Band of Brothers is an American miniserie of 10 one-hour episodes.

These episodes were produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and the history is inpired from the Band of Brothers book written by the famous American historian Stephen E. Ambrose, who died on October 14, 2002, aged 66.

Broadcasted on TV screens during both Summer 2002 and Summer 2004 (60th D-Day anniversary), the serie met a great success, not only in the USA, but also in France, in England, in Italy and in Germany.

Steven Spielberg has always been interested in World War II. For example, some of WW2 films are : 1941, Empire of the Sun. That is why he decided to direct the very realistic film Saving Private Ryan, which tells the story of a platoon searching Private Ryan during the battle of Normandy.

This movie was a huge success around the world. Saving Private Ryan had to be successful so that Band of Brothers could exist. And it was.

Thus, there are similarities in terms of direction between Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers with the now famous technique of "shoulder camera" which gives a very realistic impression during the film, including during combat.

But it is mainly its respect of history (both the script and the fights) which makes Band of Brothers being one of the best World War II series.

More than 10.000 participants, 500 actors and a budget of more than $120.000.000 were necessary for its creation. It is one of the most expensive series in history.

Composition

Band of Brothers is composed of 10 one-hour episodes going from the training of the Easy Company American soldiers (belonging to the 506th Parachutist Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division) to the capture of Hitler's eagle nest in Bavaria, including the battle of the Bulge (Bastogne) and the liberation of the Landsberg concentration camp, Germany.