We Stand Alone Together

"We Stand Alone Together" serves as an epilogue of sorts for the nonpareil mini-series "Band of Brothers." While it is best appreciated having seen "BoB," this sublime piece of work also functions well as a stand-alone (no pun intended) documentary.

Watching "Together" captures the essence of being a young boy, listening at the knee of your grandfather as he relates war stories. If the doc consisted of nothing more than showing the men reminiscing, it would have been great. But overlaying the men's tales is remarkable archival footage of the events they describe, along with a few necessary slides that provide pertinent information. Add this to having watched the described events in "BoB," and one has a more vivid account of WWII than anything one's imagination might invent.

Seeing the former soldiers tell their stories provides a fuller appreciation for what they endured. As phenomenal as "BoB" is, hearing the words straight from the men makes the events more personal, because you know that they have survived both the war and life itself in the aftermath. Perhaps most enlightening of all was learning of the respect that the American soldiers had for the Germans. They understood that the Germans were humans too, just in drastically different circumstances.

The documentary further emphasizes a tagline from "BoB." These were ordinary men doing extraordinary things. Listening to them explain that they simply returned to 'normal' life following the war is almost stunning. The modern soldier is still human, but much more trained and honed, often a professional soldier, leading us to think of them as almost superhuman. Most World War II soldiers were common people, which makes their accomplishments all the more head-shaking.

The documentary is also superb technically. The pacing in particular stands out. Shunning the common modern choices of quick cuts or attention-grabbing music, the film proceeds deliberately with quiet undertones. Consistently using fades in and out of footage and interviews, director Mark Cowen allows time for the viewer to absorb the power of what is said and shown.

Bottom Line: Phenomenal stories of phenomenal people related in a exceptional way. 10 of 10.

Excellent interviews that detail the 101st's European tour and lay the foundation for the marvelous miniseries.

Screenplay...................................... 8 / 10 Interviews........................................ 10 Visuals................................................ 9 Sound................................................... 7 Editing................................................ 7 Music....................................................... 5 Timeless Utility................................. 8 Total.................................................... 54 / 70 ~= 7.7 (which I rounded to 8) Verdict................................................. Recommended.

This content added some welcome insight and information from people who actually lived the war. What I like less is that the content from the interview is picked and I think it would have been even more insightful to leave nothing out.

One of the things that set Band of Brothers apart from other war- based mini-series was the inclusion of interviews with the actual surviving members of Easy company. This 80 minute (when shown on BBC) programme allows us to get to know the real men behind the story and what they did with their lives after the War. So in a very real sense, this is the 11th episode in the series. The interviews were very moving. Almost 60 years on, the men involved are still very deeply affected by their experiences. Well worth watching. My one small complaint was that I found it difficult to associate the men being interviewed with the characters in the series. It might have been nice if some brief clips had been included, or a photo of the actor had been displayed. But that would probably have detracted from it.

This is a full-length DVD extra included with the giant "Band of Brothers" DVD set. It is about the men you see telling their stories at the beginning of each episode of "Band of Brothers". Here, instead of the usual brief snippets, the men all get to tell their stories about being a part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. In addition, there are a lot of photos as well as video footage of the men having their reunion at the end. All in all, a very inspiring piece that simply allows the men to reminisce and discuss their experiences during the war. In many ways, it's like a condensed version of what you see in the film and because of that it's really best to first see all of the "Band of Brothers" mini-series and then this film of the real participants. Well worth seeing and exceptionally well made.