This
is the story of “E” Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne
Division from their initial training starting in 1942 to the end of
World War II. They parachuted behind enemy lines in the early hours of
D-Day in support of the landings at Utah beach, participated in the
liberation of Carentan and again parachuted into action during Operation
Market Garden. They also liberated a concentration camp and were the
first to enter Hitler’s mountain retreat in Berchtesgarten. A
fascinating tale of comradeship that is, in the end, a tale of ordinary
men who did extraordinary things.
I had watched a couple of installments of this mini-series over the
past couple of years when they were on regular TV. I thought each of the
single installments was excellent, but I’d never watched the complete
series. Lay and I watched the entire series on a Thursday, Friday and
Saturday night a couple of weeks ago.
“Band Of Brothers” tells the true and incredible odyssey of Easy
Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st “Screaming
Eagles” Airborne Division, U.S. Army – from their formation in Georgia
(1942), to Berlin and the end of the war in Europe (1945). The demand
for, and on, elite paratroopers was unending and they were deployed as
“the tip of the spear” of every major allied offensive (and many minor
ones too) on the Western Front. Jumping behind enemy lines, often
without critical equipment and supplies or lacking enough rest and under
terrible conditions, they saw more than their share of hard combat and E
Company itself took nearly 150% casualties. (Statistically at least,
that’s 100% of the company – 140 men and 7 officers – and half again of
their replacements, lost).
The entire production represents quality writ large: Beautifully
filmed on various European locations (including the UK and Austria), the
movie is noble without being the least bit pompous or austere, and it
manages to humanize a large cast of essential characters with small
touches of humanity and humor, all of which serves to heighten the sense
of terror as they descend into the maelstrom of conflict. The first –
and longest – episode is deceptively staid, featuring David Schwimmer (a
long way from TV’s “Friends”) as a cowardly, bullying commanding
officer whose tyrannical methods nevertheless shaped Easy Company into a
fighting force which eventually cut a swathe through the heart of
occupied Europe. Brit actor Damian Lewis takes the spotlight thereafter
as Easy Company’s most respected platoon leader, with Ron Livingston as
his right hand man. Other standout performances in a flawless cast
include Matthew Settle as battle-hardened platoon leader Ronald Speirs
whose wartime career was distinguished by numerous acts of bravery
(fuelled by a unique – if morbid – personal philosophy), Shane Taylor as
company medic Eugene Roe, Neal McDonough as 2nd lieutenant ‘Buck’
Compton (laid low by his horrific combat experiences), and Donnie
Wahlberg as 1st sergeant C. Carwood Lipton, who maintained the morale of
his fellow soldiers, even when the odds seemed stacked against them.
Every episode has its merits, but stand-outs include David Leland’s
‘Bastogne’ (ep. 6), which recounts the horrendous circumstances
surrounding Easy Company’s involvement in the Battle of the Bulge, and
David Frankel’s ‘Why We Fight’ (ep. 9), in which the full horror of the
Nazi regime is uncovered in a German forest. Additionally, the closing
moments of chapter 10 (‘Points’, directed by Mikael Salomon) are truly
heartbreaking.
It’s doubtful that a more fitting tribute to the men of Easy Company
could have been devised than BAND OF BROTHERS, a truly remarkable film
in every conceivable way. By turns engrossing, provocative and deeply
moving, it stands as a testament to those who fought and died for our
freedoms, almost a lifetime ago.
