Is Band of Brothers any good?

[handymike]

Apart from the subject matter and costumes, is the show any good?
Getting through the first episodes was pretty difficult, so I was wondering if it gets better.
Thanks folks!

 

[Atticus Finch]

Yes. I think some people liked it.

AF

 

[Sharpsburg]

Yes, of course, it is good.

 

[Worf]

It's VERY good. Particularly as Capt. Dick Winters and several of the other members of Regiment were still alive at the time of it's filming. It is so good, I bought it... and I don't buy much!

Worf

 

[belfastboy]

I loved it. Missed it first time around but a few Christmases ago I did a marathon over most of one day and a bit into the next. It was well worth my time.

 

[Doctor Strange]

It's outstanding. I own it, but if I run across an episode on one of the HBO channels, I still get sucked in immediately.

 

[EmergencyIan]

It's essentially a must see.

- Ian

 

[DNO]

Well written, well directed, well photographed and very well acted...an excellent miniseries well worth watching even if you have no interest in the subject matter.

 

[Wells]

It is a great show, but I feel it takes a sort of censored look at the Second World War.
I found The Pacific to be a much more realistic series.
Just my opinion. Hope you enjoy!

 

[MikeKardec]

If you are having trouble getting into it there are a few things to be considered. Most importantly, it is attempting (far more seriously than other "non fiction" films) to ride the line of compromise between truth and entertainment. When asked to produce entertainment and given free reign a screenwriter can deliver the structure and mixture of pathos and bravado and humor and action that mix together to make good fiction. When asked to "dramatize" yet hew closer to the truth, as a film that actually contains things like interviews with the real people must do, the options are more limited.

When I watch it I see absolute masters at work taking real events and discovering the drama and the scenes that can both entertain and and not just feel real but come pretty close to the actual narrative. As is true with ANY material other than a documentary ( and even then really) you have to accept that it's not really the "truth" or "real" or anything of the sort ... but they made an honest attempt to try and thus it is a MUCH more subtle storytelling style than you usually see. They did what they could but it's not the same job the same writers would have done if it had been a no holds barred popcorn movie-movie. It's an elegant compromise and a film that is deep enough in that way (as much of the HBO material is) to return to over and over. You are not alone, it's an acquired taste, but well worth it once acquired.

 

[Blackthorn]

It's excellent.

 

[AmateisGal]

Yes, yes, yes. A fantastic series!

 

[Babydoll]

Yes, we enjoyed it very much.

 

[scotrace]

It's a DO NOT MISS.

 

[handymike]

Ok, I'll give it another try after House of Cards is done. The Pacific too.
Thanks all!

 

[AmateisGal]

I'm actually rewatching it with my 15-year-old daughter. She is really, really enjoying it.

 

[Steve27752]

Both it and The Pacific are superb.

 

[AmateisGal]

Both it and The Pacific are superb.

Agreed. You become closer to the characters in Band of Brothers, but The Pacific is really good at showing just how incredibly awful island fighting was.

 

[Otter]

Got to agree with you 100% on that. Pacific showed just how bloody and awful that conflict really was.

 

[willyto]

Band of Brothers doesn't really show the messy stuff of WW2 while The Pacific shows the most horrific things that soldiers went trough with a lot of cruel and heartless moments. In Band of Brothers you don't get to see the characters being inhuman the same way that you can see characters in The Pacific losing all humanity that was left in them in some scenes.