"Looks like you guys are gonna be surrounded." "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." One of my favorite lines in the whole series.
Doc Roe chewing out Lt. Harry Welsh and Cpt. Richard Winters is one of my favorite scenes in this episode, not because he chews them out but just because of how they don't say anything back they just take it. It really shows the level of respect all of the men have for Doc Roe, as well as the kind of officers both Harry and Dick are.
There is a code; nobody f*cks with the Medic (ie. “Doc”). Not NCOs or officers, and definitely not the enemy. Most lads are fiercely protective of Doc, and I’ve been privy to a lot of officers getting chewed out like in that scene, and they know well enough to just take it and say nothing. Especially when the whole platoon is watching.
The best thing is, as you learn next episode, he isn't a doctor. He isn't a medical professional. He was just told he was going to be a medic and that was that. Yet, everyone respects him and he does whatever he can for the men.
"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." "We're not lost, Private. We're in Normandy." Those two lines by Winters perfectly encapsulate his leadership abilities.
Fun fact about the bayonet charge across the field to the dike. Winters didn’t actually have a head start. The whole platoon started running at the same time, Winters just covered the ground so much faster than his men that he had time to empty nearly three M-1 clilps and a grenade - that failed to detonate - info the SS troops before they caught up with him. He was an absolute machine and he’s one of my favourite people I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning about.
Only one company was SS - it was a mixed battalion battlegroup called Kampfgruppe Hansmann after the SS officer from XII.SS-Armeekorps who led it. The constituent companies were from SS-Panzergrenadier training battalion 4, a battery from Artillerie-Regiment 184 (part of 84.Infanterie-Division) acting as infantry, a naval cadet basic training company from Schiffsstammabteilung 14, and a company from the Fallschirm-Panzer training regiment 'Hermann Göring' (the training regiment of the Luftwaffe's only Panzer Division) - all survivors from the airborne battle of Arnhem the previous month. The German incursion was a diversionary attack (and probably explains the machine-gun firing at nothing) designed to distract from a major counter-attack by II.SS-Panzerkorps further east to retake the Nijmegen bridges, and an attack from the west by 363.Volkgrenadier-Division (in which Major Oliver Horton of 3/506th was killed). The Easy Company man checked one uniform and saw it was SS and just assumed the whole battalion was SS. This period is not well covered in the history books as most accounts of operation MARKET GARDEN end with the evacuation of the British airborne from Arnhem on 26 September, which also saw the last airlift (to a grass airstrip near Grave) on the same day, officially terminating the airborne operation MARKET. Operation GARDEN, the ground advance, did not terminate until 7 October, when Montgomery finally gave up on the Arnhem bridge and ordered it bombed by the air force and turned his attention to a new operation from Nijmegen towards Wesel. This was the reason 43rd Division was withdrawn from the 'island', Montgomery needed it elsewhere, and replaced by 101st Airborne. This period is covered by a video on Mark Felton's channel called A German Bridge Too Far - The Nijmegen Counter Offensive - ua-cam.com/video/yaNnbHl30ic/v-deo.html
@@davemac1197 actually, the German machine gun that seemed to be firing at nothing was actually trying to shoot at Battalion Headquarters from a long distance.
A long time ago when this came out on DVD, 3 of the actors came out to the Navy Exchange here in Hawaii to promote the film and do MWR type activities, meet with service members etc. There was Frank John Hughes (Bill Guarnere), Michael Cudlitz (Bull Randleman), and Ron Livingston (Lewis Nixon). We met them at a signing session, and there was literally nobody there, just the 3 of them at a table. My brother and I got autographs and pictures, chatted with them a bit. Later, we saw them at the McDonalds getting lunch, and you'd think they were just normal, non-celebs like the rest of us. Literally, no one recognized them, or at least no one approached them to talk, so my bro and I chatted them up a bit more. They were super cool, down to earth fellas. Good memories. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series, it's really incredible. They really don't make war films this good anymore.
Yes, that was Jimmy Fallon playing a true hero George Rice, who made several ammo runs that helped the 101st. . When they filmed this in the late 90s, he was a relative nobody, like 95% of the rest of the cast, just starting his first year on SNL. He tried out for an HBO show with the names Hanks and Spielberg attached, would only look great on the resume. Just another actor trying to break into the big times. Fallon has since said, that was amongst the most nervous he had ever been for a shoot. Being directed by Tom Hanks. All he had to do was drive the Jeep and say his lines, but he was so nervous. Other issue, is he couldn't figure out how to drive th Army Jeep, so they rigged it up so it could be pushed and pulled to make it look like he was driving. Love your reactions, appreciate all you do!!
I am not sure if it is still on youtube but there was a clip of Damian Lewis on Jimmy Fallon where they laughed about the jeep. I believe too that DL called him out because JF couldn’t drive a stick. I think that too contributed to the pushing of the jeep
Literary trivia, regarding the end of that episode: 50 kilometres northeast of there, near St. Vith, on that same day, PFC Kurt Vonnegut, an intelligence scout with the 106th infantry, was captured by the Germans, leading to his fateful presence in Slaughterhouse No.5 in Dresden on February 14th, 1945.
The train scene is the most accurate portrayal of PTSD I have ever seen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a situation almost exactly like that.
“You have to know what you’re fighting for. That there is life outside of war.” From my experience, there isn’t life outside of war. Or after it. It’s all pointless. All of it. And it all meant nothing.
When winters spoke to Leibgott he also noticed one of the prisoners reacting to leibgotts words etc. So winters realised at least one of the prisoners spoke and understood English
Fun fact: Tom Hanks won a Best Miniseries Director Emmy (along with all of the other episodes' directors) for BAND OF BROTHERS. He has also won 6 Best Miniseries/TV Movie Emmys as executive producer as well (for FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, BAND OF BROTHERS, JOHN ADAMS, THE PACIFIC, GAME CHANGE, and OLIVE KITTERIDGE).
When Winters is "dressed down" (as you put it), it's by a Medic named Eugene "Doc" Roe. Roe is an enlisted man and Medics earned the moniker "Doc" only by gaining the respect of fellow soldiers. A Doc is one of the few enlisted men who could ever bark at a CO like that without being reprimanded. In the next episode, you will understand why Roe is called Doc.
Particularly since medics were mostly chosen among the regular soldiers in the Company, and then given additional training, not necessarily those who have any particular background or experience...or motivation.
To add to this the medic has every right to yell at you when it comes to medical care. If you messed up in how much pain killer to give a wounded soldier or the like while waiting the medic. Which is what occured I'm this scene. As overdosing is a very real and very dangerous thing. Especially in this era when the painkiller of choice was morphine. A very strong and very addictive pain killer. Used only sparingly in today's medicine for surgery and the like.
@@DudeLongcouch A war hardened Sergeant, especially a career one, could get away with it in most cases, but probably not with anyone higher ranked than a Captain. So long as the "dressing down" was for the safety/well being of the men.
One of my favourite shots in the series is at the end of this episode, when you see Winters watching the men march towards Bastogne, and then, as he always leads alongside the men, he joins in and he blends in to the group. It's another stellar transition.
Have always thought there was a difference in the german that Winters shoots when we see it initially (3:14) compared with later (15:28). Initially he seems smug or contemptuous, whereas in the later scene he seems scared. I think that is purposefully done as a note to Winters as a soldier and as a man, when recollecting as a soldier he just sees the enemy, but later when confronted by real life he sees another scared kid.
The tragedy is also in the fact that there is no absolute difference between the kid on the metro and the kid he shot, and yet one comes and salutes him and the other lies dead in a field.
I think one of the things that made Winters such a great leader was how quickly he incorporated experience into his thinking. He learned very quickly how to work with the chaos of war while keeping on track.
Appreciate the nerding out as it helps to quantify what makes this series such a masterpiece. The story telling, the lighting and sound design the acting etc. It was all brilliantly executed and stands the test of time. I've rewatched this many many times and it never gets old. Looking forward to the rest of your reactions to the series
Richard “Dick” Winters was only 26 years old when leading easy company men. It’s something that blows my mind after rewatching this series from when I was a teenager. They were all so incredibly young, men who had to sacrifice their youth. I hope they all found peace.
Reminds me of a Vietnam war movie I watched recently about the Battle of Long Tan. At the end of the movie it listed the Australian soldiers that got killed in the battle and I don’t remember a single one of them being over the age of 20 and the youngest being 17 years old. Truely breaks my heart.
@@heshy14 shit, man. Sorry to hear that. My grandfather was in the pacific at around the same age for the whole war plus a year and while I don’t know much, I do know he came out a much harder man than he was when he went in.
That was Jimmy Fallon in a small role. Supposedly he got the role because he is related to the real person he portrayed but that's been disputed. The friendly fire shooting was pretty much Moose Heyliger's fault. He had a habit of forgetting the sentry passwords. There was a real possibility of a German raid into the area so the sentries were on high alert. The sentry was supposed to open fire if he did not hear the password. In the end, the sentry was not blamed but was transferred to another company in case of any bad feelings.
Doc Roe chewed out a superior officer which is understood to be, uhh… worthy of disciplinary action. But he was right and they probably understood that. Medical people get quite a bit of latitude because of their importance. It was a great detail that rings true.
So great to see you back with Easy! As much as I love your take on the story, the emotions, and the characters, I adore seeing your unique takes on the filmmaking process and stagecraft. It warms the heart of this old Stage Crew kid! Thanks so much for all your work putting this series up, hope you are rocking life!
I really like watching reactors with knowledge of specific skills reacting to things in their wheelhouse. I'm really enjoying your reactions, thanks for all your insight.
Fun Fact: 6:56 it’s possible the gun Luz was using and the typewriter Winters was using came out of the same factory. Luz is seen with an M1A1 Carbine, a light rifle fitted with a folding stock. It’s a variant of the M1 Carbine, which has a full wood stock. This gun was manufactured by a bunch of companies, one of them being the Underwood typewriter company. While Underwood didn’t make any M1A1 Carbines (they only made M1 Carbines) during the war, in the years since, people have taken recievers from M1 Carbines of various manufacturers and put M1A1 stocks in them for the aesthetic. It’s possible one of these guns made it’s way to the set.
All original M1A1 Paratrooper Carbines were made by the Inland Guide Lamp division of General Motors. In fact, Inland practically outfitted the Paratroops, everything from weapons to helmet liners.
@@benschultz1784 I know this. Around 150,000 M1A1s were made by Inland. I just doubt that all of the M1A1s they got for the show were actual M1A1s since getting a non-genuine one would have been cheaper to get, thus saving money on production and not losing any historical accuracy aesthetic as well. It’s not like anyone can tell the difference between an faux Underwood Carbine with a paratrooper stock vs a genuine Inland Carbine with paratrooper stock without looking at the markings.
Something I had not thought of until just now watching you watch this episode...Tom Hanks loves typing on a manual typewriter (almost an obsession) and as a director, used his love of that to great effect in this episode, as you have stated.
The opening song so powerful, even without lyrics... although it does have lyrics. It's called "Requiem For A Soldier", written by Michael Kamen. Next time you hear the opening credits, keep these in mind. "You never lived to see What you gave to me One shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty With a host of brave unknown soldiers For your company you will live forever Here in our memory In fields of sacrifice Heroes paid the price Young men who died for old men's wars Gone to paradise We are all one great band of brothers And one day you'll see we can live together When all the world is free I wish you'd lived to see All you gave to me Your shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty We are all one great band of brothers And one day you'll see - we can live together When all the world is free"
Holy crap about time! Felt like you were cheating on BoA with Masters and I havnt seen Master yet so I wasn’t watching and had forgotten about your channel actually 😂
My paternal uncle Matthew served in the 3rd armored during the battle of the Bulge and my maternal uncle Elmer served in the 17th airborne which will be mentioned in a later episode. For my uncle Elmer it was his baptism of fire but for uncle Matthew he had been fighting since Normandy. Uncle Elmer grew up in Minnesota so was used to cold long winters but he always said that was the coldest he had experienced and besides in Minnesota people were not trying to kill him. A tank makes a good target.
The ending of this episode is just phenomenal. The music, the buildup of tension, and the way they're just quietly marching towards the guns. Full body chills, every time.
Welcome Back! Winters is a study in good leadership (contrasted well with others who are less capable or lead in different ways). One of the great things about the series and the subject material is that there is relatively little embellishment. Just as in Normandy Winters told Hall "We're not lost - We're in Normandy", here he says "We're paratroopers - We're supposed to be surrounded". Calm confidence in the face of evident danger will serve to keep his men in as good a state of mind as they can be. Love your reviews and anxiously awaiting the next one.
I have enjoyed your commentary a whole lot. You are very, very bright, and your remarks are insightful. You clearly don't have a military or historical background, but you seem to be very quick to pick up on things. You have a fantastic eye for detail. And the Tennyson reference at the end of the episode was most impressive.
I loved how, for Winters, writing the after-action report almost feels like he's killing his men all over again. Every tap of the keys feels like a gunshot to him. That's why it takes so long and why he's so careful about every word he chooses. This is his last act of support or defense of his men, where he renders the last word on each of their decisions and actions in an almost impossible situation. He couldn't physically protect them in the field but he could protect their memory and the careers of the men who survived by putting the best frame around their behavior. Writing this with PTSD interfering in the clarity and sequence of his memories must have been agonizing. I once had to write a report after having been the victim of a violent crime as a kid and I can tell you, I really do not trust my memory of the whole week surrounding those events, so the report (about something unrelated for school) felt completely surreal and was at least partly informed by feedback from other people rather than my own recollection. It had to be, because those moments were just inaccessible to me, then or ever again. He doesn't have the luxury of taking his time and calmly reflecting on everything that happened before writing this report. He is still actively living in that heightened battle response mode even while typing. So yeah, every tap is a gunshot for him and you totally feel that throughout the whole episode. I wonder how many such reports were written as logically inferred or generously granted grace for everyone's skewed PTSD-inflected recollections throughout that war (or any war). It really makes you wonder about how factually accurate any of them could really be, given what we now know trauma does to perception and memory.
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar You ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 2] "Is everybody happy?" Cried the Sergeant looking up Our hero feebly answered, "Yes" and then they stood him up He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 3] He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop The silk from his reserves spilled out and wrapped around his legs And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 4] The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 5] The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind He thought about the medic corps and wondered what they'd find And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 6] The ambulance was on the spot, the Jeeps were running wild The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled their sleeves and smiled For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 7] He hit the ground, the sound was "splat," his blood went spurting high His comrades, they were heard to say, "A hell of a way to die" He lay there, rolling 'round in the welter of his gore And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 8] There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the 'chute Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots And he ain't gonna jump no more
Tom Hanks makes a cameo in the barn scene with the British. He's playing "Where's Tom?" while wearing a beret. Around 12:49 near the back left. He hides behind a guy without a beret.
Tom Hanks is an avid typewriter collector and enthusiast, and tends to insert them when he can, this is probably the best use of one though. Fun fact, Hanks appeared on an episode of the Nerdist podcast because they sent him an antique typewriter, which he wrote his response to their invitation on.
I've watched this series a million time over the year and I still find it so good. Love your reactions to it. I hope you upload the rest onto UA-cam soon.
My guys worked on this series and on saving private Ryan and fury, we supplied vehicles and our guys were extras for the German side. Some of the older guys of the group that were extras have told me about the techniques used in filming and it really is fantastic! One of them was during I believe episode 7 or 8 when filming the Ardennes segment, one of the members of easy company gets shot and they are all there helping him and he has blood spurting out of his wound. Well it turns out the way they filmed that was they had a hose linked up to where the wound was and out of the shot was a guy with a bucket of fake blood, he had a stir-up pump and he was pumping the blood in a sort of sequence that mimicked blood coming through the artery and out of an open wound. The cinema magic used within this series is truly spectacular and my guys couldn’t stop raving about how good the different special effects were, they said they walked away with a much greater appreciation and were actually glad to of learned something new as well as having a blast working on this series. I only wish I was able to witness this, sadly I was only 3 at the time and even when fury was done I was just a bit too young. But opportunities like this come up fairly often for us so I know I’ll get the chance again. Also a bit of a funny note to add relating to the scene where Hubler shoots the German officer off the horse, the crew asked the guys if anyone had experience riding horses and nobody did but one of the guys said yeah even though he didn’t. Although he looked like he knew what he was doing he was actually shit scared as he didn’t know what he was doing. And that’s probably why the panic in the German officer looks good because he was genuinely terrified for real 😂
Absolutely magnificent reaction Jacqui, as always. Love all your videos... intelligent, insightful, empathetic, informative... and I adore your mellifluous laugh. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you for another fantastic reaction. Your insight and critical break down of filmmaking and the mechanics is always very welcome and provide me with further appreciation, if that's even possible, for this spectacular series.
26:17 The problem with the lighting is that these shows are perfect in completely dark rooms like the darkness you have when you’re in a movie theater. For example, the second to last episode in the Game of Thrones had to watched in a completely dark room, or you weren’t going to see half of the battle. Since Band of Brothers was made before the digital boom, and HD was just coming around they actually knew how to light the night scenes for people who were watching in their living rooms.
This series does an outstanding job of representing the mental impact of war on people, and the varying ways in which people contend with it. PTSD is not a weakness of the individual and there's no single way to treat it. It's great that a series like this can open the door to better understanding and compassion.
Directed by Tom Hanks, who is well known as an obsessive typewriter collector. The emphasis on the transitions from action to Winters typing reports is surely coincidental. 😊
The scene with Winters on the train was so powerful, and then when the young man saluted him. Damn, I can't even imagine how he managed to do what he achieved.
My wife's grandfather was an army engineer attached to Patton's 3rd army. He was part of the relief force that fought at Bastogne aka the Battle of the Bulge. He was part of a light pontoon bridge group that laid pontoon bridges for soldiers.
I know this was a month ago, but I heard Winters talk about the opening scene where he is running. He said he never ran faster than he ran that day and it was as if everyone else in slow motion. The german was actually closer to him than it shows in show and kid started to smile at him when shot him.
This is the episode when Tom Hanks literally takes the reigns in the series...becoming more introspective with Winters. Long before PTSD was even taken seriously. General Patton famously addressed it with the back of his hand on a soldiers face. Oh and if any of you come across any bacon sandwiches, let me know. Currahee ♠
Vlogging through history, who I was able to meet a few weeks back with Matthew Leitch, who plays Talbert and runs We Happy Few 506 and also the guy from history Underground underground at an event at Gettysburg Museum of History posted this up from a trip they did a few years ago to the Actual Crossroads, where actor Mark Lawrence, who played Dukeman, got to see where his character was killed and had a very emotional response. His real life parallels Dukeman, having married a woman from Colorado, near where Dukeman was from. Quite a cool watch. There's tons of these nuggets in these types of videos, also the History Hacks zooms from the pandemic have received re released as a whole 5 hour episode with many of the actors, and then there is two summers ago WW2 museum symposium that has 7 hours of panels with actors, crew, and family members......
I am a veteran and son of a WWII veteran. I appreciate your reaction to this series. I have a suggestion for Memorial Day coming up. I suggest you watch "Taking Chance" starring Kevin Bacon. It will show how Americans thought of military and veterans a few years after 9/11.
In real life, the Crossroads battle is considered Easy Company’s finest performance in battle, according to Winters himself. The overall battle is condensed in the miniseries, but that’s usually done for time. In reality, after he called for British artillery support, Winters brought up another platoon from Easy and went after the Germans. However, the Germans were able to regroup and Winters and his men fell back. When they got back to the Crossroads, that’s when the German artillery fell down on them. 28 men were wounded, but all would recover. Sgt. Dukeman would be the only KIA, killed by a German rifle grenade the night prior as he stood in the open telling men to spread out.
Pvt Alley, the man hurt so badly at the start of this episode while Winters is talking about the dog …talks about his injury in the accompanying HBO documentary “We Stand Alone Together,” which you should definitely react to after the miniseries. Tipper - whose legs were so badly mangled in the Carentan episode is also in the documentary. Finally, so is Moose Heyliger, shot at the end of this episode by a sentry. Hanks is an avid typewriter enthusiast and collects old models. So, his incorporation of the typewriter in this episode is somewhat of a personal touch. Pvt Webster - hit in this episode and mocking himself for yelling they got me. He was the soldier who gave the Dutch child the chocolate. Keep him in your memory as he will be back in a later episode in a big way. Jimmy Fallon was much less of a jarring cameo in 2001. He had been a minor player on SNL to that point, He was nearly a decade away from his late show and another half decade beyond that or so before he got the Tonight Show.
Hi Jacqui. Great reactions and information about filmmaking. Operation Market Garden was a military disaster for the Allied forces. 12,000 British and Polish paratroopers were dropped into Holland and only 2,000 paratroopers survived. Thank you so much for your reactions, I really appreciate you.
Fascinating to think Winters was the company commander for 4.5 months (06 June- late October). Really a short period of time, but it seems forever somehow. Episodes 7 and 9 are the heaviest emotionally. Episode 6 is from the perspective of the medic, Eugene Roe
You're definitely right about the ability to light scenes set at night having become far worse in recent years. Its almost becoming a lost art, like it isn't being taught properly in film schools or something. Its a difficult thing to do properly, isn't appreciated half the time unless its done badly and doesn't get enough credit in films where its done exceptionally well. Best examples i've seen of it being done exceptionally well are oddly enough in star trek generations, the patriot and silver bullet. The patriot handled it a bit differently using alot of blue lighting, which worked well for the way shots were set up and the time the film was set in
I was just thinking, catching up on this reaction, that it's interesting how much an episode directed by Tom Hanks focused on Winters typing up a combat report, because Tom Hanks collects vintage typewriters as a hobby.
Like Winters said in the intro, you don't just take the easy ones. You take the tough ones too, which means leaving from the front. One of the mottos of the airborne is that the commanding officer is always the first man out of the plane. You have to be there where the metal meets the meat, enough said. There is no such thing as friendly fire, all fire is unfriendly. 😡🤬
did ya notice?...when Sink give Winters the promotion, he tells him not to worry about admin stuff...then gets on his case about late reports...~chuckle~
Winters was promoted to the executive officer, not the commanding officer. And the XO is exactly the guy, who does all the admin work 😂 Even worse, Streyer was in the regiment HQ all the time, so Winters actually did both jobs, XO and CO. He became officially the CO five months later.
There’s a great band of brothers podcast where they talk to Tom hanks. Actors writers and directors. Tom specifically mentions the typewriter/gunshot blend
You are right about shooting scenes at night. Two come into mind and they are from the Game of Thrones universe. The episode Battle of Winterfell is notorious because you can't see anything other than the fire (most of the episode is dark) that is on the battlefield. The other is Driftmark from House of the Dragon. It was so difficult to watch Battle of Winterfell because I did not know where the night sky started and ground ended. Thankfully, the night time scene in Driftmark was the only scene that was difficult to see.
It's fascinating to hear things from a film student's view (are you still a student?). You see and comment on things that I've just taken in while watching. You're input makes so much sense; things that I'd seen, but didn't realize how much such little things of cinemtogophy added to WHY this was such a great series.
I absolutely love this series and I am enjoying seeing your reactions to the episodes. If you have not heard, there is a podcast that was released a few years ago that has interviews with some of the cast and writers for this show. I loved hearing about their experiences talking with the real men and getting to make this amazing series.
I can recommend the book, Beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters. Dick Winters a great man, and a Man who lead by example and not by fear.
If you have never gotten the suggestion before, let me be the first to suggest, once you finish this series, is the mini series "Generation Kill". Following Marines during the invasion of Iraq. An excellent representation of modern warfare, and the men doing it.
Crazy, I just started watching you react to this show. I was watching the documentary about it and I realized as I was watching it you uploaded this video
Useless Trivia: To Hanks cameos in the scene aroun 12:50 of this where Moose is being praised by the Red Berets - he's one of the Red Berts in the crowd.
[1:48] This song is called "Requiem for a Soldier". I recommend you listen to Katherine Jenkins singing it. By far, the best rendition with vocals. Makes the song mean even more once you hear the lyrics.
also at this time Winters M1 rifle was 1 of a few in the company that got some custom work done by a trooper in E co. so it fired full auto all 8rds in 1 pull of the trigger. having spent time with many of the E co troopers back in the day with E/506th Reenacted got to hear all the stories , Wild Bill had been hit earlier in the leg while riding a motorcycle along the top of a dike then went AWOL as shown here returning to the company.
This really is the best miniseries ever made. There may be a detail or two they got wrong but they captured the essence of these men and the time. They did everything right.
The guy who interrupted the movie was wrong. It wasn't the 5th and 6th Panzer Divisions who'd broken though in the Ardennes, it was the 5th and 6th Panzer Armies, plus the 7th Army! That's the entire German Army Group 'B', ~250-300,000 men.
Your comment that some cultures view Hell as 'a frozen wasteland' reminded me that Dante imagined the deeper circles of Hell as ice covered lakes & fields, with the shades covered waist deep, chest deep or neck deep in ice. He further imagines that the tears the shades cry over their past sins freezing on their eyelashes and then an image that has always stayed with me; 'here weeping puts an end to weeping, and the grief that finds no outlet from the eyes, turns inward to intensify the anguish' (translation by Mark Musa). You may talk about the lighting until you're blue in the face? Given what you said about the cool blues used to simulate moonlight, your face will be bathed in moonlight. Well met by moonlight for all of us.
If you ask me episode 7 is far more “tear jerking” than 6. And to be honest, all these episodes are roughly equal in quality so it probably wouldn’t be best to judge them or prepare yourself because they are generally sadder than others. 10/10 show
Was it really? Or was it just a coincidence? Do you have a source for that? I have a hard time believing that Tom Hanks would include a nod to a fictional plot point in a serious historical series.
The whole 'Wilson' thing is a tribute to his wife Rita, whose maiden name is Wilson. So both references are probably about her, certainly the one in Cast Away is - I think that's well documented.
@@davemac1197yes, it was a nod to Rita by Bill Broyles the screenwriter of Castaway, not Hanks himself. I'm not convinced that Hanks added the bloody handprint in BoB as a reference to her.
20:09 Yes, that was Jimmy Fallon...ironically, despite him being a relative nobody at the time and his role only having a cameo-type spot, they had to do some special stuff for him to be able to perform the role, as Jimmy doesn't know how to drive a stick-shift and thus couldn't operate the Jeep that he was supposed to be driving. They had to tow the Jeep with a winch for some scenes, while a couple of people literally pushed it from behind in others, and play around with camera angles to make it seamlessly appear that he was actually driving the Jeep.
Another Jacqui gem, looking forward to the next, your comment about frozen hell reminded me of something in Stephen King's The Stand by a character named Mother Abigail, who says contrary to the ruling belief, that Hell is actually cold.
I have a story bubbling in my mind about my father who was in combat with the USMC in WWII and myself as his son. I was in the Medic in the US Amry. I was in Iraq in combat and got the CMB. I can see the movie in my mind but can't write the book or screenplay. My dad after WWII and getting his law degree at Denison joined the FBI and worked on some very well-known cases i.e., Rosenbergs. Nevermind.
Episode 6 is my favorite. I'm so glad you noticed that each episode is filled in a different style. I think it adds character to the series. I'm hoping after BOB you watch the documentary "we stand alone together" and then jump right into "the pacific" .
I know I'm a couple months late. So someone has probably pointed this out. Tom Hanks makes a subtle cameo in this episode. He's one of the British soldiers celebrating after the recovery mission by Moose. Hard to spot but he's in the crowd raising their drinks. I also know you are more of a cinematic content reactor. But if you want a bit more context. I suggest TheFatElectritian's video on Jake McNiece aka Jake McNasty. Not only is it a fun story told by a fun story teller. It lets you know a bit more about paratroopers. As well as Jake's work in Bastogne. Something even I didn't know.
What strikes me with Winters is that his report is so terse and to the point, without embellishing his own heroics. He is humble but not to the point of being self-effacing. Perfect leader imo.
People always say the first shot of this episode is a foreshadow we come back around to. I'd like to make the argument it was in chronological order. The next shot is Winters waking up Nix which to me implies that the first scene is Winters waking up. Thats what he dreams about and what keeps him up at night.
Idk if anyone has said it yet but if you read the book written by Stephen Ambrose based on his extensive interviews with the men of Easy Company, you find out that Moose is the one who made a mistake before he got shot. When challenged at a guard point, you have to reply with a password. Instead of the password, Moose replied, "It's Moose." The show made it feel like it happened very quickly as opposed to the book where Winters says he waited in increasing anticipation for Moose to say it, enough for Winters to wonder if Moose had forgotten the password. And if I remember correctly, the Private who shot him had been with Easy Company since its inception, meaning he was quite experienced from D-Day, Carentan, Eindhoven, all the way up to this point.
All I can say is that this is my favorite episode of the series. I love the focus on Winters. I have said this many times, but the Navy Veteran in me has nothing but the utmost respect for Richard Winters and his leadership, as well as his kindness and caring for the men he led. Looking forward to continuing your Band of Brothers journey. Any plans on watching The Pacific?
So the sentry shooting Moose was partially Harry's fault which is why you see Winters give Harry a look when Bill hands Dick the letter. Harry was supposed to let the sentry know that Moose and Winters were going to walk the line as Winters felt cramped up. Harry never let the sentry know, although Moose stated that he had forgotten the password as well
And thus begins the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most brutal clashes of the whole European front. Hitler, low on fuel and materiel, had launched a last-ditch all-out gamble to break through the Allied lines in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and get to the northern port city of Antwerp so that he could resupply the Nazi war machine. He sent huge battle groups of tanks and infantry into the forest, while the Allies hunkered down as hard as they could. The "bulge" was the bend in the Allied line that the resulted from the Nazi charge through the forest. Somehow, the Allies held the line through the whole of the devastatingly harsh winter of December 1944-February 1945. Bastogne is a Belgian village that sits deep in the Ardennes, and much of the fighting done by the American segment of the Allied forces happened at or around it. The next episode details the hell that was the Bulge for everybody involved.
Neal McDonough has said that Compton was the one role that impacted him the most, especially since he met the man. It's the rare "good guy" out of the roles he's had.
Fun cameo fact: Tom Hanks actually appeared in the wide shot of all the British soldiers drinking a toast to their American rescuers. It's a fun Where's Waldo exercise to try to pick him out of the crowd.
They were not "rescued" - operation PEGASUS was organised by the escapees themselves, mostly 1st Parachute Battalion commander Lt Col David Dobie, and Major Digby Tatham-Warter of 2nd Battalion's A Company. They also had their brigade commander, Brigadier Gerald Lathbury among the evaders recovering from a bullet wound in the back and was the most senior escapee, all assisted and hidden by brave Dutch civilians. Dobie swam the Rijn to make contact with friendly forces and organise the crossing for the 150 or so evaders that had been collected together. The crossing operation was conducted by Royal Engineers from 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, and the boats were provided by Royal Engineers from 43rd Division or Royal Canadian Engineers from an attached company. Easy Company 506th PIR provided security in the form of one platoon led by Lt 'Moose' Heyliger and Sgt Donald Malarkey, chosen for the mission because the crossing point of the Rijn was in the Easy Company sector of the US 101st Airborne Division, which had just taken over positions from 43rd Division. The crossing point was just opposite Randwijk, which was the location of the Easy Company CP. The "rescue" fantasy is a common one made up by Americans who probably don't even think that UA-cam is a platform accessed globally, and that includes the UK, so be prepared for some pushback on this kind of nonsense. It's as bad as the notion that the 101st Airborne were "rescued" by Patton at Bastogne, but that's for another episode.
When they are in Endhoven, Talbot is kissing a girl at while sitting at a table...... The old man wearing the hat in front of them is none other than the real Eugene "Babe" Heffron.
@@TheRagratus - *Eindhoven. Comments like this are a bit of a spoiler, as the viewer is not supposed to know who the Easy Company veterans in the interviews are until they are named at the end of the series.
@@davemac1197 Well, I guess I should have chosen my words more carefully. Thanks for setting this 56-year-old war veteran and military historian straight Dave. Hope you actually got my point before you chewed glass and spit nails.
@@mikepeterson9362 - I'm too old to be chewing glass and spitting nails in a furious anger, so it's my pleasure to be putting you young kids back on the path of the righteous man, beset though it is on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and tyranny of evil men...
"Looks like you guys are gonna be surrounded."
"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded."
One of my favorite lines in the whole series.
Badass as it gets
Best line in the whole series.
Doc Roe chewing out Lt. Harry Welsh and Cpt. Richard Winters is one of my favorite scenes in this episode, not because he chews them out but just because of how they don't say anything back they just take it. It really shows the level of respect all of the men have for Doc Roe, as well as the kind of officers both Harry and Dick are.
You nailed it. When I was in the army, lot of people had tremendous respect for the medics.
There is a code; nobody f*cks with the Medic (ie. “Doc”). Not NCOs or officers, and definitely not the enemy. Most lads are fiercely protective of Doc, and I’ve been privy to a lot of officers getting chewed out like in that scene, and they know well enough to just take it and say nothing. Especially when the whole platoon is watching.
The Doc keeps everyone alive. If Doc is yelling at you about a medical issue - you deserve it.
The best thing is, as you learn next episode, he isn't a doctor. He isn't a medical professional. He was just told he was going to be a medic and that was that. Yet, everyone respects him and he does whatever he can for the men.
Exactly. This scene says so much about the three of them.
"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded."
"We're not lost, Private. We're in Normandy."
Those two lines by Winters perfectly encapsulate his leadership abilities.
you forgot "trees"
Fun fact about the bayonet charge across the field to the dike. Winters didn’t actually have a head start. The whole platoon started running at the same time, Winters just covered the ground so much faster than his men that he had time to empty nearly three M-1 clilps and a grenade - that failed to detonate - info the SS troops before they caught up with him. He was an absolute machine and he’s one of my favourite people I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning about.
Only one company was SS - it was a mixed battalion battlegroup called Kampfgruppe Hansmann after the SS officer from XII.SS-Armeekorps who led it. The constituent companies were from SS-Panzergrenadier training battalion 4, a battery from Artillerie-Regiment 184 (part of 84.Infanterie-Division) acting as infantry, a naval cadet basic training company from Schiffsstammabteilung 14, and a company from the Fallschirm-Panzer training regiment 'Hermann Göring' (the training regiment of the Luftwaffe's only Panzer Division) - all survivors from the airborne battle of Arnhem the previous month.
The German incursion was a diversionary attack (and probably explains the machine-gun firing at nothing) designed to distract from a major counter-attack by II.SS-Panzerkorps further east to retake the Nijmegen bridges, and an attack from the west by 363.Volkgrenadier-Division (in which Major Oliver Horton of 3/506th was killed).
The Easy Company man checked one uniform and saw it was SS and just assumed the whole battalion was SS.
This period is not well covered in the history books as most accounts of operation MARKET GARDEN end with the evacuation of the British airborne from Arnhem on 26 September, which also saw the last airlift (to a grass airstrip near Grave) on the same day, officially terminating the airborne operation MARKET. Operation GARDEN, the ground advance, did not terminate until 7 October, when Montgomery finally gave up on the Arnhem bridge and ordered it bombed by the air force and turned his attention to a new operation from Nijmegen towards Wesel. This was the reason 43rd Division was withdrawn from the 'island', Montgomery needed it elsewhere, and replaced by 101st Airborne. This period is covered by a video on Mark Felton's channel called A German Bridge Too Far - The Nijmegen Counter Offensive - ua-cam.com/video/yaNnbHl30ic/v-deo.html
@@davemac1197 actually, the German machine gun that seemed to be firing at nothing was actually trying to shoot at Battalion Headquarters from a long distance.
A long time ago when this came out on DVD, 3 of the actors came out to the Navy Exchange here in Hawaii to promote the film and do MWR type activities, meet with service members etc. There was Frank John Hughes (Bill Guarnere), Michael Cudlitz (Bull Randleman), and Ron Livingston (Lewis Nixon).
We met them at a signing session, and there was literally nobody there, just the 3 of them at a table. My brother and I got autographs and pictures, chatted with them a bit. Later, we saw them at the McDonalds getting lunch, and you'd think they were just normal, non-celebs like the rest of us. Literally, no one recognized them, or at least no one approached them to talk, so my bro and I chatted them up a bit more. They were super cool, down to earth fellas. Good memories.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the series, it's really incredible. They really don't make war films this good anymore.
The scene with Winters on the train is perhaps the most hauntingly relatable depiction of PTSD ever put to film....
Very true.
Yes, that was Jimmy Fallon playing a true hero George Rice, who made several ammo runs that helped the 101st. . When they filmed this in the late 90s, he was a relative nobody, like 95% of the rest of the cast, just starting his first year on SNL. He tried out for an HBO show with the names Hanks and Spielberg attached, would only look great on the resume. Just another actor trying to break into the big times.
Fallon has since said, that was amongst the most nervous he had ever been for a shoot. Being directed by Tom Hanks. All he had to do was drive the Jeep and say his lines, but he was so nervous. Other issue, is he couldn't figure out how to drive th Army Jeep, so they rigged it up so it could be pushed and pulled to make it look like he was driving.
Love your reactions, appreciate all you do!!
Rice is his relative.
Also he was related to Rice
it's his best role ever. the one he actually took seriously.
I am not sure if it is still on youtube but there was a clip of Damian Lewis on Jimmy Fallon where they laughed about the jeep. I believe too that DL called him out because JF couldn’t drive a stick. I think that too contributed to the pushing of the jeep
Also Tom Hanks himself did a cameo, look among the red berets
Literary trivia, regarding the end of that episode: 50 kilometres northeast of there, near St. Vith, on that same day, PFC Kurt Vonnegut, an intelligence scout with the 106th infantry, was captured by the Germans, leading to his fateful presence in Slaughterhouse No.5 in Dresden on February 14th, 1945.
The train scene is the most accurate portrayal of PTSD I have ever seen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a situation almost exactly like that.
“You have to know what you’re fighting for. That there is life outside of war.”
From my experience, there isn’t life outside of war. Or after it. It’s all pointless. All of it. And it all meant nothing.
You fought in Europe during World War 2?
When winters spoke to Leibgott he also noticed one of the prisoners reacting to leibgotts words etc. So winters realised at least one of the prisoners spoke and understood English
One officer did in fact understand English
Fun fact: Tom Hanks won a Best Miniseries Director Emmy (along with all of the other episodes' directors) for BAND OF BROTHERS. He has also won 6 Best Miniseries/TV Movie Emmys as executive producer as well (for FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, BAND OF BROTHERS, JOHN ADAMS, THE PACIFIC, GAME CHANGE, and OLIVE KITTERIDGE).
When Winters is "dressed down" (as you put it), it's by a Medic named Eugene "Doc" Roe. Roe is an enlisted man and Medics earned the moniker "Doc" only by gaining the respect of fellow soldiers. A Doc is one of the few enlisted men who could ever bark at a CO like that without being reprimanded. In the next episode, you will understand why Roe is called Doc.
When you say "one of the few," who are the other enlisted men who could get away with it?
Particularly since medics were mostly chosen among the regular soldiers in the Company, and then given additional training, not necessarily those who have any particular background or experience...or motivation.
@@DudeLongcouch The Range Master at the firing range. His word is law no matter what your rank.
To add to this the medic has every right to yell at you when it comes to medical care. If you messed up in how much pain killer to give a wounded soldier or the like while waiting the medic. Which is what occured I'm this scene. As overdosing is a very real and very dangerous thing. Especially in this era when the painkiller of choice was morphine. A very strong and very addictive pain killer. Used only sparingly in today's medicine for surgery and the like.
@@DudeLongcouch A war hardened Sergeant, especially a career one, could get away with it in most cases, but probably not with anyone higher ranked than a Captain. So long as the "dressing down" was for the safety/well being of the men.
One of my favourite shots in the series is at the end of this episode, when you see Winters watching the men march towards Bastogne, and then, as he always leads alongside the men, he joins in and he blends in to the group. It's another stellar transition.
Have always thought there was a difference in the german that Winters shoots when we see it initially (3:14) compared with later (15:28). Initially he seems smug or contemptuous, whereas in the later scene he seems scared. I think that is purposefully done as a note to Winters as a soldier and as a man, when recollecting as a soldier he just sees the enemy, but later when confronted by real life he sees another scared kid.
The tragedy is also in the fact that there is no absolute difference between the kid on the metro and the kid he shot, and yet one comes and salutes him and the other lies dead in a field.
@@MariaPetrescu Well, there's the difference that one of them was a literal Nazi. That's pretty absolute.
I think one of the things that made Winters such a great leader was how quickly he incorporated experience into his thinking. He learned very quickly how to work with the chaos of war while keeping on track.
Appreciate the nerding out as it helps to quantify what makes this series such a masterpiece. The story telling, the lighting and sound design the acting etc. It was all brilliantly executed and stands the test of time. I've rewatched this many many times and it never gets old. Looking forward to the rest of your reactions to the series
Richard “Dick” Winters was only 26 years old when leading easy company men. It’s something that blows my mind after rewatching this series from when I was a teenager. They were all so incredibly young, men who had to sacrifice their youth. I hope they all found peace.
Reminds me of a Vietnam war movie I watched recently about the Battle of Long Tan. At the end of the movie it listed the Australian soldiers that got killed in the battle and I don’t remember a single one of them being over the age of 20 and the youngest being 17 years old. Truely breaks my heart.
They were all way younger than their actor counterparts
My Dad was sent to the Pacific in WW2 @ 18. 22 months of that and there’s no surprise he drank himself to death in May of 71.
@@heshy14 shit, man. Sorry to hear that. My grandfather was in the pacific at around the same age for the whole war plus a year and while I don’t know much, I do know he came out a much harder man than he was when he went in.
OMG! He was younger than me.
That was Jimmy Fallon in a small role. Supposedly he got the role because he is related to the real person he portrayed but that's been disputed.
The friendly fire shooting was pretty much Moose Heyliger's fault. He had a habit of forgetting the sentry passwords. There was a real possibility of a German raid into the area so the sentries were on high alert. The sentry was supposed to open fire if he did not hear the password. In the end, the sentry was not blamed but was transferred to another company in case of any bad feelings.
Doc Roe chewed out a superior officer which is understood to be, uhh… worthy of disciplinary action. But he was right and they probably understood that. Medical people get quite a bit of latitude because of their importance. It was a great detail that rings true.
Jacqui geeking out on the details is just so wholesome :)
I knew you’d love the editing in this episode! It’s slick as hell without distracting from the story.
So great to see you back with Easy! As much as I love your take on the story, the emotions, and the characters, I adore seeing your unique takes on the filmmaking process and stagecraft. It warms the heart of this old Stage Crew kid!
Thanks so much for all your work putting this series up, hope you are rocking life!
I really like watching reactors with knowledge of specific skills reacting to things in their wheelhouse. I'm really enjoying your reactions, thanks for all your insight.
"Gotta have some fun on Christmas" Ooof, yeah... 😬
"Nutz!"
The more times you watch this series, the more you notice all the "foreshadowing" each episode has. There are clues to what comes next everywhere.
It’s crazy I’ve seen this series no less than a 100 times in my life and I never paid much attention to the football line until today I caught it.
Fun Fact: 6:56 it’s possible the gun Luz was using and the typewriter Winters was using came out of the same factory.
Luz is seen with an M1A1 Carbine, a light rifle fitted with a folding stock. It’s a variant of the M1 Carbine, which has a full wood stock. This gun was manufactured by a bunch of companies, one of them being the Underwood typewriter company.
While Underwood didn’t make any M1A1 Carbines (they only made M1 Carbines) during the war, in the years since, people have taken recievers from M1 Carbines of various manufacturers and put M1A1 stocks in them for the aesthetic. It’s possible one of these guns made it’s way to the set.
IRL are you Ian McCollum (Forgotten Weapons)?
@@alanholck7995 no, but I’ve met the man a handful of times. Really nice guy.
All original M1A1 Paratrooper Carbines were made by the Inland Guide Lamp division of General Motors. In fact, Inland practically outfitted the Paratroops, everything from weapons to helmet liners.
@@benschultz1784 I know this. Around 150,000 M1A1s were made by Inland. I just doubt that all of the M1A1s they got for the show were actual M1A1s since getting a non-genuine one would have been cheaper to get, thus saving money on production and not losing any historical accuracy aesthetic as well. It’s not like anyone can tell the difference between an faux Underwood Carbine with a paratrooper stock vs a genuine Inland Carbine with paratrooper stock without looking at the markings.
Something I had not thought of until just now watching you watch this episode...Tom Hanks loves typing on a manual typewriter (almost an obsession) and as a director, used his love of that to great effect in this episode, as you have stated.
Winters didn't chew out the sentry that shot Moose but he did make sure they were kicked out of the 101st.
The opening song so powerful, even without lyrics... although it does have lyrics. It's called "Requiem For A Soldier", written by Michael Kamen. Next time you hear the opening credits, keep these in mind.
"You never lived to see
What you gave to me
One shining dream of hope and love
Life and liberty
With a host of brave unknown soldiers
For your company you will live forever
Here in our memory
In fields of sacrifice
Heroes paid the price
Young men who died for old men's wars
Gone to paradise
We are all one great band of brothers
And one day you'll see we can live together
When all the world is free
I wish you'd lived to see
All you gave to me
Your shining dream of hope and love
Life and liberty
We are all one great band of brothers
And one day you'll see - we can live together
When all the world is free"
Holy crap about time! Felt like you were cheating on BoA with Masters and I havnt seen Master yet so I wasn’t watching and had forgotten about your channel actually 😂
My paternal uncle Matthew served in the 3rd armored during the battle of the Bulge and my maternal uncle Elmer served in the 17th airborne which will be mentioned in a later episode. For my uncle Elmer it was his baptism of fire but for uncle Matthew he had been fighting since Normandy. Uncle Elmer grew up in Minnesota so was used to cold long winters but he always said that was the coldest he had experienced and besides in Minnesota people were not trying to kill him. A tank makes a good target.
The ending of this episode is just phenomenal. The music, the buildup of tension, and the way they're just quietly marching towards the guns. Full body chills, every time.
Welcome Back! Winters is a study in good leadership (contrasted well with others who are less capable or lead in different ways). One of the great things about the series and the subject material is that there is relatively little embellishment. Just as in Normandy Winters told Hall "We're not lost - We're in Normandy", here he says "We're paratroopers - We're supposed to be surrounded". Calm confidence in the face of evident danger will serve to keep his men in as good a state of mind as they can be.
Love your reviews and anxiously awaiting the next one.
“Cheers to not drinkin”.
And cheers to picking this back up was worried you forgot about it, lol.
I have enjoyed your commentary a whole lot. You are very, very bright, and your remarks are insightful. You clearly don't have a military or historical background, but you seem to be very quick to pick up on things. You have a fantastic eye for detail. And the Tennyson reference at the end of the episode was most impressive.
Doc Roe had every right to chew the officers out and they knew it. When it comes to treating the wounded, the medical person is boss.
I loved how, for Winters, writing the after-action report almost feels like he's killing his men all over again. Every tap of the keys feels like a gunshot to him. That's why it takes so long and why he's so careful about every word he chooses. This is his last act of support or defense of his men, where he renders the last word on each of their decisions and actions in an almost impossible situation. He couldn't physically protect them in the field but he could protect their memory and the careers of the men who survived by putting the best frame around their behavior. Writing this with PTSD interfering in the clarity and sequence of his memories must have been agonizing. I once had to write a report after having been the victim of a violent crime as a kid and I can tell you, I really do not trust my memory of the whole week surrounding those events, so the report (about something unrelated for school) felt completely surreal and was at least partly informed by feedback from other people rather than my own recollection. It had to be, because those moments were just inaccessible to me, then or ever again. He doesn't have the luxury of taking his time and calmly reflecting on everything that happened before writing this report. He is still actively living in that heightened battle response mode even while typing. So yeah, every tap is a gunshot for him and you totally feel that throughout the whole episode. I wonder how many such reports were written as logically inferred or generously granted grace for everyone's skewed PTSD-inflected recollections throughout that war (or any war). It really makes you wonder about how factually accurate any of them could really be, given what we now know trauma does to perception and memory.
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar
You ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 2]
"Is everybody happy?" Cried the Sergeant looking up
Our hero feebly answered, "Yes" and then they stood him up
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked
And he ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 3]
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop
The silk from his reserves spilled out and wrapped around his legs
And he ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 4]
The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground
And he ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 5]
The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind
He thought about the medic corps and wondered what they'd find
And he ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 6]
The ambulance was on the spot, the Jeeps were running wild
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled their sleeves and smiled
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed
And he ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 7]
He hit the ground, the sound was "splat," his blood went spurting high
His comrades, they were heard to say, "A hell of a way to die"
He lay there, rolling 'round in the welter of his gore
And he ain't gonna jump no more
[Chorus]
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
[Verse 8]
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the 'chute
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Tom Hanks makes a cameo in the barn scene with the British. He's playing "Where's Tom?" while wearing a beret. Around 12:49 near the back left. He hides behind a guy without a beret.
You make observations I've never heard or thought about. You're an absolute delight to listen to.
Tom Hanks is an avid typewriter collector and enthusiast, and tends to insert them when he can, this is probably the best use of one though. Fun fact, Hanks appeared on an episode of the Nerdist podcast because they sent him an antique typewriter, which he wrote his response to their invitation on.
I've watched this series a million time over the year and I still find it so good. Love your reactions to it. I hope you upload the rest onto UA-cam soon.
I love that you kept the scene of Winters calling in artillery with the series of M1 Garand pings.
My guys worked on this series and on saving private Ryan and fury, we supplied vehicles and our guys were extras for the German side. Some of the older guys of the group that were extras have told me about the techniques used in filming and it really is fantastic! One of them was during I believe episode 7 or 8 when filming the Ardennes segment, one of the members of easy company gets shot and they are all there helping him and he has blood spurting out of his wound.
Well it turns out the way they filmed that was they had a hose linked up to where the wound was and out of the shot was a guy with a bucket of fake blood, he had a stir-up pump and he was pumping the blood in a sort of sequence that mimicked blood coming through the artery and out of an open wound.
The cinema magic used within this series is truly spectacular and my guys couldn’t stop raving about how good the different special effects were, they said they walked away with a much greater appreciation and were actually glad to of learned something new as well as having a blast working on this series.
I only wish I was able to witness this, sadly I was only 3 at the time and even when fury was done I was just a bit too young. But opportunities like this come up fairly often for us so I know I’ll get the chance again.
Also a bit of a funny note to add relating to the scene where Hubler shoots the German officer off the horse, the crew asked the guys if anyone had experience riding horses and nobody did but one of the guys said yeah even though he didn’t. Although he looked like he knew what he was doing he was actually shit scared as he didn’t know what he was doing. And that’s probably why the panic in the German officer looks good because he was genuinely terrified for real 😂
Absolutely magnificent reaction Jacqui, as always. Love all your videos... intelligent, insightful, empathetic, informative... and I adore your mellifluous laugh. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you for another fantastic reaction. Your insight and critical break down of filmmaking and the mechanics is always very welcome and provide me with further appreciation, if that's even possible, for this spectacular series.
26:17 The problem with the lighting is that these shows are perfect in completely dark rooms like the darkness you have when you’re in a movie theater. For example, the second to last episode in the Game of Thrones had to watched in a completely dark room, or you weren’t going to see half of the battle. Since Band of Brothers was made before the digital boom, and HD was just coming around they actually knew how to light the night scenes for people who were watching in their living rooms.
Flawless representation of Winter's (& Buck's) PTSD.
This series does an outstanding job of representing the mental impact of war on people, and the varying ways in which people contend with it.
PTSD is not a weakness of the individual and there's no single way to treat it. It's great that a series like this can open the door to better understanding and compassion.
@@daxriley8195 Yes. Those of us who have to deal with the impact of the disorder appreciate the portrayal
Winters never had PTSD.....and didn't approve of that scene.
Directed by Tom Hanks, who is well known as an obsessive typewriter collector. The emphasis on the transitions from action to Winters typing reports is surely coincidental. 😊
Came here to say the same.
The scene with Winters on the train was so powerful, and then when the young man saluted him. Damn, I can't even imagine how he managed to do what he achieved.
My wife's grandfather was an army engineer attached to Patton's 3rd army. He was part of the relief force that fought at Bastogne aka the Battle of the Bulge. He was part of a light pontoon bridge group that laid pontoon bridges for soldiers.
This episode brings tears to my eyes even though I've watched it before. This whole series is superb.
It just clicked with me but Hanks directed this episode and he is a typewriter collector... explaining the significance of the transitions.
I know this was a month ago, but I heard Winters talk about the opening scene where he is running. He said he never ran faster than he ran that day and it was as if everyone else in slow motion. The german was actually closer to him than it shows in show and kid started to smile at him when shot him.
This is the episode when Tom Hanks literally takes the reigns in the series...becoming more introspective with Winters. Long before PTSD was even taken seriously. General Patton famously addressed it with the back of his hand on a soldiers face. Oh and if any of you come across any bacon sandwiches, let me know. Currahee ♠
Vlogging through history, who I was able to meet a few weeks back with Matthew Leitch, who plays Talbert and runs We Happy Few 506 and also the guy from history Underground underground at an event at Gettysburg Museum of History posted this up from a trip they did a few years ago to the Actual Crossroads, where actor Mark Lawrence, who played Dukeman, got to see where his character was killed and had a very emotional response. His real life parallels Dukeman, having married a woman from Colorado, near where Dukeman was from. Quite a cool watch.
There's tons of these nuggets in these types of videos, also the History Hacks zooms from the pandemic have received re released as a whole 5 hour episode with many of the actors, and then there is two summers ago WW2 museum symposium that has 7 hours of panels with actors, crew, and family members......
I am a veteran and son of a WWII veteran. I appreciate your reaction to this series. I have a suggestion for Memorial Day coming up. I suggest you watch "Taking Chance" starring Kevin Bacon. It will show how Americans thought of military and veterans a few years after 9/11.
I might add that extra tissues will be in order for that one.
That's a tear jerker for sure.
In real life, the Crossroads battle is considered Easy Company’s finest performance in battle, according to Winters himself. The overall battle is condensed in the miniseries, but that’s usually done for time.
In reality, after he called for British artillery support, Winters brought up another platoon from Easy and went after the Germans. However, the Germans were able to regroup and Winters and his men fell back. When they got back to the Crossroads, that’s when the German artillery fell down on them. 28 men were wounded, but all would recover. Sgt. Dukeman would be the only KIA, killed by a German rifle grenade the night prior as he stood in the open telling men to spread out.
Pvt Alley, the man hurt so badly at the start of this episode while Winters is talking about the dog …talks about his injury in the accompanying HBO documentary “We Stand Alone Together,” which you should definitely react to after the miniseries. Tipper - whose legs were so badly mangled in the Carentan episode is also in the documentary. Finally, so is Moose Heyliger, shot at the end of this episode by a sentry.
Hanks is an avid typewriter enthusiast and collects old models. So, his incorporation of the typewriter in this episode is somewhat of a personal touch.
Pvt Webster - hit in this episode and mocking himself for yelling they got me. He was the soldier who gave the Dutch child the chocolate. Keep him in your memory as he will be back in a later episode in a big way.
Jimmy Fallon was much less of a jarring cameo in 2001. He had been a minor player on SNL to that point, He was nearly a decade away from his late show and another half decade beyond that or so before he got the Tonight Show.
Hi Jacqui. Great reactions and information about filmmaking. Operation Market Garden was a military disaster for the Allied forces. 12,000 British and Polish paratroopers were dropped into Holland and only 2,000 paratroopers survived. Thank you so much for your reactions, I really appreciate you.
Fascinating to think Winters was the company commander for 4.5 months (06 June- late October). Really a short period of time, but it seems forever somehow.
Episodes 7 and 9 are the heaviest emotionally. Episode 6 is from the perspective of the medic, Eugene Roe
8th October, iirc
You're definitely right about the ability to light scenes set at night having become far worse in recent years. Its almost becoming a lost art, like it isn't being taught properly in film schools or something. Its a difficult thing to do properly, isn't appreciated half the time unless its done badly and doesn't get enough credit in films where its done exceptionally well. Best examples i've seen of it being done exceptionally well are oddly enough in star trek generations, the patriot and silver bullet. The patriot handled it a bit differently using alot of blue lighting, which worked well for the way shots were set up and the time the film was set in
I was just thinking, catching up on this reaction, that it's interesting how much an episode directed by Tom Hanks focused on Winters typing up a combat report, because Tom Hanks collects vintage typewriters as a hobby.
Like Winters said in the intro, you don't just take the easy ones. You take the tough ones too, which means leaving from the front. One of the mottos of the airborne is that the commanding officer is always the first man out of the plane. You have to be there where the metal meets the meat, enough said. There is no such thing as friendly fire, all fire is unfriendly. 😡🤬
did ya notice?...when Sink give Winters the promotion, he tells him not to worry about admin stuff...then gets on his case about late reports...~chuckle~
Ain't that how it works!
@@genghisgalahad8465 Indeed so...=)
Winters was promoted to the executive officer, not the commanding officer. And the XO is exactly the guy, who does all the admin work 😂 Even worse, Streyer was in the regiment HQ all the time, so Winters actually did both jobs, XO and CO. He became officially the CO five months later.
There’s a great band of brothers podcast where they talk to Tom hanks. Actors writers and directors. Tom specifically mentions the typewriter/gunshot blend
'Masters of the Air' and 'Band of Brothers.' Great job, Jacqui. Much appreciated.🙌
I heard something that I liked: Hell is a frozen place, the only fire is the hate in each heart, and all are isolated, incommunicated to each other.
You are right about shooting scenes at night. Two come into mind and they are from the Game of Thrones universe. The episode Battle of Winterfell is notorious because you can't see anything other than the fire (most of the episode is dark) that is on the battlefield. The other is Driftmark from House of the Dragon. It was so difficult to watch Battle of Winterfell because I did not know where the night sky started and ground ended. Thankfully, the night time scene in Driftmark was the only scene that was difficult to see.
It's fascinating to hear things from a film student's view (are you still a student?). You see and comment on things that I've just taken in while watching. You're input makes so much sense; things that I'd seen, but didn't realize how much such little things of cinemtogophy added to WHY this was such a great series.
I absolutely love this series and I am enjoying seeing your reactions to the episodes. If you have not heard, there is a podcast that was released a few years ago that has interviews with some of the cast and writers for this show. I loved hearing about their experiences talking with the real men and getting to make this amazing series.
I can recommend the book, Beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters.
Dick Winters a great man, and a Man who lead by example and not by fear.
If you have never gotten the suggestion before, let me be the first to suggest, once you finish this series, is the mini series "Generation Kill".
Following Marines during the invasion of Iraq.
An excellent representation of modern warfare, and the men doing it.
Quick quiz, you mention Oppenheimer. Is there an actor from BoB also in Oppenheimer ? Answer, Yes. Scott Grimes/Malarkey.
Crazy, I just started watching you react to this show. I was watching the documentary about it and I realized as I was watching it you uploaded this video
Useless Trivia: To Hanks cameos in the scene aroun 12:50 of this where Moose is being praised by the Red Berets - he's one of the Red Berts in the crowd.
[1:48] This song is called "Requiem for a Soldier". I recommend you listen to Katherine Jenkins singing it. By far, the best rendition with vocals. Makes the song mean even more once you hear the lyrics.
Very glad you're back can't wait for episode 7 it's my favorite
also at this time Winters M1 rifle was 1 of a few in the company that got some custom work done by a trooper in E co. so it fired full auto all 8rds in 1 pull of the trigger. having spent time with many of the E co troopers back in the day with E/506th Reenacted got to hear all the stories , Wild Bill had been hit earlier in the leg while riding a motorcycle along the top of a dike then went AWOL as shown here returning to the company.
This really is the best miniseries ever made. There may be a detail or two they got wrong but they captured the essence of these men and the time. They did everything right.
The guy who interrupted the movie was wrong. It wasn't the 5th and 6th Panzer Divisions who'd broken though in the Ardennes, it was the 5th and 6th Panzer Armies, plus the 7th Army! That's the entire German Army Group 'B', ~250-300,000 men.
Fun fact, Tom Hanks is a huge fan/collector of typewriters which explains the front and center role of the typewriter.
this series is so good, my fav of all times
Your comment that some cultures view Hell as 'a frozen wasteland' reminded me that Dante imagined the deeper circles of Hell as ice covered lakes & fields, with the shades covered waist deep, chest deep or neck deep in ice. He further imagines that the tears the shades cry over their past sins freezing on their eyelashes and then an image that has always stayed with me; 'here weeping puts an end to weeping, and the grief that finds no outlet from the eyes, turns inward to intensify the anguish' (translation by Mark Musa). You may talk about the lighting until you're blue in the face? Given what you said about the cool blues used to simulate moonlight, your face will be bathed in moonlight. Well met by moonlight for all of us.
If you ask me episode 7 is far more “tear jerking” than 6. And to be honest, all these episodes are roughly equal in quality so it probably wouldn’t be best to judge them or prepare yourself because they are generally sadder than others. 10/10 show
Little unnoticed fact, Winter's bloody hand print on the ambulance window was a nod to Director's Hank's "co-star" in Cast Away, Wilson🏐
Was it really? Or was it just a coincidence? Do you have a source for that? I have a hard time believing that Tom Hanks would include a nod to a fictional plot point in a serious historical series.
I would say it's just a coincidence. I feel it's stronger to just see Winter's commitment to his men, instead of another film's reference.
The whole 'Wilson' thing is a tribute to his wife Rita, whose maiden name is Wilson. So both references are probably about her, certainly the one in Cast Away is - I think that's well documented.
@@davemac1197yes, it was a nod to Rita by Bill Broyles the screenwriter of Castaway, not Hanks himself. I'm not convinced that Hanks added the bloody handprint in BoB as a reference to her.
Your attention to detail is outstanding. Well done.
20:09 Yes, that was Jimmy Fallon...ironically, despite him being a relative nobody at the time and his role only having a cameo-type spot, they had to do some special stuff for him to be able to perform the role, as Jimmy doesn't know how to drive a stick-shift and thus couldn't operate the Jeep that he was supposed to be driving. They had to tow the Jeep with a winch for some scenes, while a couple of people literally pushed it from behind in others, and play around with camera angles to make it seamlessly appear that he was actually driving the Jeep.
Another Jacqui gem, looking forward to the next,
your comment about frozen hell reminded me of something in Stephen King's The Stand
by a character named Mother Abigail, who says contrary to the ruling belief,
that Hell is actually cold.
I have a story bubbling in my mind about my father who was in combat with the USMC in WWII and myself as his son. I was in the Medic in the US Amry. I was in Iraq in combat and got the CMB. I can see the movie in my mind but can't write the book or screenplay. My dad after WWII and getting his law degree at Denison joined the FBI and worked on some very well-known cases i.e., Rosenbergs. Nevermind.
Episode 6 is my favorite. I'm so glad you noticed that each episode is filled in a different style. I think it adds character to the series. I'm hoping after BOB you watch the documentary "we stand alone together" and then jump right into "the pacific" .
I know I'm a couple months late. So someone has probably pointed this out. Tom Hanks makes a subtle cameo in this episode. He's one of the British soldiers celebrating after the recovery mission by Moose. Hard to spot but he's in the crowd raising their drinks.
I also know you are more of a cinematic content reactor. But if you want a bit more context. I suggest TheFatElectritian's video on Jake McNiece aka Jake McNasty. Not only is it a fun story told by a fun story teller. It lets you know a bit more about paratroopers. As well as Jake's work in Bastogne. Something even I didn't know.
What strikes me with Winters is that his report is so terse and to the point, without embellishing his own heroics. He is humble but not to the point of being self-effacing. Perfect leader imo.
People always say the first shot of this episode is a foreshadow we come back around to. I'd like to make the argument it was in chronological order. The next shot is Winters waking up Nix which to me implies that the first scene is Winters waking up. Thats what he dreams about and what keeps him up at night.
Idk if anyone has said it yet but if you read the book written by Stephen Ambrose based on his extensive interviews with the men of Easy Company, you find out that Moose is the one who made a mistake before he got shot.
When challenged at a guard point, you have to reply with a password. Instead of the password, Moose replied, "It's Moose."
The show made it feel like it happened very quickly as opposed to the book where Winters says he waited in increasing anticipation for Moose to say it, enough for Winters to wonder if Moose had forgotten the password.
And if I remember correctly, the Private who shot him had been with Easy Company since its inception, meaning he was quite experienced from D-Day, Carentan, Eindhoven, all the way up to this point.
All I can say is that this is my favorite episode of the series. I love the focus on Winters. I have said this many times, but the Navy Veteran in me has nothing but the utmost respect for Richard Winters and his leadership, as well as his kindness and caring for the men he led. Looking forward to continuing your Band of Brothers journey. Any plans on watching The Pacific?
So the sentry shooting Moose was partially Harry's fault which is why you see Winters give Harry a look when Bill hands Dick the letter. Harry was supposed to let the sentry know that Moose and Winters were going to walk the line as Winters felt cramped up. Harry never let the sentry know, although Moose stated that he had forgotten the password as well
The Pacific is definitely a must watch as well. Would highly recommend watching it.
And thus begins the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most brutal clashes of the whole European front. Hitler, low on fuel and materiel, had launched a last-ditch all-out gamble to break through the Allied lines in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and get to the northern port city of Antwerp so that he could resupply the Nazi war machine. He sent huge battle groups of tanks and infantry into the forest, while the Allies hunkered down as hard as they could. The "bulge" was the bend in the Allied line that the resulted from the Nazi charge through the forest. Somehow, the Allies held the line through the whole of the devastatingly harsh winter of December 1944-February 1945. Bastogne is a Belgian village that sits deep in the Ardennes, and much of the fighting done by the American segment of the Allied forces happened at or around it. The next episode details the hell that was the Bulge for everybody involved.
Neal McDonough has said that Compton was the one role that impacted him the most, especially since he met the man. It's the rare "good guy" out of the roles he's had.
Fun cameo fact: Tom Hanks actually appeared in the wide shot of all the British soldiers drinking a toast to their American rescuers. It's a fun Where's Waldo exercise to try to pick him out of the crowd.
They were not "rescued" - operation PEGASUS was organised by the escapees themselves, mostly 1st Parachute Battalion commander Lt Col David Dobie, and Major Digby Tatham-Warter of 2nd Battalion's A Company. They also had their brigade commander, Brigadier Gerald Lathbury among the evaders recovering from a bullet wound in the back and was the most senior escapee, all assisted and hidden by brave Dutch civilians.
Dobie swam the Rijn to make contact with friendly forces and organise the crossing for the 150 or so evaders that had been collected together. The crossing operation was conducted by Royal Engineers from 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, and the boats were provided by Royal Engineers from 43rd Division or Royal Canadian Engineers from an attached company. Easy Company 506th PIR provided security in the form of one platoon led by Lt 'Moose' Heyliger and Sgt Donald Malarkey, chosen for the mission because the crossing point of the Rijn was in the Easy Company sector of the US 101st Airborne Division, which had just taken over positions from 43rd Division. The crossing point was just opposite Randwijk, which was the location of the Easy Company CP.
The "rescue" fantasy is a common one made up by Americans who probably don't even think that UA-cam is a platform accessed globally, and that includes the UK, so be prepared for some pushback on this kind of nonsense. It's as bad as the notion that the 101st Airborne were "rescued" by Patton at Bastogne, but that's for another episode.
When they are in Endhoven, Talbot is kissing a girl at while sitting at a table...... The old man wearing the hat in front of them is none other than the real Eugene "Babe" Heffron.
@@TheRagratus - *Eindhoven.
Comments like this are a bit of a spoiler, as the viewer is not supposed to know who the Easy Company veterans in the interviews are until they are named at the end of the series.
@@davemac1197 Well, I guess I should have chosen my words more carefully. Thanks for setting this 56-year-old war veteran and military historian straight Dave. Hope you actually got my point before you chewed glass and spit nails.
@@mikepeterson9362 - I'm too old to be chewing glass and spitting nails in a furious anger, so it's my pleasure to be putting you young kids back on the path of the righteous man, beset though it is on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and tyranny of evil men...