Novel: Stephen Ambrose Screenplay: Erik Jendresen (Parts 1, 5 and 10) Tom Hanks (Part 1) John Orloff (Parts 2 and 9) E. Max Frye (Part 3) Graham Yost (Parts 4 and 7) Bruce C. McKenna (Parts 4, 6 and 8) Erik Bork (Parts 8 and 10)
The events portrayed in the mini-series are based on Ambrose's research and recorded interviews with Easy Company veterans. Some literary license has been taken with the episodes, and other reference books will highlight the differences between recorded history and the film version.[1] All of the characters portrayed in the mini-series are based on actual members of Easy Company; some of them can be seen in prerecorded interviews as a prelude to each episode. (Their identities, however, are not revealed until the close of the finale.)
DreamWorks has confirmed a new 10-part miniseries from the creators of Band of Brothers (Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman) is in development as of August 2006.[2] The new miniseries will focus on the Pacific Theater. The untitled project is due out in 2009, although this is subject to change.[3] A deal is being finalized for HBO to partner in the miniseries, which is expected to cost more than $100 million.[4]
Contents
1Awards
2Episodes
3Historical errors
4The title
5Main cast
6DVD Release
7Notes
8External links
Awards
The series was nominated for nineteen Emmy Awards, and won six, including prizes for "Outstanding Mini-Series", "Outstanding Casting for a Mini-Series, Movie, or a Special" and "Outstanding Directing for a Mini-Series, Movie, or a Dramatic Special". It also won a Golden Globe for "Best Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television", an American Film Institute award, and was selected for a Peabody Award for "...relying on both history and memory to create a new tribute to those who fought to preserve liberty." It also won a 2003 Writers Guild Award (Television, Adapted Long Form) for episode six (Bastogne).
Winters writes a report on the challenge of an unexpected resistance to a German attack, and is haunted by his conscience after shooting a teenage German soldier.
The end of episode three states that Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy, and that he died in 1948. Albert Blithe did not die until 1967, after having two children, working for Westinghouse Electric, serving in the Korean War and achieving the rank of Master Sergeant. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.[5]
In preparation for Operation Market Garden, Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman tells a new soldier to "drop your reserve chute — you won't need it — we'll be jumping low." This is incorrect for Market Garden, but had been correct for Normandy: on D-Day most troops jumped at 600 ft or less (200 m) — barely enough for the main chute to deploy. The Market-Garden drop was a high drop, with average exits from 1,200 to 1,500 feet [370 to 460 m]."[6]
At the beginning of episode nine, it is stated that the date is April 11, 1945 and shows a scene with the Company stationed in Thalem, Germany. At the end of the episode it finishes off the scene with Captain Lewis Nixon announcing the death of Adolf Hitler. Hitler did not die until April 30, 1945. Also, the episode frames this after the Company left Landsberg. The company was present at Landsberg from April 25 until April 30, and orders given in that same scene to advance on Berchtesgaden were not received until May 3.[7]
Due to the miniseries only casting a limited portion of the Easy Company roster, certain roles had to be changed from their historical counterparts. For example, in 'The Last Patrol' at Hagenau, the book cites Sergeant Mercier as the leading NCO with Second Lieutenant Jones as ranking officer. As Mercier was not cast in the mini-series, the position was filled by Staff Sergeant Martin (Dexter Fletcher). Another possible mistake in the same episode is the actual members of the patrol. In David Webster's memoirs he said that he was laying down suppressing fire from the river bank. However, in the episode, he crosses the river and takes part in the raid.
The series states that Easy Company was the first unit into Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest, capturing the town and surrounding area without incident. Historians usually identify the first Allied troops to arrive as the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division who secured Berchtesgaden and the Berghof, followed four days later by the French 2nd Armored Division who secured the Eagle's Nest, then 1st Battalion of the 506th, led by Company "C". This, however, may be incorrect. The 2nd Battalion of the 506th came into Berchtesgaden by a different route and lost men in a skirmish with the crews of two German 88 mm guns[8] Controversy has come up in recent years as to precisely which unit captured Berchtesgaden, but in the book Beyond Band of Brothers, Major Dick Winters states "Major General John W. "Iron Mike" O'Daniel's 3rd Infantry Division certainly seized neighboring Salzburg without opposition and may have had their lead elements enter Berchtesgaden before we (2nd Battalion, 506 PIR) arrived in force, but let the facts speak for themselves. If the 3rd Division was first into Berchtesgaden, where did they go? Berchtesgaden is a relatively small community. When I walked into the Berchtesgaden Hof with Lieutenant Welsh, neither of us saw anyone except the hotel staff. Goering's officers' club and wine cellar certainly would have drawn the attention of a Frenchman from LeClerc's 2nd Armored Division or a rifleman from the 3rd Division. I find it inconceivable to imagine that if the 3rd Division were there first, they left those beautiful Mercedes staff cars untouched for our men."
At the end of the final episode, "Points", it is stated that Technician Fifth Class Joseph Liebgott became a San Francisco taxi driver after the war, but most accounts, including that of his son, state that Joseph Liebgott in fact became a barber after returning home from the war.
Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey was actually in a hospital, despite his attempts to be discharged to join the fighting. As a result, he did not participate in capturing the Eagle's Nest.
In the final episode, "Points", Major Winters accepts the surrender of a German Colonel, who offers him an ornate Luger pistol. In the scene, Winters tells him to keep his sidearm, but in the Bonus Features DVD, the real Winters recalls the incident and shows the pistol (a Walther PP) he accepted. In Ambrose's book of the same title, he describes how when Winters examined the firearm, he found it had never been fired.
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. King Henry, V.iii
The expression was also used by the BritishAdmiralHoratio Nelson to refer to his council of Captains (aboard his flagship), whom he encouraged beyond common practice in his day to be assertive and take initiative. Harry Macarthy used the term in his American Civil War song 'Bonnie Blue Flag'.
Main cast
For most of the main characters, actors who resembled their real-life counterparts were cast if possible.
All ten parts of the mini-series were released on DVD November 5, 2002.
Notes
^ In particular, the books Biggest Brother: The Life of Dick Winters and Parachute Infantry, an autobiography by David Kenyon Webster. Also, the website Trigger Time by 101st historian Mark Bando has a detailed discussion of the miniseries' historical accuracy.
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