Reviews of Band of Brothers

"Band of Brothers" (Greek Review)

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago on 8 September 2008 05:41 (A review of Band of Brothers)

Εμένα οι σειρές / ταινίες με πολεμικά θέματα ποτέ δεν ήταν στο ‘top’ των προτιμήσεων μου, αλλά μερικές είναι απλά εξαιρετικές και προτεινόμενες για θέαση σε όλους..

Πρόκειται για μια πολύ προσεγμένη σειρά, αν και δε θυμάμαι να είδα ποτέ σειρά του HBO και να μην είναι :-P , που η παραγωγή της κόστισε περίπου $125εκ. Έχει εξαιρετική ατμόσφαιρά και αρκετές βίαιες σκηνές, λογικό άλλωστε με τέτοια θεματολογία. Πολύ καλή είναι και η έναρξη κάθε επεισοδίου με βετεράνους του Β’ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου να μιλάνε για τα γεγονότα που εκτυλίχθηκαν.
[ολόκληρο κείμενο]

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Brotherly love.

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 5 April 2008 12:12 (A review of Band of Brothers)

Band of Brothers is a ten-part miniseries which documents the exploits of Easy Company during their World War II campaign. Veterans of the parachute regiment begin most episodes regaling tales of their experiences during the war, though their identities are not revealed until the very end of the series.

The show begins with the recruits undergoing basic training for the upcoming allied invasion of Europe in their Toccoa training camp. It chronicles their adventures through the Normandy airborn landings, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of Bastogne right through to the end of the war, the discovery and liberation of a concentration camp and the capture of The Eagle's Nest complex in Austria.

The show is amazing. It follows a selection of believable and human characters who never ceased to acquire my deepest respect. It is impossible to feel apathetic towards any of the major roles and after almost every episode I found myself rushing toward the internet in the hope of finding out that certain characters had indeed survived the brutal war. The linchpin and commander of Easy company - Richard Winters - is a charming and charismatic character that commands reverence and respect at every turn.

The combat scenes are dripping with realism and intensity, managing to hammer home the shocking realities of war and the toll it took on the ordinary young men sent to fight it. Scenes often switch from moments of humour - as the men try to focus on the good of every situation - to desperate struggles for their lives as they find themselves on the receiving end of a relentless artillery bombardment.

Band of Brothers dishes up realism, horror, tragedy and good humour in equal measure throughout, but what makes it so special is the fact that it is based on real stories of real men whose heroism lifted the tyrannical grip of a fascist empire from the green fields of Europe. No matter how modest the veterans of this extraordinary journey are, they're all legends in their own right. Heroes who put most of today's generation to shame.

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Untouchable

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 15 November 2007 07:07 (A review of Band of Brothers)

If you can for a moment forget the role of the allies in WWII then Band of Brothers will rip your heart out, put it through a blender, drink it, regurgitate it and hand it back to you.

The special effects are amazing, but such a small part of the overall effect. The casting is perfect and in some cases (Bill Guarnere especially) replicates the actual person to a T.

The documentary of the Easy Company vets adds a poignancy to each episode, dragging you back to the fact that it is a true story. The acting seems to be beyond proffesional,at no point did I doubt the closeness between the characters or their sincerity. There is also a good mix of British and US talent.

Although sometimes critised for being too long, I find myself encaptivated from start to finish. I also feel the length adds to the empathy the viewer feels with the charaters. It also gives a greater impression of the vastness of the journey from Normandy to VE Day..again adding weight to the loss of some long standing and developed characters.

Watch it.


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excellent but long

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 28 October 2007 09:11 (A review of Band of Brothers)

"Band of Brothers", an HBO mini-series, follows the Easy Company from their training in England, through D-Day. Its members also go through the rest of France, Holland, Germany and Austria.
Ten episodes make up the mini-series, and each starts with commentaries from the original troopers.

Excellent cast. Even David Schwimmer, an unlikable character right from the start, demonstrated his ability to act tough in this role.
Extremely well directed. Scenes are vivid and quite realistic.
Superb art direction and cinematography.

Although I found some episodes quite lengthy, this is *the* series I highly recommend to anyone, on the subject of World War II. (And I usually don't like war movies/series!)


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