It's hard to believe this is almost 20 years old now. I am watching it for the third time and it is still worth every second !
Great, excerpt for expecting me to respect David Schwimmer’s authoritah
what strikes me about Band of Brothers is that when I first watched it... I really struggled to know who was who, at least beyond Lewis (Winters), Schwimmer (Sobel) and Livingston (Nix). Took me maybe 2 or 3 (or 5) rewatches before I knew Guarnere, Bull, Liebgott etc etc from the get-go. And isn't that the point? Like, there's a heavy subtext here; it's hard to really have any individuality in a military context, and what better way to communicate that than by inundating the viewer with so many nameless faces, faceless names and random conversations being thrown around the mess hall, the barracks, and the hammocks.
There's more here in the pilot too, it's not just leaders who matter, but it's who you're going to be in a hole with. The focus is on how everyone relates to each other, and Spielberg makes a point not to shy away from American anti-semitism. In short, putting the viewer's attention squarely upon the interpersonal movement of Easy Company so early creates a solid foundation for episodes to come. You don't know for sure who is buddy-buddy with who, but there's a sense of camaraderie that pervades everything despite Sobel. It draws you in, and makes for great television.
Show, you're making it really hard for me to take you seriously when you present me with freaking ROSS, the whiniest character in the history of TV shows, and expect me believe he's a tough dude. I'm still laughing thinking about it now. He doesn't fit the macho persona to convincingly play the hardass... captain? I don't even remember what his rank was. Do better casting next time.
Great episode. It's focused a lot on only two characters though, I wanted to know more about at least a few others.
Twenty (20) years since this HBO mini-series premiered on the premium network and this single 60 minute episode stands the test of time.
Everything from the writing, directing, editing, acting, cinematography, original score, sound mixing, set design, VFX (in which almost everything was practical & avoided outdated CGI), and of course various locations used – everything coalesces perfectly into what can only be described as one of the single best episodes to air on the small screen in the history of broadcast television.
Take notes, Mr. Feige & your billion dollar studio backers at Disney and Marvel – as HBO’s Band of Brothers S01E01 managed to tell a genuinely more compelling, riveting, and emotionally resonant story in this single hour of television than what it took Marvel Studios/Disney roughly twenty (20; there’s that number again), ENTIRE MAJOR TENT POLE BLOCKBUSTER FILMS OVER A SPAN OF A DOZEN YEARS, (in which most of said Marvel movies clocked in at a bloated 2½ to 3 hours EACH).
I could’ve made the more embarrassing comparison by using the (other) most popular & highest grossing film franchises over the last 20 years by mentioning the night vs. day difference in quality between this Band of Brothers TV episode with, say, ANY of Zach Snyder’s big-screen trainwrecks, (by which I mean all of Snyder’s films including WATCHMEN – but then I’d have to explain all of the ways that Synder’s WATCHMEN movie was the antithesis Alan Moore’s original graphic novel from which it was “adapted” aka bastardized). But that comparison is too obvious since his movies, (including the over-hyped “Snyder Cuts”), are less coherent and more obnoxious than the 2019 “Cats” musical “film.”
There isn’t any more direct way to state just how impressive Band of Brothers is as a lightning-in-a-bottle mini-series production, (without spoiling...well...pretty recent history, but whatever).
Band of Brothers is objectively, unambiguously, unquestionably, a greater achievement that the most highly touted mainstream TV shows, including – but not limited to – the likes of: Breaking Bad & The Sopranos. HELL – Band of Brothers even puts one of the best movies of the 1990’s, (and one of the best WW II movies ever made), to COMPLETE SHAME, “Saving Private Ryan.”
Yes. I said it. And I’m more than confident that the overwhelming majority of audiences all over the world would agree without even a moment’s thought. So if you are a younger person who maybe was only a child – or perhaps wasn’t even born – when Band of Brothers first premiered in 2001 on HBO, I implore you to make it your immediate priority to place this mini-series at the very top of your streaming queue.
It’s impossible to over-hype this series, (believe me I’ve tried). So don’t worry if you just read this and are now concerned that it’s been built up too much & won’t meet these expectations I’ve established – your concern will dissipate into the ether within the first few minutes in your initial viewing of Band of Brothers.
“Currahee!”
Boring episode for a series premiere! It makes you re-think about watching the rest of the show.
I understand that its purpose about building up for the story & the characters, but it was done in a boring way, bad directing i guess.
Apart from that, very good acting especially from David Schwimmer & Damian Lewis.
Very good cinematography & amazing production for caring about the very specific details.
In overall, good episode, but it could've been better.
Shout by LillyalaineBlockedParentSpoilers2017-09-04T12:29:46Z
Great first episode, so many appearances by well-known actors. Loved the premise of this episode where they all stand up for their beloved actual leader not Sobel who thought he was the man.b