Band of Brothers (2001– )

The story of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division and their mission in WWII Europe from Operation Overlord through V-J Day.

Stars:

Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 22 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Scott Grimes	...	TSgt. Donald Malarkey (10 episodes, 2001)
Damian Lewis	...	Maj. Richard D. Winters (10 episodes, 2001)
Ron Livingston	...	Capt. Lewis Nixon (10 episodes, 2001)
Shane Taylor	...	Cpl. Eugene Roe (10 episodes, 2001)
Donnie Wahlberg	...	C. Carwood Lipton (10 episodes, 2001)
Peter Youngblood Hills	...	SSgt. Darrel 'Shifty' Powers (10 episodes, 2001)
Nicholas Aaron	...	Pvt. Robert 'Popeye' Wynn (9 episodes, 2001)
Philip Barantini	...	Sgt. Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk (9 episodes, 2001)
Michael Cudlitz	...	Sgt. Denver 'Bull' Randleman (9 episodes, 2001)
Rick Gomez	...	Sgt. George Luz (9 episodes, 2001)
James Madio	...	Sgt. Frank Perconte (9 episodes, 2001)
Doug Allen	...	Sgt. Alton More (8 episodes, 2001)
George Calil	...	Pvt. James 'Moe' Alley (8 episodes, 2001)
Dexter Fletcher	...	SSgt. John Martin (8 episodes, 2001)
Nolan Hemmings	...	Sgt. Charles 'Chuck' Grant (8 episodes, 2001)
Ross McCall	...	Cpl. Joseph Liebgott (8 episodes, 2001)
Neal McDonough	...	1st Lt. Lynn 'Buck' Compton (8 episodes, 2001)
Rick Warden	...	1st Lt. Harry Welsh (8 episodes, 2001)
Robin Laing	...	Pvt. Edward 'Babe' Heffron (8 episodes, 2001)
Dale Dye	...	Col. Robert Sink (7 episodes, 2001)
Michael Fassbender	...	Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson (7 episodes, 2001)
Matthew Leitch	...	SSgt. Floyd 'Tab' Talbert (7 episodes, 2001)
Rene L. Moreno	...	Pvt. Joseph Ramirez (7 episodes, 2001)
Frank John Hughes	...	SSgt. William 'Wild Bill' Guarnere (7 episodes, 2001)
Tim Matthews	...	Cpl. Alex Penkala (7 episodes, 2001)
Douglas Spain	...	Pvt. Antonio Garcia (7 episodes, 2001)
Richard Speight Jr.	...	Sgt. Warren 'Skip' Muck (7 episodes, 2001)
Eion Bailey	...	Pvt. David Kenyon Webster (6 episodes, 2001)
Craig Heaney	...	Pvt. Roy Cobb (6 episodes, 2001)
Kirk Acevedo	...	SSgt. Joseph Toye (6 episodes, 2001)
Peter McCabe	...	Cpl. Donald Hoobler (6 episodes, 2001)
Matthew Settle	...	Capt. Ronald Speirs (6 episodes, 2001)
Ben Caplan	...	Cpl. Walter 'Smokey' Gordon (5 episodes, 2001)
Phil McKee	...	Lt. Col. Robert L. Strayer (5 episodes, 2001)
Mark Huberman	...	Pvt. Lester 'Leo' Hashey (5 episodes, 2001)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

behind enemy lines | comradeship | machine gun | steel helmet | american soldier | 

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Taglines:

Ordinary men. Extraordinary times.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Dutch French German Lithuanian

Release Date:

9 September 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frères d'armes

Filming Locations:

Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks Television, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

705 min 705 min (10 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the series, Joe Liebgott (Ross McCall) states that he wants to go home after the war and run a taxi service. In real life, Liebgott was a barber by trade. This is reflected in the first episode's opening montage of the paratroopers getting ready for the D-Day jump, where Liebgott can be briefly seen shaving another soldier's head.

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Goofs

In the episode where Easy is rescuing the British soldiers, Bull Randelman is seen in the extreme foreground. He is in a boat paddling along with the rest of the soldiers, but he does not have a paddle in his hands.

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Quotes

Richard Winters: [Cpt. Nixon won't wake up] Let's go. C'mon, you got 10 minutes.
Cpt. Nixon: [sleepily] Go away.
Richard Winters: C'mon, big guy, let's go.
Cpt. Nixon: Ah, leave me alone!
Richard Winters: [tossing the contents of a nearby pitcher on Nix' head] Okay...
Cpt. Nixon: GOD DAMMIT! Ahhh, that's my own PISS, for Christ's sake!

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Band of Brothers' (2001)

User Reviews

Realistic WWII Drama With Warts Included

"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.