Band of Brothers DVD Set

[Keith Heitmann]

I have never seen the HBO production of Band of Brothers until recently. I have a birthday coming up and the wife was asking what I wanted, and I couldn't think of anything I really wanted until I remembered I was intending to get the mini-series at some point in time. So we stopped off the other night and she bought me the DVD set.

I watched the first four hours last night. I have to say I'm impressed with the production value of the story and the authenticity that Spielberg and Hanks made sure the production had.

The only actor that really didn't seem to fit the part he was cast in was David Schwimmer of "Friends" fame as the hard nosed incompetent Easy company commander at the start of the story. I"m sorry, I just didn't buy him as a tough commander. I'll always see him as "Ross Geller."

The rest of the cast were convincing, mostly for being unknowns although I see that the one blond lieutenant is now the lead role in the new NBC "Medical Investigation" tv show.

I was pleased to see so many authentically recreated German panzers. The StuG III and a convincing looking Jagdpanther,. It looks like the Tiger from Saving Private Ryan made an encore appearance as well.

I'll be watching the rest of the story probably tonight and possibly tomorrow.

The DVD set comes in a nice metallic box that resembles the old WW2 style hinged lid tins for food or possibly ammo. The set of six disks is stored inside in a accordion style cardboard sleave that unfolds as you pull the top layer out of the box.

Each DVD has 2 episodes and each episode has its own menu of items, with access to a glossary, maps, historical information, etc. The whole thing is very well thought out and executed.

I haven't looked at the sixth disc yet, but it contains a 80 minute documentary, and a 30 minute "Making of..." documentary to watch and probably a few othe odds and ends.

If you are looking for something to on DVD to buy or request as a b'day or xmas gift, I highly recommend this set of DVDs. You will not be sorry (even if you saw the original broadcast on HBO.)

Best thing is that both WalMart and Amazon have it at a discounted $88-$89 rate, instead of the original $120.

[oldjarhead]

The documentary material at the end is excellent too - the part I like best is the stuff about the real people as they are now, including some footage of a reunion.

Out of the series itself, one of the most moving parts was near the end, when they watched a German officer addressing his troops after they had surrendered.

[Keith Heitmann]

Yes, I've seen all of that too and agree. There German officer speech is where the term "Band of Brothers" is taken and is well suited to both sides of the war.

I also like the "making of" documentary about the actors bootcamp.

[oldjarhead]

Yes, that speech was very moving.

The boot camp was indeed good - Dale Dye has a great job, but he earned it. Decent actor too - he also had a small part in Saving Private Ryan, as one of the officers advising General Marshall.