Band of Brothers
The true story of the men of 506 PIR, 101st Airborne, Easy Company
- A book, a series
Band of Brothers is an American mini-series made up of ten one-hour episodes. It was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and the story is based on the book Band of Brothers, written by the famous American historian Stephen E. Ambrose, who died on 14 October 2002 at the age of 66.
Broadcast on French screens during the summers of 2002, 2004 (as part of the 60th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy) and 2011, the Band of Brothers series was a great success, not only in France, but also in the United States, England, Italy and Germany.
- Its creation
Steven Spielberg has always been interested in the Second World War, as his films prove (1941, The Empire of the Rising Sun, Schindler’s List… ). That’s why he decided to make the very realistic film Saving Private Ryan, which tells the story of a platoon that goes in search of Private Ryan during the Battle of Normandy, and which has been a huge success all over the world. Saving Private Ryan had to be a success before the mini-series known in France as Frères d’Armes could exist. As Saving Private Ryan was a success, work began on Band of Brothers.
Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers are very similar in terms of filming, with the now-famous ‘hand-held camera’ technique giving the film a very realistic feel, particularly in the combat scenes. But it is above all its fidelity to history (both in the script and in the way it portrays historical events, inspired by the direct testimonies of the veterans concerned) that makes Band of Brothers THE Second World War series in Europe.
More than 10,000 extras, 500 actors and a budget of over 114 million euros were needed to make the series, which was the most expensive in history at the time of its release.
- Composition
Band of Brothers is made up of ten episodes of around an hour each, beginning with the training of American soldiers in Easy Company of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and ending with the operation to capture Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Bavaria. The series also covers the Battle of Bastogne (in the Ardennes) and the discovery of the Landsberg concentration camp in Germany.
