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**** HBO's BAND OF BROTHERS: The True Story Of Easy Company. (2 Viewers)

Hugh Jackes

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Danny R asks "can anyone who has recently read the book tell me from a strategic point of view why Winters decided to do a one man charge"
I didn't think that he meant to charge alone. He told the men to go on the red smoke. I think that his smoke bomb sputtered a bit before really catching, and that he was so single-minded on his charge that he didn't realize the rest of his men were 20 steps behind him.
BTW, if you like Band of Brothers, visit a good war film from a few years ago, A Midnight Clear. It's about a platoon of soldiers in France around Christmas '44, who encounter a German platoon that wants to surrender. With Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross, Ethan Hawke, and Gary Sinise how can you miss?
[Edited last by Hugh Jackes on October 02, 2001 at 05:49 PM]
[Edited last by Hugh Jackes on October 02, 2001 at 05:50 PM]
 

Paul Jenkins

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Watched all 5 episodes back to back last night with my neighbor who was in the 101st back in Somalia(sp?). He was great to have during the show explaining what all the insignias meant, explaining what each person's job was, and how real it all seemed. Gotta love those PVRs to let you pause to go to the bathroom/get a beer/discuss points of the show!
Also, seeing them all again for the 2nd time gave me a lot better understanding of the characters and who-is-who. I'll need to watch it a couple of more times to get all the ins and outs of everyone, and I don't know how many times I'll have to watch it to figure out what that British soldier dressed as a Nazi says :D
Paul
 

Tino

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Server glitch #1
[Edited last by Tino on October 03, 2001 at 07:13 AM]
 

Tino

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Server glitch #2!
[Edited last by Tino on October 03, 2001 at 07:15 AM]
 

Tino

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In the book, it pretty much happened the way you saw it on the show.
Winters led the charge and happened to get there first. He encountered a lone German Sentry, his age not revealed, and he shot him. The shot startled the Germans who were facing the opposite way, not sleeping, but ducking under Alied machine gun fire. He states that when he encountered the German platoon alone at the top of the ditch, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
He started to empty his clip into the masse. The Germans were slow in responding, due to surprise, and the heavy winter trenchcoats which hampered their ability to move. He emptied three clips from the hip before the rest of Easy co. got there. He then ordered all to fire at will. It became a "duck shoot" with the Germans fleeing being fired upon unmolested.
Another good scene in this episode was when Winters ordered Liebgott, who was slightly wounded, to escort the German prisoners back to battalion HQ. Winters knew Liebgott had a reputation for treating prisoners badly, so he made him empty his clip, except for one bullet. If he killed any of the German prisoners, the rest would jump him. Needless to say, he delivered them ALL to HQ.
As I said before, this was a good episode, just not as great as the previous ones. Still this episode is better than some feature films I have seen, so go figure. :)
BTW, Hugh, I agree with you about A Midnight Clear. An excellent, small personal war film, directed by Keith Gordon of Jaws 2 and Dressed To Kill fame. He has turned out to be a fine director.
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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.
 

Marty M

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My 14 year old son is very interested in this series and wants to find out more about WW II. I think it is very important for the younger generation to learn about WW II.
Growing up in the late 50's and early 60's I wsa well aware of WW II. BoB gives a historical perspective to WW II that will help people learn more about WW II and the sacrifices these people made for our country.
 

Tino

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Oops.
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Phil Florian

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This episode was weak for me, as well. The first half, flashbacks and all, was a great view of things. The second half was just a set-up for the following Bastogne episode. I am surprised that Hanks took this one, since it really is the least complete of all the episodes (which had nice beginning, middles, and ends). Next weeks does look to be a stunner, though.
Phil
 

Tino

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Tonights episodeBastogne Directed by David Leland was
very good, as usual for this excellent series.
I liked the way this episode focused on Medic Eugene Roe and the war as seen through his eyes. I cannot imagine the horrors that medics such as Roe encountered during battle. Having to treat men on the battlefield as war raged all around them was a true sign of bravery. Many of the men that survived called Medic Roe the bravest man they knew.
I also like his "relationship" that developed between him and Nurse Rene, also battle scarred by the horrors of combat injuries. Their scenes together were probably as close to romance as we are going to get in this series. The scene at the end of the episode where he finds her kerchief, and later uses it to bandage a wounded officer was
touching.
I really like the way this series focuses on characters other than the regulars, such as the recent episode with private Blythe. It adds a different perspective, a much more personal one I believe which adds to the impact of the show. Again, a very good episode.
Next weeks episode, The Breaking Point, looks very intense.
BTW, it seems as though traffic in this thread has slowed down considerably. I wonder why. Am I the only one still watching this great series? Perhaps the current events have something to do with it, which is understandable, but for me it has made this series much more relevant in terms of what freedom costs and what these brave men have, and are doing, for this great nation of ours.
patriot.gif

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Alex Spindler

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Oh, you're not the only one.
This one was great without being flashy, which was my opinion of the last one. I have to agree that running an episode from someone else's eyes has kept eveything fresh and allows for a consistent theme throughout the episode. The kerchief and what it gets used for was a real emotional high point for me. This one really hit the human loss in perspective, and watching him slowly lose hope was well handled. I hope he shows up more often, because I would like to see how he fares.
The next episode looks like a powerhouse.
 

Paul Jenkins

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Well, I liked Part 6. Played out well and the medic focus with what is was like 'behind' the lines was something I haven't seen covered quite as good as this.
However... The Battle of the Bulge and the 101st's stand against the Germans while encircled was, IMHO, one of the most heroic and inspiring parts of the closing months of WWII. I wanted to see more of that aspect, and less of the focus on the medic and the scenes back at Bastogne itself, and more of the bravery and battle against incredible odds that Easy went through. I finished watching tonight thinking "great show, but I think they just passed over what could have been the best part of the series."
Anyone else in this camp?
Paul
 

Alex Spindler

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I came away thinking that perhaps Easy Co. saw action only on the scale of what was shown. I would have to rely on those that have read the book to be sure (something I'm waiting for the conclusion of the series to do). If they were heavily involved, it may have been a design decision to focus on the human story instead. I still think it was a more worthy addition than one of more strict military action like Ep 2 or Ep 3.
 

Tino

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Remember that this series and the book are more about Easy Co and its contributions than the big battles of WWII. Therefore it's focus and scale are smaller and more personal and reason why large portions of big battles are not shown.
I like this aspect of the show since, as I have said, it keeps it more personal. By keeping it small and personal, it really becomes much more powerful in my eyes.
BTW Alex, the book was excellent and the show has been extraordinarily faithful to it.
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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.
 

Alex-C

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I am still watching it faithfully.
Every episode has been enjoyable so far. Last night's focus on the Medic Roe, was horrific and touching. I still cant fathom what those men had to go through, each time I watch the show I get back into the same emotional state: one of disbelief and shock and grattitude.
What I especially appreciate about the show is this: where many movies and shows that have come before have shown the scope of a specific battle or the entire war, this series has focused on Easy Company and their very personal stories. I sure do like that !
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LarryDavenport

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Last night's episode was the best! The cinematography was amazing. I will by the DVD box set for this episode alone!
This would have made a great movie by itself. I was glad Doc made it through the episode. I really liked his interaction with the other guys. It felt real. (My Dad was a medic in Viet Nam so it hit home).
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Trace Downing

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This whole series has been good. But this one (Bastogne) I really took to heart.
I was a medic between 84-87, and although I never saw combat, it was just how I would've imagined it. confusing, frantic, and heartbreaking. Afterwords, I thanked God I never had to do it.
Our instructors would tell us stories about Viet Nam, and Korea. They tried their damndest to prepare us for it. My first day in training, they showed a film of footage from Viet Nam titled So you want to be a Medic? that would make George Romero puke.
Later when the "games" went on, the nurses played a little game with us. Using stage make-up, they would dress our victims (usually tankers) up in various "wounds" and place them all over the "battlefield" and have them yell "MEDIC!!!"", then we would be graded on our triage skills. That was confusing, and designed to make you freeze up about what to do.
The show was pretty realistic...
*He did a turnoquet correctly.
*Even in peace, sometimes you just freeze up.
*There were always dumbasses that wouldn't listen to advice (the trenchfoot, and fiery piss). My platoon called them "Joe Blockheads".
*Combat Medics were generally looked down upon by those assigned to dispensaries and hospitals (my experience in peacetime, might be different during war). Look at how he is treated by almost everyone except the Dutch nurse when asking for supplies.
*I always took being called Doc as a badge of honor...one time a captain called me a Band-Aid, but he was a dick.
*We're not supposed to carry weapons. The Geneva Convention says we're not to be killed (Yeah, like that never happens!
rolleyes.gif
). We become a combat soldier as soon as we take up arms, and become fair game...a nice game with that red cross target on our helmet. The fact that he was weaponless drove his danger a little more home for me.
Boy, did I write all that? Too much information.
laugh.gif

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[Edited last by Trace Downing on October 08, 2001 at 06:15 PM]
 

Matty B

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I'd like to see some WW2 Medics that were real Doctors, I know that they were VERY plentiful, the medic/officer angle would be very interesting to me. Renee was Belgian not Dutch BTW. I was sad that she died, I was hoping that they would get married, that is just the romantic in me I suppose. I hope that the medic in the church wasn't an example of an MD because he was a dickhead. My 2 cents. Still a great show, I have liked all the episodes about equally with 1 and 3 being my favorites.
 

MickeS

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I like this show, but I have one complaint: the episodic nature of the series, with each show basically devoted to one character, makes it less involving as a whole than it could have been had it been more of an ensemble piece.
The individual episodes are excellent, but they don't pack the emotional punch that they could. As soon as we get to know a character a little bit, and care about them, we leave that segment, and move on to something else. I can see why someone would want to make the show like this, but I feel it takes away from the experience, I never get involved enough in what's going on to really care.
Anyone else feel the same?
/Mike
 

Marty M

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I liked the irony of the American soldier receiving a candy bar from the Belgian nurse. Another great episode.
 

Jeff Adams

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I just wanted to say that this series has got to be one of the best of all time. Thank you Spielburg, Hanks and everyone else who has worked on this series. This has given me a different look and a much better understanding of what our soldiers went through. I cannot wait for the dvd boxed set! Everything about the series is almost perfect. Ilike how they have shown the war through the eyes of different soldiers such as Blythe and medic Eugene Roe. But I also hope they get back to the core group of Easy Company. I really like those core people and there are only 4 episodes left to get to bond with them more. Winters, Nixon, Buck, Bull,Guarnere, Perconte, Martin, Malarkey and Lipton. Did I leave any main characters out?
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