Band of Brothers: Wir waren wie Brüder

Band of Brothers shows the world the ugly truth of World War II.

As it was a TV series, sometimes people may think that there are movies of the same quality, but honestly, I didn't find.

The characters are presented very deeply and we can even feel what they are going through and the problems they are facing.

At times, distressing. Others, exciting.

I believe that as it was based on real facts and having testimonials from people who have gone through the war, Band of Brothers becomes unforgettable.

Band of Brothers absolutely one of the best miniseries of all-time...period. Not only that but it's also among the very best war movies/tv shows ever created! It follows the story of a US Army airborne division called Easy Company and their missions in Europe during World War II. It follows the brave soldiers and their experiences and bravery during the war. It's based off interviews with survivors of Easy Company and the soldiers letters and journals they wrote. EVERY episode is so incredibly written and the cast is absolutely amazing! It is a pulse-pounding accurate depiction of war that will keep you glued to each and every episode. I have to warn you that it's a tough watch but absolutely worth it.

"Band of Brothers" in a word is awesome. I couldn't wait to see each episode. Co-Executive Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, it has the realism, look and feel of Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) but with more insight into the characters. Hanks even directed one episode himself.

Told over ten gut wrenching episodes, the story centers on a company of soldiers in the 101st American Airborne Division in WWII from their initial basic training to their landing in France on D-Day to their many battles and ordeals through to the liberation of a concentration camp and finally through to the end of the war.

The soldiers are ordinary people thrust into horrific situations and shows how each is able (or not able) to deal with the situations. The battle scenes are realistic and convincing and the special effects are breath taking. While the series depicts the trials and tribulations of the company, it isn't afraid to show how the war affects seemingly sane and rational men. For example there is a scene where the nominal hero of the story, Winters (Damien Lewis) shoots an unarmed German soldier out of frustration. There is also a scene where a group of German prisoners are cut down by an American officer after he had given them cigarettes. Even after the German surrender there are instances of out and out murder of Germans. This is very rare for an American war story.

The cast is of largely unknown actors, which makes for a more effective telling of the story. There is no John Wayne leading the troops to victory kind of thing. Damien Lewis is very good as Winters who rises through the ranks to lead the company. Ron Livingston plays his friend and second in command, Nixon. Others include David Schwimmer, excellent as the training officer, Scott Grimes as Malarkey the grizzled sergeant and ex New Boys on the Block member Donnie Wahlberg effective as Corporal Lipton.

"Band of Brothers" is a story that could only be told in a mini-series. It clearly shows that war really is hell.

Band of Brothers finds us following the exploits of Easy Company throughout their campaign in Europe, from their inception all the way to the end of the war. The commentary from the actual soldiers that were in those situations is touching, to say the very least. These commentaries also help to move the character development along quite a bit, as it lets us into their own personal thoughts on the situations they faced. This project, to the best of my knowledge was undertaken at roughly the same time as Saving Private Ryan, using many of the same locations and also employing DreamWorks special effects, giving it a very familiar feel for anyone that has seen Private Ryan. As I've already touched on, the character development is greatly due to the fact that this story is not told in a two hour segment, but throughout several hour long intervals, giving us the chance to truly "get to know" the characters personalities as the story develops. In my humble opinion, the only other military type mini series' that even come close to the scope of this one are The Blue and The Grey, and North and South.

All of the actors in this series do and excellent job at playing the roles appropriately and making us believe the hell these men were put through. The thing I also appreciated about the cast is the lack of any "real" names, leading to us not knowing who may or may not be making it out the scenes alive and unscathed.

This mini series is everything Saving Private Ryan was, as well as everything it wasn't. If you're a fan of war time stories and "army" movies, this is hands down the best of the best… I don't even think I could name ANY movies about WWII that could even compare to this one… A bold statement, I know, but I'm making it any how.

This week I saw three things based on WW-II novels. The first was 'The Pianist' about the Warsaw ghetto in the war and the survival of a Jewish pianist in that ghetto. The second was 'De Tweeling', a Dutch film about two twin-sisters, separated in 1926. One of them grows up in Nazi-Germany, the other in The Netherlands. That movie shows us more of the common persons during the war, Germans and not-Germans. The third was 'Band of Brothers', a true story about combat in the war. All three things are great, the films I mean, and you definitely should see all three of them.

'Band of Brothers' follows Easy-company from their training in England, through D-Day, the rest of France (including Bastogne), Holland (including operation Market Garden), Germany and Austria. This story is shown to us in ten different episodes. Every episode starts with the real men from Easy-company telling about their experiences and ends with a short written update of Easy-company. Between beginning and ending of episodes one of the best things I have seen on screen is presented to us.

The casting is amazing. Even David Schwimmer (from 'Friends') as the bitter Captain Sobel is great. Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston are superb as Major Winters and Captain Lewis Nixon. Every actor seems to be perfect for his character. The photography and direction is great also. I especially loved the direction of the episode done by executive producer Tom Hanks, possibly with some help from the other executive producer Steven Spielberg. 'Saving Private Ryan' was great for showing us the horror in combat, 'Band of Brothers' does the same thing but adds some other things. You really learn to know the characters (in 600 minutes you can do that), you sympathize with them.

If you have the chance to see this masterpiece, do so. It is long but you can spread the episodes over some days. But if you start watching it is very hard to stop. Definitely one of the best WW-II movies or series out there.