini-series, and that none of them are examined closely enough for us to really know them. The book was even broader, without giving us the luxury of having faces to attach the many names to. Being a fan of this material, I followed the characters tediously as they appeared on screen, using the book to remember who they were and what roles they played in the story. I doubt any casual viewer did this, and that's why the series drew much criticism.
But the creators of "BoB" must definitely be commended for their mostly successful efforts to pick and choose the stories to put an emphasis on, and for going outside the source material when they needed to. Ambrose surprisingly sped through and devoted little to many of E Company's most dramatic moments, like Captain Sobel's loss of command, the gloomy story of private Blythe, Denver Randleman's extremely tense fight with a German soldier in a barn, and the company's liberation of a concentration camp. Certain characters who have large roles in the mini-series (like Percante, Blythe, Medic Gene Roe, etc.) were mentioned only on one or two pages in the book.
The episodes are well selected stories from the book. The first two that aired simultaneously were very well done, although viewing them gave me more of a sense of adventure, exhilaration and heroism than they did of sacrifice. That theme comes off best in the episode "Breaking Point," which is probably the best installment of the series. Most of the emphasis of the early episodes is on combat, later it focuses more on the characters. I couldn't get enough of the realistic, jarring battle sequences, however they are becoming more commonplace in the wake of "Saving Private Ryan." I wasn't too surprised that that film expressed the theme and efforts of the greatest generation superior to this series after viewing all of the episodes.
The production is of course very impressive. Gunners on top of Sherman tanks, convincing German vehicles, hundreds of soldiers on screen at a time, and well constructed period sets give the series a feeling of great authenticity. It is quite bloody, and gorier as the episodes progress. Casual observers may feel that they've got all that they need from watching a few episodes. But for many of us that would not be enough. I'm glad that it was completed, at such a grand scale. I can't wait for the DVD. Grade: B+