Ushered in the current era of "premium television". Nobody thought a made for cable miniseries would be this amazing. HBO and Spielberg / Hanks hit it out of the park.
I guess I should have specified particularly miniseries. Before this, cable miniseries were things like The Stand. HBO was already breaking ground with The Sopranos and Oz, but this was the first example of the "miniseries as a film" thing that we see these days with shows like Chernobyl.
Band of Brothers is more than a mini-series; it's a harrowing, deeply human exploration of the bonds forged in the crucible of war. Chronicling the journey of Easy Company during World War II, the series masterfully balances personal stories with sweeping historical events, offering an unflinching portrayal of the bravery, fear, and camaraderie that defined the Greatest Generation. Emotionally, it strikes a universal chord, vividly capturing the cost of freedom and the resilience of the human spirit. Its cultural impact lies in its ability to honor the sacrifices of soldiers while reminding viewers of the horrors of war. Historically, it serves as an essential education, breathing life into the names and battles often confined to textbooks. Band of Brothers is required viewing because it bridges the gap between history and humanity, ensuring the legacy of those who fought for our future is never forgotten. It compels us to remember and appreciate the price of peace.
Unlike most war programming, these actors are not just playing characters. They are representing the actual soldiers of Easy Company. In several cases the actors got to talk with the soldiers they would play in the series. They don't achieve perfect historical accuracy in every detail, but they do a phenomenal job. At the end of the series you can find out which of the veterans interviewed in the introductions to the episodes have had their severe wounds portrayed in the series.
I am so glad you've started BAND OF BROTHERS, it's probably the best portrayal of WW2. My father and his older brother had dual citizenship, Cuban and US. Their mother and father were living in Tampa due to their dad's job in the cigar business. They were raised in Cuba and the 4 other kids were born in Havana. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor my Dad went to the US consulate with his birth certificate demanding passage to the US so he could enlist in the Army. He left his young bride with her family and off he went to fight for his country. His older brother would have gone with him but his wife was totally blind. My Dad never made it overseas as he was severely injured in a training accident. He was discharged and decided to stay. It took him a year and $1000 to bring my mother over. My sisters and I were all born here just because of my father's patriotism. It was a different time that created the Greatest Generation.
Interesting fact about Winters that gives a big idea as to why he was such a good leader...he enlisted in August of 1941 and completed training as an enlisted man, then he remained at the camp where he trained to help train other men after him. He was selected for Officer Candidate School in April 1942, and after he finished that training and became an officer in July 1942 he volunteered for the Airborne...so when we see him as a Platoon Leader in Easy, that is his third set of training that Winters is undergoing. Also...in case nobody mentions it, "Easy" was just the way that the US Army referred to the E Company in each Regiment. Companies, usually 9 of them, were lettered in each Regiment...A Company thru usually I Company...and each company had a standard phonetic name that was used to refer to them based on the letter of that company...so pretty much all the A Companies in the US Army were called "Able Company" and all the B Companies were "Baker" and all E Companies were "Easy". But of course, there was only one Easy Company that we are worried about for this show.
As a US Army veteran (Desert Storm era, not WWII), I want to express my appreciation to our Canadian allies for fighting side by side with us and our British allies on D-Day. Your efforts and contributions are by no means forgotten.
The first soldiers to land in France were the Pathfinders. Their job was to guide the planes to their proper drop zones. Their casualty rate was astronomical.
The production was able to get 4 actual vintage planes. With creative cinematography, clever editing and some CGI, they were able to make those planes appear to be part of an enormous force. 😊
@@zedwpd And the UK (neither us nor Canada feature in the show much if at all but we were both there in numbers, my grandad among them :). (I get it BTW - this is specifically about Easy company, as per the book etc.)
The planes were DC3's, or the military variant C47's. There are still several hundred in worldwide in service being the most robust and long lived aircraft ever made. There is even a company in the US refurbishing them with new engines and avionics and they are expected to fly for another fifty plus years.
When you finish the series, there are several clips on RUclips of the year the show won a bunch of Emmy awards. The actual veterans were in the audience and it is a very moving experience.
The genuine stroke of genius this show had was to include interviews with some of the real people being portrayed. However, sometimes when they talk, and you hear the pain in their voice, it yanks on your heart strings - the actors had the fortune to be in a great show, but these guys lost their friends for real.
"From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberèd- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother..."
Good reaction. Spielberg and Hanks will draw you in and make you feel like you are there. That's the beauty of this series. The cinematography is outstanding. You will get very emotionally attached to these men. As these episodes continue, it going to get very real. But, so worth it in the end. 65 million people died in WW2. These men are the greatest generation of our age. They were raised through the Great Depression. Lived through WW1. Fought in the biggest war known to mankind in WW2. Stopped Hitler from Genocide. And Changed the World. Well done.
I am a combat vet. As you watch this you are going to start feeling as if you are part of the unit. I am willing to bet you will go from saying things like they and start saying we and thats a good thing. Thank you for this and may God bless you both
Im sure someone has said this but the fact you guys are wathcing GoT, BB, and now BoB all at the same time is insane. So happy to have found your channel, have fun guys.
I had been in the Navy for five years when this came out and absolutely loved it. The first episode aired two days before the September 11 attacks. As a Veteran, Richard Winters is the kind of leader I would have followed without hesitation. I have read the book this is based on, as well as two books about the life of Richard Winters, one of which he co-authored. Several other men from Easy Company wrote books as well before they passed on. One thing I loved about this series, among others, was the friendship between Winters and Lewis Nixon. Looking forward to your reactions to the rest of the series.
YES! Y'all are one of my favorite channels, about to embark on this journey with the best series ever. The men of that Greatest Generation are my heroes. I remember my grandfather & great uncles never spoke of their service but I admire what they did. Looking forward to this. (Please keep the Veterans interviews in your reaction, thank you)
Welcome to the best miniseries yet produced. It 's a long haul worth your time, tears and hopes. Winters says, "Good luck. God bless you. I'll see you in the assembly area." Then he helps each man of his stick up and looks them directly in the eyes. That is the definition of leadership.
By the end of this you'll know all their names. The real men of Easy Company. These aren't "characters", these actors are portraying true American heroes.
As I am sure many others are commenting, you are in for an extraordinary journey. This series is an absolute masterpiece that is going to take you on an emotional journey like no other. Prepare yourself, there will be times when you will want to quit watching this series. But by the end, you will be looking back with so much appreciation and love for these characters, and will be thinking about how long it will be before you watch it all over again (I've watched the complete series 5 times, and followed other reactors journeys as well). Good luck!!!!!!!!
One of the greatest series of all time. Hanks & Spielberg went on to produce two more series about WW2 ("The Pacific" & "Masters Of The Air") but this remains the gold standard.
There is a reason this is considered one of the best mini-series of all time. The sound design and sets are so freaking impressive to go along with the amazing stories of these men. Enjoy and keep tissues on hand throughout. After working on Saving Private Ryan together just a few years prior, it's cool that Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks worked together on this. I hope y'all watch the We Stand Alone Together documentary with the men of Easy Company after the series concludes. Enjoy the ride
Quite possibly the greatest mini-series ever made-- certainly may favorite. I've re-watched this at least once a year since it first aired and I get emotional every damned time. Buckle up. You're in for a ride.
That plane they were transported in is a C47, which was the military designation of the DC3. It was the most useful aircraft in history. A design from the 1930's, some are still flying, mostly in remote locations where tarmac landing strips are not always available (They could take off and land on dirt runways). After the War, the DC3 became the most common plane used by airlines, and they were the bulk of transcontinental flights. Like most military fliers, my dad piloted one.
After you finish the 10 episodes, there is a documentary on the actual men and unit, including what happened to the men when the war ended, called “We Stand Alone Together.” Is excellent. Also there is a video diary made by Ron Livingston (Nixon) about the 2 week training session that most of the cast went through, also fascinating.
Appropriate day to upload this one (Remembrance day for us, Veteran's Day for the yanks). A truly great show with the built-in bonus past-time of spotting familiar faces - a large chunk of the cast, which is composed of relatively-unknown-at-the-time US actors + essentially any UK based male actor who was in their early-mid 20s around the year 1999 :), went on to have pretty successful careers in film and TV so spotting the "big names" in sometimes tiny parts is fun.
For me, the thing that sets this apart from so many other "war stories" is the attention to detail of the writers, filmmakers, and the set crew. There is a scene where 1Lt Winters is standing behind the wing of a C-47 Douglas Skytrain. On the wing you can see the black and white stripes on the otherwise camouflage aircraft. That black and white paint scheme is known as an invasion stripe and were there to help the ground troops identify friendly aircraft from enemy ones. The stripes were painted in the last few days before D-Day by the Air Corps ground crews who maintained the aircraft. The paint was often hastily applied from a can using paint brushes and you can see evidence of that small detail at 24:40.
9:54 in the book it mentions the officers were only a few days ahead of the men they were leading, so they’d learn something then have to turn around and teach the men in their command. Also in retrospect many of the men hated Sobel at the time but later agreed that he was a good training officer not a combat commander.
I am so excited for you guys to watch this series, you are going to learn so much, you are going to bond with all of these men, which means you'll have so much love and respect, but also means a lot of heartbreak. I envy you the experience you're about to have for the first time. A word of advice, keep tissues nearby, you'll never know when you're going to need them.
You two are in for quite a journey,, This series is phenomenal. I like how you mentioned Sobel being a good trainer but bad in the field because that is exactly the issue with him. He's a good leader in the aspect of getting them ready and in getting them to not only fight but to fight for each other is critical for combat. Unfortunately that doesn't always translate into leading people in battle which is something that Winters, as you will soon find out, is exceptional at.
I found you nuts with GOT (my second favorite series of all time), to now find your watching my favorite series of all time BOB… I already so enjoyed your reaction and review. Currahee…!
Always blows my mind to think that with all that happened over the course of the war for Easy Company, this was only one small group. From Europe to Africa, Italy, the Pacific, Germany, Russia, the Holocaust.... not to mention all the things going on "at home" with manufacturing, rationing, codebreaking, logistics... you could study a lifetime and not ever understand all the moving parts of that war. I truly don't believe that effort could be repeated today.
I'm excited to see your reaction to this series. Hands down one of the best miniseries made. those Men in the beginning are the actual veterans of Easy Company.
My grandpa's dad serve in easy company he died when i was 10 yo but i keept his diary. This series is just a great way to remember him and his buddies.
It's actually probably the biggest point of military boot camps in general. You learn the basics, but honestly, you learn what you need to learn within the first 3-5 weeks or so of basic training. But the one thing that you can have in common with literally anyone else in your branch is having gone through the same training. It's a style of trauma bonding for most people as well as just general common ground.
very jealous you getting to see this amazing series that I have watched many times, but seeing it for the first time. It is a journey, but when it's done you will understand very intimately why so many older people fear it is all happening again. Happy viewing :)
So happy you chose to go on this journey. You will not be disappointed. This series is considered one of the top 3 ever made. My favorite. It's a Spielberg/Hanks series. Based on true events. It is 99.9 percent accurate. Or the WW2 veterans refused to do it.
While working as an usher at the US OPEN Tennis Tournament the actor who played Winters came through my gate I reflexively saluted him. He stopped, gave a little smile and saluted me back.
I'm so jealous of you guys. First Game of Thrones, now Band of Brothers. How lucky you are to get to experience all these amazing shows for the first time. You're in for an amazing journey with this show. For my money, it's still, by far, the best show HBO has ever produced.
there were actually more than 11,000 aircraft involved on D-Day, the US airborne forces dropped on D-day numbered 15,500,the British airborne force numbered 7,900...All told, the invasion force landed in Normandy numbered 156,115 men, the invasion fleet numbered over 6000 ships, of all types from battleships to landing craft, manned by an additional 196,000 naval personnel, giving an overall total of military personnel involved on D-Day, 6 June 1944, as just over 352,000. It was the largest invasion of its kind in Military history.The Allied command expected heavy casualties on the first day, and were surprised that total casualties on D-Day itself numbered less than 11,000, with a total of 4,432 killed. The very first Allied Soldier to be killed on D-Day was Lt Den Brotheridge, a British Paratrooper of the Ox &Bucks Light Infantry who was killed just after midnight, at Pegasus Bridge on the Orne Canal.
@@lawrencegough cheers! I live in Portsmouth, on the south coast, and large parts of the invasion force sailed from the city... we actually have one of the few surviving landing craft that was there on D-Day here on display, open to the public at our D-Day museum.....and they've just received a commemorative statue of Lt Den Brotheridge which is now on display in the entrance foyer of the Museum... the base of the statue is on a plinth which has scattered around it 4,432 empty cartridge cases, one for every Allied soldier killed on D-Day......
this is a winner series. very very good series. I subscribed, just for this trip. Break out the popcorn. the first episode is by far the easiest to digest.
That invasion, and this action by the paratroopers to support it, were both gigantic. They dropped 13,000 airborne troops a few miles inland from the invasion beaches to cause chaos and confusion and disrupt the Germans' response to the invasion forces landing at the five beaches (two hit by Americans, two by the Brits, and one by the Canadians.) Easy Company's responsibility was to provide that support for the American troops landing at Utah Beach. These were among the best-trained troops in the world at that time. One of the key goals of the training is to ingrain the tactical actions appropriate to a situation like muscle memory. I remember rehearsing things like responding to being ambushed over and over and over; running gun drills (I was a mortarman) with an instructor timing us with a stopwatch; walking around the base with our section leader, picking out buildings, telephone poles, etc., estimating the distance by eye, then pacing it off to see how close we'd been (this was many years before GPS or laser rangefinders.) A few things that jumped out at me right away about Sobel: when he told Winters, "You're making me look bad," that was dead wrong. It might be right to say, "You're making US look bad," but it's about the unit, not him. Next was him yelling, "Do not help that man!" when one man stumbled on a run. That's exactly backward. You're supposed to stick together and help each other. Again, it shows that Sobel didn't understand the basic idea of prioritizing the group above oneself. And he was unfair - telling Winters to pick six men, make up infractions, and punish them is the kind of thing that drives wedges between leaders and their troops; few things piss the troops off more than having a senior knowingly treat them unfairly. Finally, as well as being unable to read a map or make sound tactical decisions, he saw Winters as competition rather than as a priceless helper and teammate. The NCOs did the right thing. They had to get rid of Sobel before he got all the soldiers those NCOs were responsible for killed. The colonel understood what was going on, although he couldn't acknowledge that to the soldiers. When I was a young Marine my company had a CO a lot like Sobel, and we hated him. With a good leader like Winters, people try their hardest to win that leader's respect - they want him or her to respect them as much as they respect that leader. With one like Sobel, you do the minimum you have to do to keep him off your back. If you see him about to make a mistake that will get him in trouble, you don't say anything - you let it happen. If it was a Winters type, the troops would tactfully warn him and recommend a better course of action. And while that would trigger Sobel's insecurity and enrage him, Winters would appreciate it, acknowledge their good judgment, and thank them.
Good reaction to a great series. Regarding the beginning: the disappointment at the delay is probably due to the fact they've been preparing mentally to jump behind enemy lines, and now have 24 hours more to think about it. Regarding the water, you may have to go without it in combat. And with the spaghetti, you can't guarantee the enemy will wait until you've nicely digested your lunch before launching an attack. Sobel could be petty, but many Easy vets credited his harsh methods with helping them survive combat.
After this one, From the Earth to the Moon (1998). It was the first miniseries Tom Hanks produced after being inspired by a movie he starred in (Apollo 13).
This is mainly taken from the book by Stephen Ambrose - Band of Brothers. The majority of the interviews you see during the episodes were done by a lady that I've seen in videos of the 20th Anniversary of the show, which was held at the WWII museum in New Orleans. She had some funny stories to tell about the men. She's pretty good looking so, I think a few of them might have had a little crush on her at the time. All of the men you will see in the interview clips were from Easy Company, some are represented in the show, some are not, but they were all there in real life. Dale Dye (Colonel Sink) looked like he was actually from the military, in fact, he was. He also ran the actors boot camp to get the actors ready to play the roles they were selected for. The guy that plays Nixon did a video diary of the actors boot camp which you should watch when you finish this. It's pretty damn funny. Also, in real life, Sobel was not well liked by the men, although later, many would admit that his hard training served them well in actual combat. There will be some artistic liberties taken by the show runners in this mini-series. Obviously, time has to be compressed, sometimes they will have a man do something on screen that was done by someone else in real life, mainly because it wouldn't serve the show well to try and have 200 main actors. So, they had to consolidate actions in various places. Also, they do make some mistakes in places. Keep in mind the production of this was done before widespread internet access, it wasn't easy to confirm details of actions. The stories came from the men, as they remembered them, and sometimes, they just made mistakes. But all in all I think they had a deep desire to make the show as accurate as possible.
Great reaction and subscribed !! It may seem a long way off but when you hit episode 10/10, it's not the end ! There is a documentary, " We stand alone together ", which is effectively episode 11 ... which is an absolute " must see ", no reaction is complete without this ..
25:35 Funny you should say that...CGI wasn't anywhere close to reliable or realistic when this movie was made, so they had to go practical, which meant using the real planes. They were able to find exactly 6 C-47s that could still safely fly, so to do the runway shots they had to have the planes line up, taxi into position, take off, fly out of frame, circle back around and land on a different runway, then taxi back into the line and into frame to take off again, over and over, to create the sense of the massive fleet of planes. They also had the planes fly in formations at varying distances from the camera so they could later stack the images for the shots of the flight over the English Channel.
This series is widely considered the greatest te;evision series ever made, and its definitely the greatest war series ever produced. You will fall in love with these characters, and it will hit you right in the soul occasionally. The old men telling their stories at the beginning *are* the characters in the story (they are not identified so as to not spoil who lives and who dies. Just as a side piece of trivia, while pretty much the entire cast have become at the very least B-list actors, at the time, the only known quantity in the entire show was David Schwimmer.
If after watching this you feel motivated to travel to these sites, and if you ever find yourself in Normandy, there's a famous house now called "Canada House". This house was the first house liberated by Canadian troops in D-Day. You can easily find lots of pictures of that house if you google Juno Beach. The lady who lives there LOVES Canadian people. She was a kid when Canadians stormed the beach and she now owns the place. ALL Canadians are welcomed there. She will literally stop whatever she's doing and invite you in for a cup of tea.
Hey I'm loving forward to seeing your reactions on up coming shows. This is considered to be the best most life like movie/ series ever made. It's made by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Every episode gets harder and better to watch. 😊😊
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Never thought I'd see Ned Flanders and Julia Stiles reacting to Band of Brothers, but I'm here for it.
I had the same impression regarding the Julia Stiles favoritism.
if he's canadian he's the other Ned 🤣 "wanna puff on a reeferino"
💀💀🤣🤣🤣
Lmao
🤣
This is probably the best miniseries ever made
not probably, it is :)
@@Murder_34 Roots is up there too.
@@chetstevensqwas gonna say this, too. Roots and BoB are what all others should be measured against.
100% agree
Undoubtedly
"Never seen any war stuff"
And you're starting with the best war movie/show ever made.....
100% - This show won so many awards.
No offence intended but how is that possible.
@@ryanmichael1298 That's what happens when it's made by Spielberg and Tom Hanks, and Saving Private Ryan is only your rough draft / proof of concept.
I was referring to never having seen any war stuff.
It's all downhill from here
Ushered in the current era of "premium television". Nobody thought a made for cable miniseries would be this amazing. HBO and Spielberg / Hanks hit it out of the park.
*Sopranos has entered the chat*😂
You're not wrong about that, though. It's what got me and my family to start regularly watching HBO back then.
I guess I should have specified particularly miniseries. Before this, cable miniseries were things like The Stand. HBO was already breaking ground with The Sopranos and Oz, but this was the first example of the "miniseries as a film" thing that we see these days with shows like Chernobyl.
Tom Hanks first hit a home run after being inspired by one of his movies with From The Earth To The Moon.
Really enjoyed FURY.(3 times)
@@stevereid8486
Ugh. _Fury_ suffers from a BS premise. A lone tank would not last an hour surrounded by infantry.
Band of Brothers is more than a mini-series; it's a harrowing, deeply human exploration of the bonds forged in the crucible of war. Chronicling the journey of Easy Company during World War II, the series masterfully balances personal stories with sweeping historical events, offering an unflinching portrayal of the bravery, fear, and camaraderie that defined the Greatest Generation.
Emotionally, it strikes a universal chord, vividly capturing the cost of freedom and the resilience of the human spirit. Its cultural impact lies in its ability to honor the sacrifices of soldiers while reminding viewers of the horrors of war. Historically, it serves as an essential education, breathing life into the names and battles often confined to textbooks.
Band of Brothers is required viewing because it bridges the gap between history and humanity, ensuring the legacy of those who fought for our future is never forgotten. It compels us to remember and appreciate the price of peace.
Unlike most war programming, these actors are not just playing characters. They are representing the actual soldiers of Easy Company. In several cases the actors got to talk with the soldiers they would play in the series. They don't achieve perfect historical accuracy in every detail, but they do a phenomenal job. At the end of the series you can find out which of the veterans interviewed in the introductions to the episodes have had their severe wounds portrayed in the series.
I am so glad you've started BAND OF BROTHERS, it's probably the best portrayal of WW2. My father and his older brother had dual citizenship, Cuban and US. Their mother and father were living in Tampa due to their dad's job in the cigar business. They were raised in Cuba and the 4 other kids were born in Havana. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor my Dad went to the US consulate with his birth certificate demanding passage to the US so he could enlist in the Army. He left his young bride with her family and off he went to fight for his country. His older brother would have gone with him but his wife was totally blind. My Dad never made it overseas as he was severely injured in a training accident. He was discharged and decided to stay. It took him a year and $1000 to bring my mother over. My sisters and I were all born here just because of my father's patriotism. It was a different time that created the Greatest Generation.
Interesting fact about Winters that gives a big idea as to why he was such a good leader...he enlisted in August of 1941 and completed training as an enlisted man, then he remained at the camp where he trained to help train other men after him. He was selected for Officer Candidate School in April 1942, and after he finished that training and became an officer in July 1942 he volunteered for the Airborne...so when we see him as a Platoon Leader in Easy, that is his third set of training that Winters is undergoing.
Also...in case nobody mentions it, "Easy" was just the way that the US Army referred to the E Company in each Regiment. Companies, usually 9 of them, were lettered in each Regiment...A Company thru usually I Company...and each company had a standard phonetic name that was used to refer to them based on the letter of that company...so pretty much all the A Companies in the US Army were called "Able Company" and all the B Companies were "Baker" and all E Companies were "Easy". But of course, there was only one Easy Company that we are worried about for this show.
I didn't know all that!
As a US Army veteran (Desert Storm era, not WWII), I want to express my appreciation to our Canadian allies for fighting side by side with us and our British allies on D-Day.
Your efforts and contributions are by no means forgotten.
The first soldiers to land in France were the Pathfinders. Their job was to guide the planes to their proper drop zones. Their casualty rate was astronomical.
Yep. Their attrition rate was 80% They had to drop in twice as many to ensure there were actually people on the ground to complete the job.
@@StevenJShow Until the dirty dozen. The rate dropped
"Shall we just jump in?" Unintentional puns, best puns.
The production was able to get 4 actual vintage planes. With creative cinematography, clever editing and some CGI, they were able to make those planes appear to be part of an enormous force. 😊
I’m so glad you two are watching this. It’s life changingly good. It’s easily the best mini series ever made.
Oh, this is a great series. Every episode feels like a movie on its own. You're not going to forget this one anytime soon.
... ever.
IMHO the best work HBO has ever aired...
the original war trilogy - Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Generation Kill (first gulf war)
On Veterans Day. Good call!!❤
Remembrance Day for the Canadians.
@@zedwpd And the UK (neither us nor Canada feature in the show much if at all but we were both there in numbers, my grandad among them :).
(I get it BTW - this is specifically about Easy company, as per the book etc.)
The planes were DC3's, or the military variant C47's. There are still several hundred in worldwide in service being the most robust and long lived aircraft ever made. There is even a company in the US refurbishing them with new engines and avionics and they are expected to fly for another fifty plus years.
They sure AF knew how to build 'em back then!
@@davewhitmore1958 yep, and they were already building them in the 1930s
whoa!!!
For the show they filmed a couple of them taking off and then just landed and filmed them taking off again and stitched the footage together.
Damn, you're doing all the classics in a row!
When you finish the series, there are several clips on RUclips of the year the show won a bunch of Emmy awards. The actual veterans were in the audience and it is a very moving experience.
The genuine stroke of genius this show had was to include interviews with some of the real people being portrayed. However, sometimes when they talk, and you hear the pain in their voice, it yanks on your heart strings - the actors had the fortune to be in a great show, but these guys lost their friends for real.
"From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother..."
Shakespeare knew how to use words...
Good reaction.
Spielberg and Hanks will draw you in and make you feel like you are there. That's the beauty of this series. The cinematography is outstanding.
You will get very emotionally attached to these men.
As these episodes continue, it going to get very real. But, so worth it in the end.
65 million people died in WW2.
These men are the greatest generation of our age.
They were raised through the Great Depression.
Lived through WW1.
Fought in the biggest war known to mankind in WW2.
Stopped Hitler from Genocide.
And Changed the World.
Well done.
So glad you are starting this series. ❤
I am a combat vet. As you watch this you are going to start feeling as if you are part of the unit. I am willing to bet you will go from saying things like they and start saying we and thats a good thing. Thank you for this and may God bless you both
Im sure someone has said this but the fact you guys are wathcing GoT, BB, and now BoB all at the same time is insane. So happy to have found your channel, have fun guys.
1200 ships were used during D Day, with something like 4000 landing craft. They went big and quick.
One of the best war shows ever.
I had been in the Navy for five years when this came out and absolutely loved it. The first episode aired two days before the September 11 attacks. As a Veteran, Richard Winters is the kind of leader I would have followed without hesitation. I have read the book this is based on, as well as two books about the life of Richard Winters, one of which he co-authored. Several other men from Easy Company wrote books as well before they passed on. One thing I loved about this series, among others, was the friendship between Winters and Lewis Nixon. Looking forward to your reactions to the rest of the series.
Oh man, this is going to be great! This is probably my most rewatched series, not just full rewatches but from other reactions as well.
And so it begins .....
I'm glad y'all decided to watch this, it's a well done series.
YES! Y'all are one of my favorite channels, about to embark on this journey with the best series ever. The men of that Greatest Generation are my heroes. I remember my grandfather & great uncles never spoke of their service but I admire what they did. Looking forward to this. (Please keep the Veterans interviews in your reaction, thank you)
Welcome to the best miniseries yet produced. It 's a long haul worth your time, tears and hopes. Winters says, "Good luck. God bless you. I'll see you in the assembly area." Then he helps each man of his stick up and looks them directly in the eyes. That is the definition of leadership.
By the end of this you'll know all their names. The real men of Easy Company. These aren't "characters", these actors are portraying true American heroes.
As I am sure many others are commenting, you are in for an extraordinary journey. This series is an absolute masterpiece that is going to take you on an emotional journey like no other. Prepare yourself, there will be times when you will want to quit watching this series. But by the end, you will be looking back with so much appreciation and love for these characters, and will be thinking about how long it will be before you watch it all over again (I've watched the complete series 5 times, and followed other reactors journeys as well). Good luck!!!!!!!!
One of the greatest series of all time. Hanks & Spielberg went on to produce two more series about WW2 ("The Pacific" & "Masters Of The Air") but this remains the gold standard.
My older brother and sister used to watch this show every Sunday night for their history class. It's the best damn Miniseries of all time!
There is a reason this is considered one of the best mini-series of all time. The sound design and sets are so freaking impressive to go along with the amazing stories of these men. Enjoy and keep tissues on hand throughout. After working on Saving Private Ryan together just a few years prior, it's cool that Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks worked together on this. I hope y'all watch the We Stand Alone Together documentary with the men of Easy Company after the series concludes. Enjoy the ride
Quite possibly the greatest mini-series ever made-- certainly may favorite. I've re-watched this at least once a year since it first aired and I get emotional every damned time.
Buckle up. You're in for a ride.
I'm glad you pointed it out. My favorite part of that episode is Winters shaking the hand and helping each soldier into the plane.
David Schwimmer will never get enough credit for his performance in Band of Brothers.
Great show! You are going to enjoy this for sure. By the end, you will remember every name and love every man.
Emotional roller coasters ✌️
That plane they were transported in is a C47, which was the military designation of the DC3. It was the most useful aircraft in history. A design from the 1930's, some are still flying, mostly in remote locations where tarmac landing strips are not always available (They could take off and land on dirt runways). After the War, the DC3 became the most common plane used by airlines, and they were the bulk of transcontinental flights. Like most military fliers, my dad piloted one.
Be more useful if the cargo door wasn't on the side. Even during the Berlin Airlift, every piece of cargo had to be hand loaded through a side door.
Hope you two are having an great and awesome day ❤
Oh man! You are in for a ride! You will absolutely love it and it will crush you at times! ❤
After you finish the 10 episodes, there is a documentary on the actual men and unit, including what happened to the men when the war ended, called “We Stand Alone Together.” Is excellent. Also there is a video diary made by Ron Livingston (Nixon) about the 2 week training session that most of the cast went through, also fascinating.
A MUST watch.
Appropriate day to upload this one (Remembrance day for us, Veteran's Day for the yanks).
A truly great show with the built-in bonus past-time of spotting familiar faces - a large chunk of the cast, which is composed of relatively-unknown-at-the-time US actors + essentially any UK based male actor who was in their early-mid 20s around the year 1999 :), went on to have pretty successful careers in film and TV so spotting the "big names" in sometimes tiny parts is fun.
For me, the thing that sets this apart from so many other "war stories" is the attention to detail of the writers, filmmakers, and the set crew. There is a scene where 1Lt Winters is standing behind the wing of a C-47 Douglas Skytrain. On the wing you can see the black and white stripes on the otherwise camouflage aircraft. That black and white paint scheme is known as an invasion stripe and were there to help the ground troops identify friendly aircraft from enemy ones. The stripes were painted in the last few days before D-Day by the Air Corps ground crews who maintained the aircraft. The paint was often hastily applied from a can using paint brushes and you can see evidence of that small detail at 24:40.
Thanks, I've always wondered what the deal was with that sloppy paintjob. Now I know!
Only to have a hugh mess up in ep 3
So glad that you two are reacting to this mini-series!!
You two are beginning a journey that will honestly change your perspective of the world and history.
Good luck,
god bless you
Oh boy, you guys are in for a ride. Probably the best series ever made. I have watched this maybe over 20 times and love it every time.
9:54 in the book it mentions the officers were only a few days ahead of the men they were leading, so they’d learn something then have to turn around and teach the men in their command.
Also in retrospect many of the men hated Sobel at the time but later agreed that he was a good training officer not a combat commander.
I am so excited for you guys to watch this series, you are going to learn so much, you are going to bond with all of these men, which means you'll have so much love and respect, but also means a lot of heartbreak. I envy you the experience you're about to have for the first time. A word of advice, keep tissues nearby, you'll never know when you're going to need them.
Thank you for uploading this today.
This journey has just begun, you are going to love it!!
Yay! This channel is getting better and better!
Nice reaction. I'm glad you picked up on the nuanced depiction of LT Sobel and realized that he's not just straight up a bad guy.
nuance? pfff alright
Trivia ...This series premiered on HBO the Sunday before 9-11. It got me through the weeks to come. ❤
Enjoy the ride. This is such a great series.
Just wait...the intensity will increase...A LOT!! it's great watching with you both. It's like watching it for the first time again. 🙂
You two are in for quite a journey,, This series is phenomenal. I like how you mentioned Sobel being a good trainer but bad in the field because that is exactly the issue with him. He's a good leader in the aspect of getting them ready and in getting them to not only fight but to fight for each other is critical for combat. Unfortunately that doesn't always translate into leading people in battle which is something that Winters, as you will soon find out, is exceptional at.
I found you nuts with GOT (my second favorite series of all time), to now find your watching my favorite series of all time BOB… I already so enjoyed your reaction and review. Currahee…!
You jumped in with both feet on this one. It is by far the best miniseries ever.
Always blows my mind to think that with all that happened over the course of the war for Easy Company, this was only one small group. From Europe to Africa, Italy, the Pacific, Germany, Russia, the Holocaust.... not to mention all the things going on "at home" with manufacturing, rationing, codebreaking, logistics... you could study a lifetime and not ever understand all the moving parts of that war. I truly don't believe that effort could be repeated today.
I'm excited to see your reaction to this series. Hands down one of the best miniseries made. those Men in the beginning are the actual veterans of Easy Company.
My grandpa's dad serve in easy company he died when i was 10 yo but i keept his diary. This series is just a great way to remember him and his buddies.
Easy Company, truly, has an ironic name.
Now they'd be known as Echo Company, I think
Really excited to see your reactions to this series. ❤️
It's actually probably the biggest point of military boot camps in general. You learn the basics, but honestly, you learn what you need to learn within the first 3-5 weeks or so of basic training. But the one thing that you can have in common with literally anyone else in your branch is having gone through the same training. It's a style of trauma bonding for most people as well as just general common ground.
very jealous you getting to see this amazing series that I have watched many times, but seeing it for the first time. It is a journey, but when it's done you will understand very intimately why so many older people fear it is all happening again. Happy viewing :)
So happy you chose to go on this journey. You will not be disappointed.
This series is considered one of the top 3 ever made. My favorite.
It's a Spielberg/Hanks series. Based on true events.
It is 99.9 percent accurate. Or the WW2 veterans refused to do it.
As I'm listening in the background as I'm working, something caught my ear....@:52 "...don't know anything aboot this series..." Found the Canadian!
While working as an usher at the US OPEN Tennis Tournament the actor who played Winters came through my gate I reflexively saluted him. He stopped, gave a little smile and saluted me back.
Damian Lewis. :))
I'm so jealous of you guys. First Game of Thrones, now Band of Brothers. How lucky you are to get to experience all these amazing shows for the first time. You're in for an amazing journey with this show. For my money, it's still, by far, the best show HBO has ever produced.
there were actually more than 11,000 aircraft involved on D-Day, the US airborne forces dropped on D-day numbered 15,500,the British airborne force numbered 7,900...All told, the invasion force landed in Normandy numbered 156,115 men, the invasion fleet numbered over 6000 ships, of all types from battleships to landing craft, manned by an additional 196,000 naval personnel, giving an overall total of military personnel involved on D-Day, 6 June 1944, as just over 352,000. It was the largest invasion of its kind in Military history.The Allied command expected heavy casualties on the first day, and were surprised that total casualties on D-Day itself numbered less than 11,000, with a total of 4,432 killed. The very first Allied Soldier to be killed on D-Day was Lt Den Brotheridge, a British Paratrooper of the Ox &Bucks Light Infantry who was killed just after midnight, at Pegasus Bridge on the Orne Canal.
Pretty comprehensive data dump! About all I can add is that each airborne division flew in on 400+ planes.
@@lawrencegough cheers! I live in Portsmouth, on the south coast, and large parts of the invasion force sailed from the city... we actually have one of the few surviving landing craft that was there on D-Day here on display, open to the public at our D-Day museum.....and they've just received a commemorative statue of Lt Den Brotheridge which is now on display in the entrance foyer of the Museum... the base of the statue is on a plinth which has scattered around it 4,432 empty cartridge cases, one for every Allied soldier killed on D-Day......
A detail I just noticed is that Cobb is the one who said,"It's hot in Africa
,Really."
Cobb fought in Africa before joining the Airborne.
You are among the more perceptive reactors I've seen. I look forward to sharing the journey with you.
Very nice reaction. I'll be watching the rest of your reactions to BoB. This is a fantastic mini-series.
Since it is Remembrance Day and you 2 are Canadian, don't forget their sacrifice at Juno beach. Nice reaction!
Great reaction, so I subscribed. Can't wait for the next reaction to this superb series!
this is a winner series.
very very good series.
I subscribed, just for this trip. Break out the popcorn. the first episode is by far the easiest to digest.
Oh WOW! BoB the most amazing miniseries ever made, Enjoy!
That invasion, and this action by the paratroopers to support it, were both gigantic. They dropped 13,000 airborne troops a few miles inland from the invasion beaches to cause chaos and confusion and disrupt the Germans' response to the invasion forces landing at the five beaches (two hit by Americans, two by the Brits, and one by the Canadians.) Easy Company's responsibility was to provide that support for the American troops landing at Utah Beach.
These were among the best-trained troops in the world at that time.
One of the key goals of the training is to ingrain the tactical actions appropriate to a situation like muscle memory. I remember rehearsing things like responding to being ambushed over and over and over; running gun drills (I was a mortarman) with an instructor timing us with a stopwatch; walking around the base with our section leader, picking out buildings, telephone poles, etc., estimating the distance by eye, then pacing it off to see how close we'd been (this was many years before GPS or laser rangefinders.)
A few things that jumped out at me right away about Sobel: when he told Winters, "You're making me look bad," that was dead wrong. It might be right to say, "You're making US look bad," but it's about the unit, not him.
Next was him yelling, "Do not help that man!" when one man stumbled on a run. That's exactly backward. You're supposed to stick together and help each other. Again, it shows that Sobel didn't understand the basic idea of prioritizing the group above oneself.
And he was unfair - telling Winters to pick six men, make up infractions, and punish them is the kind of thing that drives wedges between leaders and their troops; few things piss the troops off more than having a senior knowingly treat them unfairly.
Finally, as well as being unable to read a map or make sound tactical decisions, he saw Winters as competition rather than as a priceless helper and teammate.
The NCOs did the right thing. They had to get rid of Sobel before he got all the soldiers those NCOs were responsible for killed. The colonel understood what was going on, although he couldn't acknowledge that to the soldiers. When I was a young Marine my company had a CO a lot like Sobel, and we hated him. With a good leader like Winters, people try their hardest to win that leader's respect - they want him or her to respect them as much as they respect that leader. With one like Sobel, you do the minimum you have to do to keep him off your back. If you see him about to make a mistake that will get him in trouble, you don't say anything - you let it happen. If it was a Winters type, the troops would tactfully warn him and recommend a better course of action. And while that would trigger Sobel's insecurity and enrage him, Winters would appreciate it, acknowledge their good judgment, and thank them.
“Apocalypse Now” is film that is a must watch. It’s more of a story that takes place during the Vietnam war.
Good reaction to a great series. Regarding the beginning: the disappointment at the delay is probably due to the fact they've been preparing mentally to jump behind enemy lines, and now have 24 hours more to think about it. Regarding the water, you may have to go without it in combat. And with the spaghetti, you can't guarantee the enemy will wait until you've nicely digested your lunch before launching an attack. Sobel could be petty, but many Easy vets credited his harsh methods with helping them survive combat.
After this one, From the Earth to the Moon (1998). It was the first miniseries Tom Hanks produced after being inspired by a movie he starred in (Apollo 13).
The guy who had the empty canteen is Michael Fassbender. He was in Inglorious Bastards and also played Magneto in X-Men First Class.
He's also in 300
@dirtygrunt He'll "fight in the shade".
Nice. This is a truly amazing, though really tough show. Should be required viewing in schools.
This is mainly taken from the book by Stephen Ambrose - Band of Brothers. The majority of the interviews you see during the episodes were done by a lady that I've seen in videos of the 20th Anniversary of the show, which was held at the WWII museum in New Orleans. She had some funny stories to tell about the men. She's pretty good looking so, I think a few of them might have had a little crush on her at the time. All of the men you will see in the interview clips were from Easy Company, some are represented in the show, some are not, but they were all there in real life. Dale Dye (Colonel Sink) looked like he was actually from the military, in fact, he was. He also ran the actors boot camp to get the actors ready to play the roles they were selected for. The guy that plays Nixon did a video diary of the actors boot camp which you should watch when you finish this. It's pretty damn funny.
Also, in real life, Sobel was not well liked by the men, although later, many would admit that his hard training served them well in actual combat.
There will be some artistic liberties taken by the show runners in this mini-series. Obviously, time has to be compressed, sometimes they will have a man do something on screen that was done by someone else in real life, mainly because it wouldn't serve the show well to try and have 200 main actors. So, they had to consolidate actions in various places. Also, they do make some mistakes in places. Keep in mind the production of this was done before widespread internet access, it wasn't easy to confirm details of actions. The stories came from the men, as they remembered them, and sometimes, they just made mistakes. But all in all I think they had a deep desire to make the show as accurate as possible.
It's very good that they finally dare to enter this show!!
Great reaction and subscribed !! It may seem a long way off but when you hit episode 10/10, it's not the end ! There is a documentary, " We stand alone together ", which is effectively episode 11 ... which is an absolute " must see ", no reaction is complete without this ..
25:35 Funny you should say that...CGI wasn't anywhere close to reliable or realistic when this movie was made, so they had to go practical, which meant using the real planes. They were able to find exactly 6 C-47s that could still safely fly, so to do the runway shots they had to have the planes line up, taxi into position, take off, fly out of frame, circle back around and land on a different runway, then taxi back into the line and into frame to take off again, over and over, to create the sense of the massive fleet of planes. They also had the planes fly in formations at varying distances from the camera so they could later stack the images for the shots of the flight over the English Channel.
it is called water discipline to not drink while out in the field to get them used to times when there will be no water to resupply
A great series. Follows the same group, end to end.
The guy who delivered the court martial message to winters was Simon Pegg.
Loving all the shows you guys are reacting too. I'm guessing the choice to releasing it today was also done on purpose...
This series is widely considered the greatest te;evision series ever made, and its definitely the greatest war series ever produced. You will fall in love with these characters, and it will hit you right in the soul occasionally. The old men telling their stories at the beginning *are* the characters in the story (they are not identified so as to not spoil who lives and who dies. Just as a side piece of trivia, while pretty much the entire cast have become at the very least B-list actors, at the time, the only known quantity in the entire show was David Schwimmer.
If after watching this you feel motivated to travel to these sites, and if you ever find yourself in Normandy, there's a famous house now called "Canada House". This house was the first house liberated by Canadian troops in D-Day. You can easily find lots of pictures of that house if you google Juno Beach. The lady who lives there LOVES Canadian people. She was a kid when Canadians stormed the beach and she now owns the place. ALL Canadians are welcomed there. She will literally stop whatever she's doing and invite you in for a cup of tea.
Hey I'm loving forward to seeing your reactions on up coming shows. This is considered to be the best most life like movie/ series ever made. It's made by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Every episode gets harder and better to watch. 😊😊