Band of Brothers

[Phidippides]

What did you think of BoB? I thought is was one of the best, if not the best, miniseries I've ever seen. The cast, though large, was very good, and the special effects were pretty top notch. It was really a pleasure getting the chance to watch this. I didn't see it when it aired, but rather later on when I borrowed the series from someone. If you haven't seen it, I suggest watching Band of Brothers.

[Tom Houlihan]

I was smart enough to run out and buy the book before I saw the film. It helped. While there were some inaccuracies in the film, I thought it was outstanding. Of course, on a couple of other forums I belong to, the film was beat to death by purists. Some anti-US types complained that it only showed US troops! Well, duh! It was about a US unit, so what do they expect???

I don't have the URL handy right now, but anyone that is interested in this film should to go to Mark Bando's TRIGGER TIME site. Mark is probably the premier researcher into the 101st, and he has a really good critique of that movie.

[Jim O]

Originally Posted by Tom Houlihan

I don't have the URL handy right now, but anyone that is interested in this film should to go to Mark Bando's TRIGGER TIME site. Mark is probably the premier researcher into the 101st, and he has a really good critique of that movie.

The critique is at Band of Brothers.

[Spinechicken]

Originally Posted by Jim O

The critique is at Band of Brothers.

A very interesting critique, thanks for the link Jim - it's refreshing to know that I'm not the most picky person in the world when it comes to accuracy in war films!

I was quite shocked however by the fact that Blithe (the character portrayed as a nervous wreck by British actor Marc Warren in Ep. 2) survived the war, fought in Korea and actually died twenty years after it stated in the film. Surely that is doing a massive disservice to both him, his family, and indeed the veterans, as given that this series was done to honour these men that is quite a serious mistake!

The only other innaccuracy, which was not raised in the critique, was the presence of a Jagdpanther tank destroyer in Episode 3 - the battle at Hill 30. There would have been no JP's present in that area at the time, to my knowledge, as only the German Army's 654th Panzerjaeger Abteilung was equipped with them and they did not engage in combat until August. (I could be wrong on this one, however)

In regard to the series itself, I thought it was cracking - the battle scenes were really well done, accuracy aside. It remains an objective for me to watch all ten episodes through in a single sitting.

-SC

[Tom Houlihan]

Originally Posted by Spinechicken

The only other innaccuracy, which was not raised in the critique, was the presence of a Jagdpanther tank destroyer in Episode 3 - the battle at Hill 30. There would have been no JP's present in that area at the time, to my knowledge, as only the German Army's 654th Panzerjaeger Abteilung was equipped with them and they did not engage in combat until August. (I could be wrong on this one, however)

Spinechicken, as much as it troubles me to say this, methinks that is something we need to somehow learn to live with. While it may not have been accurately placed in that battle, it was probably the only "runner" they could find! Give them at least some credit for substituting a German vehicle, rather than a repainted modern AFV.

My wife won't come anywhere near a war movie if I'm watching it, because I'm so vocally pedantic. However, I have to accept this one. Now, the M7 Priests masquerading as Sturmhaubitzen in "The Rat Patrol," however, are a different story!!!!

[temujin77]

Stephen Ambrose had received a lot of criticism for historical inaccuracies in his book Band of Brothers, and some of the inaccuracies translated on film as well. To his defense, however, I must state that BoB is meant to be more of a collective memoir of the paratroopers. It's not meant to be a historical text. Because of this, whatever the veterans told Ambrose, he put in the book. In the first editions of the book, there were Tiger tanks everywhere and every German unit the paratroopers came across were elite units. After Ambrose received the criticisms, he went back and did more research and eventually released later editions with a lot of things corrected.

I'm not saying the mistakes are ok, just stepping up to his defense on how they occured.

I must also say that BoB (as the film) was a heck of a lot more accurate than most WW2 movies out there, even when only considering recent Hollywood titles.

[Klaus]

This "Tiger-thing" is very common in movies. Makes a better Hero if they fought against Tigers or the SS I think.

[Tom Houlihan]

Actually, Klaus, many contemporary accounts speak of Tigers and 88s when referring to the enemy's forces.

I'm not sure if it's because of fear, respect, or confusion, but any artillery barrage was fired by 88s, and every armored vehicle was a Tiger! So, it's not just the films!

[Klaus]

I didn't dare to say that. But you are of course right. I just didn't want to put American vets into a bad light. But perhaps the germans were tough fighters so they thought it must have been the best of the best. just my two cents worth.

[Helmut Von Moltke]

reltiavely accruate, other than the Normany part where LAH vehicle are mixed up with Gerbisjaeger and FJ and everything in the Carentan episode. Also the Holland episode where Easy Company easily mows down hordes of Waffen-SS troops is quite unbelievale as well. However the last episode with the good speech of the German general was good and destroys some sterortypes about the German fighting man. The Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden was quite good as well.

However the book is better. Trust me, get the book.

K