"Band of Brothers" 6 DVD Set

"In 1942, the U.S. Army assembled a volunteer parachute regiment to jump behind enemy lines. Within this unit was a company of men who found themselves at the forefront of the war in Europe. They parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, ... fought for the liberation of Holland, ... held the front line in the Battle of the Bulge, ... and captured Hitler's Eagle's Nest. This company suffered one of the highest casualty rates of the war. These were the men of Easy Company..."

The epic miniseries "Band of Brothers" tells the story of Easy Company -- of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division -- from their jump school training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia to their post-VE Day R&R in Austria, and all their hard-fought battles in between. Comprised of 10 one-hour episodes, the first of which originally aired on HBO September 9, 2001, "Band of Brothers" is adapted from Stephen Ambrose's nonfiction book of the same name. It is a Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg production, a collaboration presumably spawned from their efforts together in making "Saving Private Ryan." Hanks also produced the critically acclaimed 1998 HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" -- chronicling NASA's Apollo program -- after he starred in "Apollo 13."

If "Saving Private Ryan" is the quintessential World War II film, then "Band of Brothers" is its companion piece using the miniseries format to fully bring the book to the screen quite faithfully. It draws on a cast of mostly unknown actors, most notably Damian Lewis who plays the pivotal character Richard "Dick" Winters who assumes command of Easy Company on D-Day when its commanding officer is missing. After one successful mission after another, Winters is finally "bumped up" to battalion executive officer essentially taking away his direct command of Easy Company. As the war progresses, Winters matures from the young lieutenant from jump camp to the seasoned Major we see as the war draws to a close. And though each episode tends to focus on a different group of central characters, Winters is always a prominent figure.

Each episode adds to its realism by devoting the first couple of minutes to interviews with the actual men of Easy Company who speak of the events that will play out in that particular part. Along with impeccable directing, top-notch special effects including pyrotechnics and CGI gives one the feeling of "being there." Most of the intense battle scenes are filmed with the same documentary style of "Saving Private Ryan," and purists with a stickler for realism will not be disappointed. In part 5 "The Breaking Point," in which Easy Company comes under unrelenting, brutal German artillery fire in the Ardennes forest, two soldiers lose legs and while the gore factor is not overplayed, it is definitely apparent.

The first five DVDs contain two episodes each, and the sixth, a bonus disc, contains the excellent 78 minute documentary "We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company" in which rare archival film footage and photographs augment interviews with the original Easy Company survivors as they reminisce about events ranging from life before the war, the war itself and returning to civilian life. It provides a very personal view of what it is like to survive the horrors of war, most notably losing one's friends on the battlefield. Also shown is one of the annual Easy Company reunions that have been held since 1946.

A most helpful feature on disks one through five is the "field guide." Each episode has an accompanying field guide that includes biographical information on the soldiers portrayed in that episode, as well as the entire miniseries; a historical timeline chronicling pertinent events from the end of World War I to the end of World War II; a map of Easy Company's troop movements from Camp Toccoa to England and throughout France, Holland, Belgium and Germany with accompanying text; a chain of command reference from five-star general to buck private; and an extremely helpful glossary of military terms. I found for myself the soldier guide to be most helpful, as I easily lose track of Easy Company's cast of characters as the story progresses. At one point or another, I used every feature of the field guide, which has information specific to the episode as well as the entire miniseries.

For World War II enthusiasts and students of history in general, "Band of Brothers" provides a personal telling of what it was to fight in "The War to End All Wars." It is truly an up close and realistic rendering of the true story of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division from its inception to the end of World War II. It is a miniseries of the finest caliber. The Internet Movie Database, which rates movies and television programs through registered member votes, rates "Band of Brothers" a 9.6 out of a possible 10, the highest rating of any listing. By comparison, "Saving Private Ryan" scored an 8.6.

I highly recommend this series for anyone who wishes to have a better understanding of 20th-century world history as well as anyone who just plain enjoys good filmmaking.