Band of Brothers (2001) – A Brilliant perfect 5

Genre – War Movie (true story)

Time: 10 episodes x 1 hour each

Platform: Disney + Hotstar

Fact:  The concept of airborne paratrooper operations was realised only in the early years of World War 2 when German Airborne troops carried out surprise attacks in Holland, Denmark and Norway, seizing objectives and holding them till relieved by ground forces. The British and Americans were latecomers to the game but soon formed Airborne Divisions. While the British had the 1^st and 6^th Airborne divisions, the Americans had the 82^nd and the 101^st Airborne Divisions, both of which are still active today (unlike the British Divisions) and are “first responders” to any warlike situation.

Writer Stephen Ambrose wrote the book Band of Brothers, about the exploits of E Company, 506^th Parachute Regiment, 101^st Airborne Division. From their brutal training in the US, deployment to the UK, then combat in Normandy, Holland, and finally Germany. The Company suffered enormous casualties and had many replacements. With the war over, the men were then sent back to civilian life, based on a ‘points’ system.

TV series:  Before each episode, the real-life soldiers are onscreen and narrate what happened.

1. Currahee – one of the real soldiers says he volunteered for the “Airborne” as they were getting extra jump pay of 50 US dollars in addition to their regular pay. Then the episode proceeds to their brutal training at the hands of martinet and tyrant Captain Sobel (David Schwimmer of ‘Friends’ fame). Sobel then asks Lieutenant Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) to take charge – otherwise he would be put on charges for a minor infraction. They then land in England and prepare for the D Day invasion
2. Day of Days – The company jumps into Normandy and is scattered widely. They gather and next day , the under strength company , assault the artillery guns that are firing on the beaches.
3. Carentan – the town is a crossroad that has to be taken and the “Paras” take it with lots of casualties.
4. Replacements – new soldiers come in and are used in the disastrous Operation Market Garden (refer post on same A Bridge Too Far )
5. Crossroads – The episode starts with Winter shooting dead a teenage German soldier . Still in Holland, the company beats off various German attacks.
6. Bastogne – with little warm clothing, the company is in the thick of the fighting during the December 1944 “Battle of the Bulge”
7. The Breaking Point – as the winter temperature plummets, so does morale due to lack of food, warm clothing and increasing losses.
8. The Patrol – With the war winding down, no one wants to take any chances but HQ wants to keep sending out patrols to capture German prisoners. Winter arrives at an incredibly unbelievable solution.
9. Why We Fight – E company stumbles on a concentration camp and are shocked as they don’t know what to make of it.
10. Points – With the war almost over everyone is waiting for their chance to rotate back.

I wish I could write more about this stunning TV series that doesn’t show the typical view of Americans. This is war as brutal as it can be and without any makeup. Major Winter is the centre point of the story and the entire series/ 11 months of war are seen mostly through his worldview though there are other episodes that focus on medics, machine gunners, other characters. There is no “herogiri” of any kind . Soldiers die quickly without uttering any war cries or flowery dialogues . Most important is that the experience of the real soldiers is not “Hollywoodised” – or what we call “Masalafied”.  At each episode’s beginning the real soldiers of E company are onscreen and narrate their experience which is perfectly translated into the script / episode.

Retired Marine Captain Dale Dye was an advisor for the series. He had the entire cast go through a ‘boot camp’ where every actor was trained thoroughly not just act but BE a soldier. Actor Ron Livingstone’s video diary of the boot camp is available on You Tube

It also shows what the actors felt during the actual training with blanks being fired at them by Dale Dye and his team. (Can you imagine any Indian actor / actors doing anything like this – though some like Vicky Kaushal have done some limited training).

The TV series also dispenses with one standard masala in all War films – a female character for an obligatory romance. There is hardly any female character and the odd one or two have no overall contribution to the story.

This is war – in your face, brutal and visceral.

Last but not the least. For those interested in Management lessons, the series offers plenty. I will just highlight two:

1. One of the real soldiers in E Company says in one episode “he was always in the front, always ahead of us and that gave us courage. I do not know how he didn’t get hit but he did not.”  Leading from the front doesnt get any more life-and-death and has a totally different meaning here.
2. Yet another one but this is for cynics, especially when confronted by either a superior whom you dislike or is plain incompetent. At the war’s end, Winter no promoted to Major, sees Captain Sobel pass by and Sobel does not salute Winter. Winter halts him and tells Sobel  to salute. Sobel is reluctant and Winter says “You salute the rank, not the man Captain Sobel”. Remember that next time you deal with a superior whom you dislike 😊

Historical Background – 5 out of 5

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 5 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 5 out of 5

Kit and equipment – 5 out of 5

 Total – 5 out of 5 (wish I could give a 6)