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**** HBO's BAND OF BROTHERS: The True Story Of Easy Company. (1 Viewer)

Steve Tannehill

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I feel your pain, John.
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See your other thread for some suggestions that might ease it!
- Steve
[Edited last by Steve Tannehill on September 09, 2001 at 11:38 PM]
 

Jeff Kleist

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I may be a wacky guy, but I'm going to severely doubt you're going to see DTS on these discs. It'll probably be another 3-4 DVD set, with 4 eps/disc
Possibly Spielburg's influence would change this, but I DOUBT it
Jeff Kleist
 

JustinT

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I was also VERY impressed with the first two episodes. At first I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that they had cast David Schwimmer to play a hardass, but I think he did a very good job. I can't wait to hear it in 5.1, but I didn't think the stereo mix was terrible. I am really looking forward to next week.
Anybody else notice that the sound was much quieter on the letterboxed version than on the J6P version?
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Kirk Tsai

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I was eagerly awaiting the series, and I didn't have false hopes for it being the greatest thing I've seen, but I'm quite disappointed. After watching two hours of it, I still feel I know very little about the characters, surprising since that's basically what the first episode tries to do alltogether; the most well drawn out character is Sobel, who is already gone by the end of the first episode. The production values are superb, and the acting in general is adequete, but both episodes gave me nothing to be excited about. The whole attack on the German guns in part 2 was excellent in terms of action, but it just sort of bored me. Like episodes themselves, the attack just seem to happen without any importance being emphasized or theme running through. The narration at the end of part 2 also struck me as awkward; the intros in the beginning of each episode already accomplish that, the narrations seems too eager to push our emotions over the top. I'm definitly going to catch every episode if I can, but it's not too encouraging up to now.
 

BrianShort

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Outstanding!
I had HBO hooked up just so I could watch Band of Brothers, and I must say, it's going to be WELL worth the $15 a month cost. I am a bit envious towards those of you who can watch this in HD, but I guess the eventual DVDs will need to keep me happy as far as quality goes.
I had read some review that said the first couple episodes were kind of slow, and it was okay to skip them and start watching with the 3rd episode... I dont know what the hell he was talking about... the 1st episode was quite good, and #2 was almost non-stop action.
Also watched that episode of The Sopranos that was on before the show... thought it was pretty good, but I think it's probably one of those shows I'd appricate more if I had followed it from the beginning and knew the overall storyline (other than Tony being a mafia guy of course
wink.gif
)
Now out of curiosity, did anyone check the full-screen version on HBO-Plus? I was just wondering if it was pan and scan or full frame... not that I'd pass up the widescreen version, I was just wondering.
Oh, and Spoiler: I had never thought that there were actually Americans that had gone back to Germany because of their descent and fought for the German army. Were there many instances of this. I did hear a story once about some guy from Chicago that was fighting for the Iraqi army during Desert Storm. He was captured by our guys, though I dont think they shot him!
Brian
[Edited last by BrianShort on September 10, 2001 at 01:37 AM]
 

Razvan V

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The first episode was good, a little too sentimental though. The second episode was a disaster, just an exercise in camera work, no script, no acting, nothing. At the rate Germans die in World War II non-German movies I'm surprised their army lasted more than 5 days.
And yes, the stereo sound on Dish channel 303 was horrible - episode 2 only.
Razvan
 

Kevin Leonard

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Well, I initially had my reservations about this series: from the previews it looked like a 10-hour version of Saving Private Ryan, which is my definition of Hell.
Boy, am I glad to say I was wrong! :) Based on the first two episodes, this has already blown away whatever dubious achievements SPR had.
The first episode was a pleasant surprise, focusing exclusively on building up three-dimensional characters and establishing relationships. David Schwimmer was a minor revelation, very effective as a hardass. To be honest, I've only previously seen Schwimmer in (ugh) a few episodes of "Friends" and (double ugh) The Pallbearer, so his performance was a bit of shock to me. The formation and training sequences were also a treat to watch, because of all the minor nitty gritty details shown (the pig guts in the trenches, the chewing out of soldier for having a rusty bayonet, etc.), rather than just give it a broad overview.
I commend Phil Alden Robinson, Tom Hanks, Erik Jendresen and Steven Spielberg for kicking off the show like this rather than plunge straight into an action sequence...
...which is precisely what Part Two has in spades. The nighttime paratrooper jump was striking visually, with some haunting imagery. I especially liked the jump from the POV of one of the soldiers.
The bunker-and-trench takeover was also exquisitely done technically, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't always clear on where and who the soldiers were; maybe this was intentional...or maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention. :) Little touches, like a soldier fumbling a grenade, or another getting shot in the ass, were nice touches.
Overall, an impressive start for the series, and I am eagerly waiting for the next installment. However, there are some drawbacks: while the characters are nicely defined, I still feel somewhat cold towards them. In a way, I know about them but I don't KNOW them. And while the opening score by Michael Kamen is lovely, the blaring horns and orchestra overkill may lead to the same horrible John Williams SPR score. Hopefully the future music will be more restrained.
And I hope I'm wrong, but there a couple of signs that this series may lapse into an America-is-the-best mentality that marred SPR. The Germans--except for one segment in Pt. 2--are still portrayed as faceless and generally incompetent on the battlefield. Like I said earlier, I hope the remaining shows prove me incorrect.
And I'd also like to give a shout out to Ron "He'll Always Be Peter Gibbons to Me" Livingston. :)
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Mark Cappelletty

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I thought the second episode was surprisingly good-- both visceral and moving; hopefully, the series won't dovetail into the sentimentality and heavy-handed messages which marred the third act of Saving Private Ryan.
Nice to see Richard Loncraine (Richard III, Brimstone & Treacle, the grossly underrated Bellman & True) get some work, too. He's a terrific director. I can't believe next week's episode is written by Max (Something Wild, Amos & Andrew) Frye!
 

Chris

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Brian, to answer your question:
Oh, and Spoiler:
Spoiler:
I had never thought that there were actually Americans that had gone back to Germany because of their descent and fought for the German army. Were there many instances of this. I did hear a story once about some guy from Chicago that was fighting for the Iraqi army during Desert Storm. He was captured by our guys, though I dont think they shot him!

Yes, actually, there were several thousand citizens who went back.
Show was fanastic. I saw it on regular HBO, in the 5.1 mix, very good.
Even the DPL mix was not that bad, however; the show itself really sold me on it general acting and photography/direction which impressed me from the get-go.
CW
 

Andres Munoz

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Boy am I glad I invested on a Dish Network receiver with Dolby Digital output!!! Other than PPV movies, no show had being broadcasted in DD...until last night.
You should've seen the HUGE grin I had when I saw my Outlaw 1050 display the DD icon. Yeah!
I thought only the HD signal would contain the 5.1 soundtrack but no, the regular HBO had it as well. And widescreen as well! again...Yeah!
The visual were awsome. The scene where the planes are being shot down and the paratroopers are sky diving is the best I've seen on a TV show and rivals even some big budget Hollywood movies.
All the actors did a great job, especially Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis (the guy that played Winters. I found a striking resemblance to Krycek from the X-Files, didn't you?).
I tried to take David Schwimmer seriously but I just couldn't help but think of Ross everytime he tried to be a badass and be serious. I'm sorry but IMO, he should stick to comedy.
The second episode was very good, with non-stop action and suspense. How funny was it when two grenades exploded next to Joe Toye and yet he wasn't hurt. I know there was nothing funny about WWII, but I think that scene was meant to lighten the mood a bit.
I think we have a great miniseries in our hands. I'm hooked.
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Andres
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[Edited last by Andres Munoz on September 10, 2001 at 09:28 AM]
 

Andres Munoz

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Did anyone notice the two British actors from the two Guy Ritchie movies, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels playing American soldiers?
They were doing a pretty good job hiding their British accents.
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Andres
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[Edited last by Andres Munoz on September 10, 2001 at 09:39 AM]
 

Jim Robbins

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Really liked the second part. I didn't realize that my receiver was just in stereo but once I turned on the surround, I was quite happy with the battle scenes. What is making this better for me is the story is sticking more to facts. This will make a fantastic DVD series when it comes out.
 

Jeff Adams

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All I can say is wow! What a series this is going to be. I was so impressed. I have heard a couple of people say that they have not felt connected to the characters. I on the other hand feel different. I felt involved with the actors in the show. I was very impressed with Winters and Nixon. I also liked the characters Malarkie and Guarnere. They were great. The visuals in the second episode are some of the best I have ever seen. I have also heard a couple of people say that the 5.1 sound was terrible. Either you are not getting the 5.1 signal, your receiver is not 5.1 ready or you just have your system set up wrong. I thought the 5.1 signal was amazing! Very clear dialogue, great use of all 5.1 channels. The surround sound had me ducking for cover. I never thought any show broadcast off of satellite would sound that good. Nothing I have heard off of satellite thus far has sounded that good. If the picture and sound are this good right now, just think of how good the dvd set will be!!!! I can't wait!
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Tino

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In regard to character development, remember that Band Of Brothers is a TEN hour miniseries. Give it a chance. The characters have just been introduced.
IMO, Complaining that the characters aren't developed yet is sorta like complaining that characters in a two hour film aren't fully realized in the first TWENTY minutes.
confused.gif

This is a very large cast and it will take some time to completely flesh out these characters, but I believe that they already are off to a great start. Patience is a virtue. :)
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Marty M

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I thoroughly enjoyed the 1st two episodes last night. It really showed war on a very personal level. This show should be mandatory viewing for anyone who doesn't remember WW II and what these men did for our country.
 

NickSo

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Wow, Band Of Brothers was what DBS was made for!!! Amazing... one of the great experiences to own a satellite dish...
Too bad i had to watch it in P&S DPL surround sound on BellExpressVu's MOVIE CHANNEL, but it was still very good...
The Dolby Prologic surround sound from my Kenwood VR407 was almost as good as a poorly mixed Dolby Digital Soundtrack :). When the helicoptors flew by, you can hear it pan from front to back, although i had to crank the rears up a few notches... If you didn't have Dolby Digital, this would be where Dolby Pro-Logic 2 would REALLY shine... Although in DPL1, the bass was seriously lacking, one thing i HATE with DPL... I had to crank up the amp, and turn on the loudness...
Im so used to David Schwimmer's character in friends, that I expected him to break out and do something 'rossy'... but his performance was very well done...
If only i had DirecTV, an HDTV, and a HDTV-reciever...
Ohwell, P&S and DPL is pretty impressive anyways... :)
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Danny R

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When the helicoptors flew by, you can hear it pan from front to back, although i had to crank the rears up a few notches...
Where is this scene?
Just wondering as I'm a fan of historical aircraft and I don't remember this image. Helicopters were still very experimental aircraft during WW2. The navy only acquired its first such aircraft in 1943.
 

Bill Gato

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Quick question...
SPOILER
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Did Captain Sobel get the special assignment at the end of episode one because the colonel (played by Dale Dye) knew how much he was despised by his men?
I was confused because the colonel praised Sobel's company to no end and then basically gave him the boot. If he was so proud of Easy Company and Sobel's job, why did he give him such a shitty job and reassign him?
Thanks in advance.
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Bill the Cat
 

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