Band of Brothers

[Jimbeaux]

audidoody said:

and many of the main characters of Easy Company are English actors! Damien Lewis IS Major Winters!

That is almost as cool as the characters all being based on Yank non-actors!

[becksW]

A bit late into the conversation but another vote here for Band of Brothers. I remember buying this as a christmas pressie for hubby when it first came out. It was difficult to find due to popular demand and cost me about £60!

[Mutley]

audidoody said:

and many of the main characters of Easy Company are English actors! Damien Lewis IS Major Winters!

Actors were chosen for their likeness to the real person

[fathomfive]

Jimbeaux said:

Cara Van Man said:

Cant remember which film it was, maybe a Mel gibson one, but they came asking forces lads to be extras as they "looked the part" a while ago......couldn't get the time of though.

Was it "We Were Soldiers Once", or something Similar? Based upon the book, "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young".

That is a great film, and one of the few I can stomach with Mel Gibson in it.

Another vote also for Band of Brothers. A masterpiece.

Looking forward to The Pacific.

Really wish someone would do something like this about British units though.

[audidoody]

Mutley said:

audidoody said:

and many of the main characters of Easy Company are English actors! Damien Lewis IS Major Winters!

Actors were chosen for their likeness to the real person

You sure it wasn't because it was shot in England? Equity has some pretty strict rules about the use of non-British actors in a British production

Edited by audidoody on Tuesday 11th November 08:24

[rsv gone!]

Parts of it were filmed in Hatfield;

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geoc...

[Eric Mc]

rsv gone! said:

Parts of it were filmed in Hatfield;

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geoc...

The old De Havilland Aircraft Company's factory airfield and scene of the first flight of many famous aircraft such as the Mosquito, Vampire, Comet, Trident etc.

[Nic Jones]

rsv gone! said:

Parts of it were filmed in Hatfield;

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geoc...

Almost all of it iirc.

One of my lecturers was involved on the pyrotechnics side of either this or Saving Private Ryan (which was also filmed on the old airfield). He told us that all the forest in the snow (forget which episode) was filmed in one of the old hangers there, the bit where they attacj the crossroads was filmed to the west of the airfield (you can see it if you look on google earth) and the village to the north was repeatedly rebuilt to represent all the different villages they visited.


This is somewhere I have mispent a lot of my youth playing in cars either rallying or autotesting/auto-soloing. Upottery Airfield (or Smeatharpe as it is known now) in Devon.
there is a memorial plaque on the main entrance and there are often wreaths there placed by visiting Americans.

I certainly viewed the airfield in a different light after I watched BoB.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...

[BLUETHUNDER]

audidoody said:

Mutley said:

audidoody said:

and many of the main characters of Easy Company are English actors! Damien Lewis IS Major Winters!

Actors were chosen for their likeness to the real person

You sure it wasn't because it was shot in England? Equity has some pretty strict rules about the use of non-British actors in a British production

Edited by audidoody on Tuesday 11th November 08:24

It wasnt a British production.The whole series was financed by American broadcaster HBO.

Main British Actors were...

Damien Lewis=Major Winters

Dexter Fletcher=Ssgt John Martin

Robin Laing= Pvt Edward "Babe" Heffron

Shane Taylor=Corp Eugene Roe

Nicholas Aaron=Pvt Robert (Popeye Wynn

Rick Warden= Lt Harry Welsh

Tim Matthews= Cpl Alex Penkala

[MX-Si]

Look at what I've just found:

http://www.genesis-publications.com/books/easyco_5...

More pictures here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/w...

And yes, I've ordered it!

[Civpilot]

BLUETHUNDER said:

audidoody said:

Mutley said:

audidoody said:

and many of the main characters of Easy Company are English actors! Damien Lewis IS Major Winters!

Actors were chosen for their likeness to the real person

You sure it wasn't because it was shot in England? Equity has some pretty strict rules about the use of non-British actors in a British production

Edited by audidoody on Tuesday 11th November 08:24

It wasnt a British production.The whole series was financed by American broadcaster HBO.

Main British Actors were...

Damien Lewis=Major Winters

Dexter Fletcher=Ssgt John Martin

Robin Laing= Pvt Edward "Babe" Heffron

Shane Taylor=Corp Eugene Roe

Nicholas Aaron=Pvt Robert (Popeye Wynn

Rick Warden= Lt Harry Welsh

Tim Matthews= Cpl Alex Penkala

Add to that;-

Ross McCall = Cpl. Joseph Liebgott

Matthew Leitch = SSgt. Floyd 'Tab' Talbert

Tim Matthews = Cpl. Alex Penkala

Fantastic series and I still get a big time lump in the throat at the final words from Dick Winters as the tears begin to appear in his eyes and his voice wavers....

Maj. Richard D. Winters Rtd said:

I treasure my remark to my grandson who asked, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Grandpa said, "No... but I served in a company of heroes".

[Maxf]

Fantastic series.

The two parts which get me most are the discovery of the concentration camp, and having to not feed the prisoners and also the very end when you see what these brave chaps went on to do after the war.

The fact that the vast majority of them went on to do normal, mundane jobs really shows that it wasn't Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis superheroes out there, it was just normal folks like you and me, finding strength and courage as they went along.

[robm3]

Got this for Christmas last year, it's brilliant and a little scary (how quick life can go)
Wasn't Tom Hanks and Spielberg involved somehow?
Presume they had momentum and ideas from Saving Private Ryan somehow.

[robm3]

OH, where was that Hotel they filmed at in the end?
The lake is magnificent.

[Civpilot]

robm3 said:

Got this for Christmas last year, it's brilliant and a little scary (how quick life can go)
Wasn't Tom Hanks and Spielberg involved somehow?
Presume they had momentum and ideas from Saving Private Ryan somehow.

So you've got the box set but haven't managed to figure out who made it yet?

As for ideas from Ryan? no.
Band of Brothers is a true (as possible) story of the real men of easy company, taken largely from the book of the same name, which itself was taken from interviews, mission reports, and records of the actual actions of "easy" during WW2. Saving Private Ryan was fiction.

Interesting note for those that have seen it. The moment that the German commander was allowed to keep his sidearm by Maj.Winters didn't actually happen as potrayed. I reality Dick Winters accepted the side arm and still has it to this day. When it was handed over Winters discovered it had never been fired, not once. According to Dick Winters it never will be. Even that I find very, very poignant.

[Munter]

Maxf said:

The fact that the vast majority of them went on to do normal, mundane jobs really shows that it wasn't Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis superheroes out there, it was just normal folks like you and me, finding strength and courage as they went along.

They single out the GI Bill? as well. A piece of legislation which sent many of the GIs to an education they could not have had before.

The quote someone else posted from Winters to his Grandson gets me as well. Winters seems to be one of those guys you look at and go "Awww crap. I'm not 1/2 the man he is."

[Civpilot]

There is another book Called "Biggest Brother" specifically about Winters. It is a stunning read.

Deffinately someone I would like to meet, just to shake his hand.

[captainzep]

Civpilot said:

BLUETHUNDER said:

audidoody said:

Mutley said:

audidoody said:

and many of the main characters of Easy Company are English actors! Damien Lewis IS Major Winters!

Actors were chosen for their likeness to the real person

You sure it wasn't because it was shot in England? Equity has some pretty strict rules about the use of non-British actors in a British production

Edited by audidoody on Tuesday 11th November 08:24

It wasnt a British production.The whole series was financed by American broadcaster HBO.

Main British Actors were...

Damien Lewis=Major Winters

Dexter Fletcher=Ssgt John Martin

Robin Laing= Pvt Edward "Babe" Heffron

Shane Taylor=Corp Eugene Roe

Nicholas Aaron=Pvt Robert (Popeye Wynn

Rick Warden= Lt Harry Welsh

Tim Matthews= Cpl Alex Penkala

Add to that;-

Ross McCall = Cpl. Joseph Liebgott

Matthew Leitch = SSgt. Floyd 'Tab' Talbert

Tim Matthews = Cpl. Alex Penkala

Fantastic series and I still get a big time lump in the throat at the final words from Dick Winters as the tears begin to appear in his eyes and his voice wavers....

Maj. Richard D. Winters Rtd said:

I treasure my remark to my grandson who asked, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Grandpa said, "No... but I served in a company of heroes".

Simon Pegg turned up too.

The genius of BoB for me was the way each episode had its own take on the company (different directors I think?)-Fabulous storytelling underlying the acting, production, etc.

[Gillet]

Another vote for me, the best TV series ever, and only 1 i have ever bought on DVD, think it was nearly £60 at the time. Also have the book and a few others by Ambrose.

The whole atmosphere the show gives you, the fact it takes you from training through to the end of the war, its simply fantastic.

My favourite episode has to be the Seige of Bastogne, with Spears taking over E Company, and then running straight through the German lines because the radio wasn't working, then he ran back across the lines again to his own troops, amazing!

can't wait till the new Pacific series, would be good if someone did the same with the British war stories, even 60+ years on these guys need more respect than they're given.

[JCB123]

I'll vote excellent....just great in everyway!

I've scan read the last 5 pages and not seen anyone mention the new series 'The Pacific'....I think this is about ready for airing?!?!?


Edit: http://www.pacificfans.com/

Edited by JCB123 on Tuesday 11th November 13:19