This broke my heart... *BAND OF BROTHERS* Ep 3 Reaction "Carentan" | Film Student Reacts
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- Опубліковано 16 чер 2024
- Happy Valentines Day! Enjoy a little bit of heartbreak, courtesy of BoB.
Full length reactions to the full series are available on Patreon, as well as weekly early access to UA-cam edits. Also check out MASTERS OF THE AIR on UA-cam, and THE PACIFIC on Patreon.
Patreon: / movienightwithjacqui
Instagram & Twitter/X: @jacquimiaross
Jacqui Mia Ross
P.O. Box 4755
Culver City, CA 90231
USA
00:00 - Intro
01:29 - Reaction
22:28 - Discussion
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Band of Brothers #bandofbrothers #reaction #carentan
First Time Watching #firsttimewatching
Reaction #reactionvideo
Damian Lewis
David Schwimmer
Neal McDonough
Michael Fassbender
James McAvoy
Tom Hanks
Steven Spielberg
Andrew Scott
Simon Pegg
Tom Hardy - Розваги
Not only did Blithe live, he served in Korea and got the bronze star and the silver star!
He ended up being a real good soldier.
They didn't mean to make the mistake of him dying that's just what the record said.
I believe there was another Albert Blithe in the unit that did die in 1948 and this Blithe never attended things like unit reunions, so people thought he had died.
Yep. He was also from Philadelphia and didn’t have whatever weird Appalachian accent that actor who played him put on
So did this Blithe survive or not?
@@ProtossWannabe1984 The actor (like most of Easy Company in the series) was a Brit, and apparently didn't have much luck with the Philly accent, so he went with Appalachia
Here's an interview where Winters set the record straight about Blithe: ua-cam.com/video/vfhcwvsUkBY/v-deo.html
That scene at the end where Malarkey picks up the laundry and the film makers find an incredibly subtle way of pointing out the human cost Easy company has taken gets me every time I see it.
I mean, “subtle” isn’t the word I would use. Definitely a smart and clever way of portraying it. But it’s about as subtle as a brick through a window.
@@gracehiggins2666
I think they mean "subtle" as a contrast to showing the actual deaths on the battlefield as we've seen with some other soldiers we followed in the episode.
@@kenle2 Still an incorrect use of the word subtle, in my opinion, even if that is what they meant (which I don’t think it was).
I learned recently that most of the names on the laundry that Malarkey gets, were guys on one of the planes that was shot down on D-Day. One of the names was Lt Thomas Meehan, who was supposed to be in command of Easy Company, but was on that plane. This is why Winters ended up with command of the company.
I love the three different forms of leadership and mindsets towards fear that is shown in this episode:
Welsh: Geniality and Dissociation
Spiers: Intimidation and Acceptance
Winters: Compassion and Encouragement
That’s an excellent thought process. What’s your take on Nix? He’s the most colorful of them all imo, as he’s bought in, but clearly he’s got a jaded and sarcastic take on everything.
I think that assessment of Spiers is unfair. He was a different breed, but he really did have a heart for the other men, it just came out on a different way. His talk with Spiers reminds me of a scene in Black Hawk Down when the main Delta operator is talking to a ranger about how to deal with the carnage. I like Spiers because he respects the men under him enough to tell them the truth, even when it’s brutal.
The episode was Blithe's. I'd never considered the three officers' attitudes as a spectrum of leadership. But your point adds more depth. Thank you.
I agree, although I'd also add that Winters DOES. Talk is cheap. Winters pulls Blithe up and stands with him during the fight.
Nix doesn't have command authority. He's never on the front lines, being in Intelligence. As revealed later, he never fires a shot in anger.
I can only surmise that his family's wealth is what put him there, actually. While he's serving on the front, at least, he had enough connections to pull him back from actual battle.
That laundry scene was both aching and sublime. While sparing the woman, he absorbs it all.
Your comments from a film student's perspective are leading me to an even greater appreciation for this series. Thank you!
Thank you! That means so much to hear 😄
The makers of the show could not portray the terrain around Carentan the way it really was, so it is really hard for people to understand why the troops went straight up the road to get into the town, and you wondered why they could not hide and sneak in through the woods. But the Germans had flooded all the areas around Carentan, and the only ways into the town were across the few raised causeways...which the Germans defended heavily. There was no option for the Americans trying to get into the town but to get across the causeways as fast as possible, there was no way to approach the town under cover or concealment.
It is one of the reasons I recommend that channel The Operations Room to folks....because they show the real battles so you can see the few important things they could not show in the series.
I guess I will also mention that Albert Blithe did not actually die, the makers of the show made a mistake on that because Blithe had not been in contact with the other Easy veterans. He stayed in the Army, fought in Korea, and passed away in 1967 from as a result of a perforated ulcer.
^ this
Edit: Seriously...going into Carentan given the only available approach was ballsy to say the least.
@@jakemeyer8188 Per Richard Winters: "Speed is the key">
Thanks for the channel suggestion!
When the fight is winding down you see a representation of the flooded fields. There is a shot from a second floor window were one of the guys props up his .30 cal. MG, shooting on fleeing Germans. They are running through a flooded field.
Yes, I saw the piece on UA-cam and read similar. What is accurate, is many men did jump in ditch, side of the causeway and Winters was yelling and at least putting hands on some to get them going! Welsh and a good bit of his platoon did press the attack and were without support as they went into the town. What made the approaches difficult also made the Germans' retreat difficult!
The veteran who said the bit about "a quick death or get through without a scratch" was Tipper, the soldier who was in the pharmacy when the shell hit. He lost an eye and most of one leg. He went to school on the GI bill and became a high school teacher.
Ooh thanks for the info! I've watched this series 15+ times but haven't followed up on the intro interviews.
In his 60s he married a woman in her 30s, had a family and lived into his 90s.
I’ve read the book and seen the show countless times, but I never knew it was him, tks
Curahee!
So, I guess we're doing spoilers the producers saved till the end? There's a reason they withheld their names until the end. So it doesn't ruin suspense as to whether someone survived.
But hey, go ahead. It's not YOUR first time watching, eh.
I've always liked how three lieutenants give Blithe different approaches on handling fear (it's a game, accept you are already dead, or leading by example).
To me, the error about Blithe's death is understandable, as he recovered stateside and did not return to fight in Europe. Losing contact with someone was easy to do 80 years ago.
I never thought about this perspective.
Nixon also had a different aproach. He told Blithe about the Edelweiss. This series is perfect.
You've probably already seen some of the UA-cam vid interviewing WWII combat vets from various theaters. More than one of them say something similar; about mentally accepting death to overcome the fear, at least enough to do your job.
The difference is also reflected in how they lead as officers. Welsh is easy going with a bit of dry humor. He also demonstrates hope by carrying the parachute for his girlfriend. As this is a game, he had a goal that he would continue to "play" for "one yard at a time."
Winters is all business and very steady. He also leads by example (more on that later). When he tells Blythe to stand up he is standing there doing exactly what he is telling Blythe to do. Yes, he is annoyed when he receives a minor wound. It prevents him from doing his job for a little while. It is also why he doesn't make a big deal about it later. It doesn't impact the mission so who cares. It hurts, oh well.
Spears (more on him later also) is virtually the opposite of Welsh. He has accepted that he is already dead and any hope of survival is a hindrance. This makes him the most reckless and ruthless (and what appears to be fearless) of the three.
I am a combat vet. As I watch you I have noticed that the more of this you watch the less you talk about how it's made and the more you seem to become part of the unit. I think this will continue with each episode. Thank you for this and God bless you
Thank you for your service! And you're absolutely right. I don't know how anyone could not get sucked in, and incredibly attached to this company. Thank you for the kind words!
Your very welcome . I'm excited to see more from you. I don't say that often but it's true. God bless you. @@movienightwithjacqui
Here before the "Blithe Lived" brigade shows up. And yes. He didn't die in '48. Albert Blithe had a long career in the Army before dying in 1967 from a stomach ulcer in Weisbaden.
The Fallschirmjägers were the elite of the elite of the regular German Armed Forces. Their training was the toughest out of all the branches of the Wehrmacht and often clashed with the Waffen-SS over status and prestige, as the SS weren't officially part of the armed forces of Germany. The edelweiss flower was more a symbol of the Gebirgsjägers (mountain troops) than the Fallschirmjägers.
I would imagine the showrunners, 20 years ago, got the wrong info, probably from a memeber of Easy Co., who remembered it wrong or got Blithe confused with someone else.
@@johnski4709 Ambrose got bad information from the real easy company members.
News flash: you’re a member of the BLB.
I feel we are obligated to mention it at this point 😂
@@johnski4709 Kinda more amazed they managed to get, err, the date of HItler's death wrong. I mean, really?
The Band of Brothers community online has some pretty awesome people. You can tell this show has changed alot of lives.
Regarding the conversation between Blithe and Speirs, I think Mae from Ted Lasso said the same thing "It's the hope that kills you." Since you have seen the entire series by now, Speirs' speech is some nice foreshadowing of his acts in Episode 7, The Breaking Point.
Spiers's statement is also very similar to something said by Miyamoto Musashi: "To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead."
Well, water is your best friend. However what Welsch gave Blithe would maybe be closer to something that an engine could run on if you catch my drift lol
The Pacific is like 8 episodes of living in Blythe's head.
The theme of this episode is fear. Blythe doesn't have physical head trauma, he's just suffering from shock, he just reacts to it with visual hallucinations as manifestations of his emotions. It's his blinding fear, kinda like blinding rage or blinding love.
No he was actually blind. Hysterical blindness is a reaction the body can have to a sudden bad experience.
@@Cauldronb0rn Yep, severe trauma... The brain will go into defense mode, cutting off the sense that is absorbing the trauma - sight.
And he actually survives & goes on to serve in Korea. One of the few mistakes of the series.
@@Cauldronb0rn I believe the more modern term is psychosomatic blindness.
Not just serve but was given a bronze and silver star for bravery, heard this from Cpt Winters in an interview. That's some character building.@@moonglow630
I’ve been there (it was Iraq and not France) and it doesn’t take much to make things chaotic. I always put my job ahead of what I was feeling at the time. It doesn’t help so much with PTSD but helps get the tasks done under really difficult circumstances. You have to be alive to have PTSD though.
Something to remember, anything that you can do in combat can get you killed. Including nothing.
They mistakenly said that Blythe died in ‘48. He survived his wounds and served with distinction in Korea receiving both the Bronze Star and Silver Star. He passed in ‘68 from a perforated ulcer and was a Master Sergeant at the time.
Roger that! Spent 12 of my 20 years deployed and def getting through the fear and making a decision is key…take your squad left or right…but don’t just stand in the middle of the road. HUA!
Thank you for your service. I was in the USAF during Desert Storm at Diego Garcia. My only injury was a bad sunburn though. Now my Great Uncle Floyd was a good man and went through some horrible hardships. He fought in the Bulge as an infantryman and had men killed right next to him. He finally got pulled off the line to guard prisoners because he could speak a little German and he said it saved his life. Unfortunately he had to shoot a German kid that was running away and had almost reached the tree line. After all that he finally gets home after 18 months or so and finds his wife with a newborn. He just raised it like his own. Tough times
12 years Army MP, but I'm an old ass Cold War soldier. Never deployed except for the Cuban Refugee Crisis in 1981. Spent most of my time waiting for the Russians to come across the Fulda Gap. Non Deployable duty position during Desert Storm and that didn't last but a hot minute. It left me feeling like I got a small dick. Can't pick when you are born.
"Something to remember, anything that you can do in combat can get you killed. Including nothing." INCREDIBLE PHRASE
@@donaldshotts4429 fun snorkeling at Diego!
One trip when we flew in there and we had a flying crew chief with us and when we checked into the navy billeting office they heard us call the senior airmen mechanic “Chief” and so he got SNCO billets since they assumed he was a chief petty officer lol
Easy Company was always either first in or unsupported because they were an assault company. They had more heavy equipment - machine guns and mortars - than a normal airborne company.
They had the same heavy weapons sections that every other airborne company did. There wasn't such a thing as an "assault" company in the 101st during WWII. Easy actually suffered less casualties than a lot of other airborne companies during the whole war because they were held in reserve for long periods of time. Then they were usually sent in to clean up since they had more men available at later stages of the battles they participated in than the companies who had been wiped out. 366 men rotated through Easy company during the war, and 49 of them were killed. 13 of those were on Meehan's plane that went down on D-Day.
@@euphmaniac623You are correct!
One of the things I really like about this episode is how well it shows how chaotic a firefight is from more individual perspectives. You see the opening shots and mostly blind, uncontrolled fire, then the officers and NCOs stepping in to take control and coordinate the fire and maneuver. Let me tell you, that's very much how it really is, still to today.
This episode is hard, but "Why We Fight" is on a whole other level. I'm almost in tears thinking about it right now.
I love that "why we fight" is the title they use. It is a reference to when General Eisenhower first witnessed the death camps in person. He was so enraged at the site that he told his troops, "men, this is why we fight", then had the local German townspeople rounded up and marched through the camp to bear witness to their nation's atrocities. A bunch of them committed suicide after in shame.
The laundry scene to me was also a point to show the blindness of war. The public knows people die. But it would never register with the British woman that it’s even conceivable that a soldier could drop off his laundry and never return. In a way she represents the ignorance of everyone not fighting on the front lines.
Well spotted. I never considered that perspective out of my own ignorance. Thank you for that insight.
The British had been paying the price of War for 5 years already at that point. They were already very aware.
Though, it is a well written and performed scene to illustrate the point for the benefit of the audience in relation to Easy co.
Blythe had hysterical blindness. He could see fine but his brain just had had enough and refused to acknowledge it. Generally, it is temporary. By far, the coolest guy in the whole series is that one tank gunner. His field of f*cks was barren, and he had none left to give. How they did the tank running over that stunt man was pretty cool. You should check it out in the behind the scenes stuff.
Definitely better special effects than that one scene in SPR where Mellish got killed 😂
There are two moments in this episode that always stand out for me, going back to 2001 when I first watched this series. The first is when Tipper gets wounded and Liebgott is there for him, lowering him to the ground and telling Tipper they will get him fixed up. The second is Malarkey going to pick up his laundry and hearing the names of all those who are gone. It gave me a lot to think about.
I particularly like the Church scene in ep. 7
Obligatory Blithe didn’t die post
One interesting but subtle bit of storytelling between this episode and the previous one - the scenes with Speirs and the German POWs have some noticeable differences. In "Day of Days," there are a small handful of prisoners, and they're all in regular army uniforms. In this episode, there are more of them, and they're all SS troops. A nice, subtle way of showing how the rumors about Speirs took on a life of their own.
When I was a teen working at a watch shop, a man brought me a watch and asked me to replace the battery. After inspection, I realized it was a mechanical watch and it looked foreign. After informing him, he said Oh my dad left that watch to me, he took it off a dead German soldier. Guy knew nothing about the watch other than where it came from.Yikes. This series is brilliant. Great reaction.
And those of us who adore watches gasp at the horror of wasted worth. That watch belongs in a museum, or with someone who would take proper care of it.
Ok Indi, maybe his grandfather who took the watch rather his family put it to use than let it sit in a box never to see the light of day.
😮😮😮
7:43 That's Sergeant Farnsworth, USMC. _"Freddie Joe Farnsworth was an IPRA bareback and saddle bronco rider, and is an excellent rider in all rodeo events and performs all horse stunts, both Western and English. He joined the USMC in May of 1985, and was stationed with 1st Bat 7th March until July of 1991. At that time, he went to Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton as a troop handler and a weapons and tactical instructor. He served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In December of 1994 he received an honorable discharge as a Sergeant."_
Since you’re recently watching a bunch of war films you should watch Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. It’s a great, very accurate, and very well shot war film. The cinematography of that film is excellent.
Interesting little fact: the man who said at the beginning that he thought he'd either get killed instantly or come through without a scratch was the real Ed Tipper, who got seriously injured at 6:50.
My first introduction to this show was when I was eight. It’s a funny story. My grandmother taped Dinotopia for me when I was very little, but the tape rain too long, maybe she fell asleep in so there I am as an eight-year-old child, watching some poor bastard bleed out after being shot through the throat. I have always had a love affair with history. My grandfather was a commander in the Navy, and he was the first person to officially give me this series when I was about 15. He taught little Rodney everything he knew about the Second World War end in particular, the battles that he took part in. He answered any question I had and gave me books and documentaries. He was a good man.
"How do you take out tanks?" With a bazooka you need to hit them in a soft spot, either in the rear or the underbelly. In this case the second shot was in the underbelly. It has the least thickness of armor.
I related to the laundry scene when he held out his hand and the woman pulled out the relevant coins. The same thing happened with me in 1970 when I was on my way to my first duty station at Thurso, Scotland. While waiting for the midnight train to depart Glasgow for Thurso, I made a purchase of food at a cafe. This happened before the U.K. converted over to the decimal system. Then it was two half a crowns or 20 shillings to a pound. Lesser coins were twelve pennies to a shilling, two pennies to a tuppence, and six pennies to a sixpence. The cost of my meal was 2/6. What did that mean? My only option was to hold my hand out with various coins and the teller took out the coins that added up to two shillings and sixpence. By wearing the Navy dress blues, she realized my inability of knowing the coinage. First she told me not to do what I just did with anyone else and second she asked for a pound note and gave me back the same amount in coins, explaining the value of each. For the next three hours prior to the train's departure, I had time to study those coins.
Growing up in a collage town with lots of foreign students, my experience is from the cashier's point of view. Sure U.S. currency is not as complicated, but when your only English is hello, and thank you, you might need a hand. To top it off my state frequently gets Canadian change mixed in.
No German 'tanks' at Carentan. 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division only had assault guns. Stug III and Stug IV.
😝
@@dirus3142 We see a fair amount of American coins up here as well.
@@lyndoncmp5751 Most not into military stuff on a regular basis call any armoured vehicle on tracks a tank. It is what it is.
@@ronweber1402
Hehe yes I know. I was just being a smart arse. 😝
I always loved that scene with Blithe tracking the enemy soldier that he had shot. Throughout the episode he had been told differing perspectives on how to deal with fear from some the officers or other enlisted men, from it being a game to abandoning hope. But it was Winters that convinced him of how to deal with his fear through reassurance. That simple reassurance convinced Blithe that he could perform his duty as a soldier despite his fear. So when Blithe came upon the German who had succumbed to the mortal wound that Blithe dealt to him, Blithe saw that his face was relaxed and absent of pain or anguish. It was almost as if his enemy had accepted his death, and had made peace with it. When blithe took the edelweiss flower, it was a symbol that Blithe had climbed his own personal mountain and overcame his fears, and that he was worthy as a soldier because of it.
Albert Blithe was from Philadelphia. He would have had an accent more like Bill Guarnere. The actor Marc Warren is English but the only “American accent” he had was southern, but he nailed the part so well they went with it. Terrific performance.
It’s very sweet to hear reactions from a woman’s perspective. As a man, they don’t have as compassionate a view. Being compassionate would get you and/or others killed. It is important to recognize that these are the stories of real men. Afterwords they lead normal lives. But they sacrificed everything for us. Thank a veteran any chance you get. Maybe do some research on your own family. You might find a hero that was hidden in plain sight. Thanks
I find myself binge watching these Band of Brothers reaction videos. These men are my father's contemporaries. When I was a boy we all knew where our fathers had been in the war and where some of our friends fathers had been. My father was young enough that he didn't finish radio technician training until near the end and didn't ship out until after the surrender. The father of one of my classmates was a paratrooper and probably fought in some of the same places Easy Company went. Another of my father's friends that I knew as a boy led what was left of a platoon on Iwo Jima. He was a Marine Lance Corporal at the time, which means the Lieutenant and the Sergeants were gone. Another man that I knew as a boy was a tail gunner on a B-17. My father's best boyhood buddy who signed up on the same day with him in 1944, was sent through infantry training and into the replacement pool in the winter of 1944-45. He is buried in the Netherlands.
It is quite compelling watching different people reacting to this most graphic portrayal of the war from the foot soldier's point of view.
Somebody here on UA-cam has compiled the best 10 (or so) scenes in BoB and picking up laundry at the end of this episode was one of them.
Blithe did survive as others have already said. From what I have read, after he was wounded and evacuated, the members of Easy didn't know what happened to him. When they couldn't contact him after the war and he didn't show up at reunions, they assumed he died, and that's what the men of Easy told Stephen Ambrose, the author of the book, Band of Brothers from which the series was adapted.
I gotta say I love your analysis of this series. It's a joy to rewatch it through your eyes :)
They did an amazing job of bringing you back to the reality of war. The loss and insanity of it all. The moment he picks of the laundry and there are all those who died or was wounded...
I'm really enjoying your reactions to the series. Your comments are always incisive. The other commenters are doing a fine job filling in all the behind the scenes details. So I'll just say that your nails look amazing. :)
Thank you! I was going for "Barbenheimer" with the black and pink 😂 I'm glad you're enjoying the videos, and I appreciate the kind words!
In world war 1 it was called shell shock, in wwii it was called battle fatigue, Vietnam it was called battle neurosis and now its called PTSD
"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you are already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to function as a soldier should. Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse."
Dark words that hold true. I was told something similar before our deployment. I applied it. It made me effective at my job. I ignored my fear of death. As savage as the words may seem, they are vital for a soldier who is trained to kill. During peace time it's difficult to gain these qualities back, having been so barren of all emotion for years. It is possible though. I struggle myself every day and I can't imagine the struggle these gentlemen endured after their experiences.
Thank you, by the way, for your appreciation of my favorite TV series. First time I watched it was with my platoon in the field in Germany during a training exercise. Since then I've made a habit of watching it multiple times a year along with The Pacific.
I hope you make it big filming masterpieces such as these!
Loving your reactions. Glad you're experiencing this awesome show and learning what these men went through.
Thank you!
"Horrible way to go but a great way to tell in heaven" Guys this is gold
My grandpa had to serve for the german army and he used to send my grandma flowers he found on the fields and she kept them along with the letters. He was sent to russia and got hit by shrapnel and was sent home and did not have to go to Stalingrad as a result. After he recovered he was sent to italy where he got imprisoned until the end of the war. He also had leftover shrapnel in his arm until he died of cancer in the early 80ies.
At 7.30 Tipper who lost an eye and his legs and feet were blown up and smoking. He survived, spend 30 years as a teacher and married in his early 60s and had a daughter. He had a good life after the war.
I finished watching all of it yesterday, so good! All the time, effort and details put into it, it's an amazing show with an amazing cast!
The Edelweiss symbolizes the flower of youth, plucked in its prime.
5:25 thank you! Its been 20 years since the show aired and I couldn’t put a finger on the feeling I got from the shot of Lip running down the staircase as he’s telling the guys to clear outta the street. Until now at least! Thanks for putting the words in my mouth, needed that! Haha!
Happy to help 😊
As a fellow film graduate it's refreshing to see this angle, well done!
As a BoB buff - this will stick with you for life. I watch it every year, and it seems to hit harder each time.
Your doing a wonderful job on this series,your knowledge of cinema is a plus and you show heart for this really happened!
Thank you so much 😊
BoB is so incredibly detailed, I love that they incorporated the scene of a paratrooper on horseback delivering messages to the front, the 504th actually used horses for running communications. The joke was that they were “air cowboys” using horses and wearing those tall jump boots, it was rumored that the 101st’s emblem would’ve been a Pegasus instead of a Screaming Eagle.
Later US Army Cavalry would adopt an Air Cav unit which would use the Pegasus as their emblem.
Feel like I am watching this for the first time with you. And experiencing the same emotions as you. Thank you for your genuine, heartfelt reaction and expert analysis.
Thank you so much! ❤️
I love an appreciate your level of detail in the quality in this of how observant you are is fun to see .look forward to seeing you finish my favorite show of all time.. 🤙🏻
Thank you! I'm loving this series, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the videos 😊
I hope you keep watching band of brothers 😀
They honestly need to fix where they say he didn’t survive
There's plenty of mistakes throughout this series, though the majority of us love it. It would have to be a remake to fix it, which I don't think anyone wants. We all know the history. I've yet to watch any historical movie/TV show that was perfect.
Watching you cry made *me* cry 😅And thank you for all your insights on storytelling and pacing. I'm an author and perspectives like yours are such good instruction for me. ❤
You'll be relieved to know that the soldier hit by the rocket blast in the Carentan cafe, Ed Tipper, survived and lived until just a few years ago. He was the veteran interviewed at the beginning to said he thought he'd die a quick death or else come through without a scratch. Well, neither quite occurred, but he made it. He lost an eye and had broken bones but he went on to be a teacher for many years.
You have such a great mental acuity and grasp on cinema. You rock. Happy Valentine's Day
Thank you! Hope you had a wonderful Valentines Day! ❤️
Thank you for this reaction! It is wonderful to hear your perspectives, not only on the cinematography but also the feelings of those involved. I am retired from the Army after 21 years and multiples deployments. While this episode is based on fear, it is also based on personal recounts of how they dealt with fear. I had a chance to meet these men while I was serving in the later 90’s while they were doing promotional tours for the series. What a true treat to meet them, they are the most real men I have met in my life time. I am 60 now, so it is wonderful to see a new generation of people seeing this series. Thank you from an old combat Veteran!
Thank you for your service, and I appreciate the kind words. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series 😊
Thank you! I have seen it many times but love hearing different perspectives on this series! Hope your insight and thoughtfulness will resonate with many others!@@movienightwithjacqui
It's especially refreshing to see commentary demonstrating compassion to this degree.
I'm a veteran and my Army friends and I have watched this many times but the vibe was different. "Hell yeah" when the boys did well, "damn that sucks" when someone was hurt or killed. But not this level of sorrow. We teared up a few times, sure, but kept it down as best we could.
How heartfelt your reactions are is evident. Thanks for this series, and I can't wait to see more.
Dear Jacqui. love your insights into how these scenes and - the those in one and two - were shot and what impact this style of filming has on the story telling.
Years ago I read James Jones memoirs. After the war he became an author and wrote "From Here to Eternity" and "The Thin Red Line". He started WWII at Scofield Army Barracks, December 7th, 1941. Yeah, Pearl Harbor day.
In his book he related to the reader, you do not become an effective soldier until you come face to face with the fact, you are not going to survive the war. You are already dead. Once you make peace with that fact, you will become effective on the battlefield.
He went on to write that there was a similar process to go through if you survived the war. Now you have to learn how to become a peace loving civilian again. Once you were a killing machine. Now, you must turn that part of your psyche off.
When the book was being written, Winters asked Spears about the prisoner story. Spears confirmed that it did happen.
this episode had a cool concept of the different leadership styles all the way from the "we're already dead" of spears, to the inspiration and courage that winters provided.
3:50 when you commented on the squibs, I have to comment on the excellent stunt work: men who die will drop like a puppet with it's strings cut--these stuntmen do excellent 'dead man falls'.
Absolutely!
I was 12 when I watched this show when it cane out with my parents. Just under 10 years later I was ass out of luck in some tiny patrol base in Helmand Afghanistan and while I certainly wouldn't compare what I went thru to Operation Overloard I did take Spears' advice to heart.
Keep pointing out the cinematography to us. That's a big reason I'm watching you!
Very good of you to talk about psychology in your discussion part. I agree with you on many points. I offer my own notions after seeing this episode many many times.
IMO In a meta level this episode is all about handling stress. That's what is underlined with three officers talking to Blight. Winters, Welsh and Spears. And Winters have different approach in his 2 interactions with Blight. So 4 different handling strategies for same challenge. Stress.
11:30 Lt Welsh offers Blight a drink. That is not water but probably whiskey or some other spirits. Welsh was known drinker and if you follow him through out the episodes you can see him drunk in many situations. His drinking is not made overtly clear in the series and have to be concluded. IRL it was clear but I think it is a writers choice not to draw to much attention to his drinking to distinguish Nixon's drinking as something special to him and thus let audience identify Nixon as "the drinker". In fact many soldiers had alcohol with them all the time during WW2. By modern standards they clearly had drinking problem, an addiction. Back then it was seen as something some people do to handle the stress and was tolerated to a level.
And as others have noted, Blight had trauma reaction due intense combat experiences (remember the planes getting shot at ep 2. Also he is alone which can be traumatic to someone used to be in dedicated group.) and many symptoms to it. He is nervous, glitchy, sweating, pale skinned, glassed eyes and uneven speech. The blindness is an extreme reaction but it is record in several cases. In this it is of course dramatized but caring Winters shows to Blithe is one of the better treatments to many trauma reactions. You mentioned head trauma, this can be a factor in making more intense and thus worse other psychological trauma.
Also they do not have PTSD... Yet! The veterans have it. The active troops do not. The marked difference being POST traumatic stress disorder. That is something you get when you come out of the stressful situation and try to accommodate to peace. What they have is active stress reaction. They are reacting to stress filled environment and they are hyper active all the time. One indicator is inability to sleep. Why I'm making this distinction because the symptoms differ but one is the precursor of the other. Also military in general have centuries of ways dealing with active stress disorder by training, drilling and discipline. But PTSD is usually not very well handled if at all. Part of the problems with PTSD come from not having those active stress suppressor around anymore AND people around (civilians) you are not familiar with handling extreme stress. This produces alienation and isolation tendencies which are typical with PTSD but not seen with active stress disorders with like minded individuals.
What a surreal moment with Malarkey picking up the laundry. Gets me every time.
Great reaction. Well done.
Something to note: That was a practical shot of that man getting run over by the tank. Apparently there was a hole in the ground there with foam in it, and the tank tread pushed the stunt man down into the foam. Insane!
Didn't really think much of some technical elements before, but your points enhanced my viewing of this episode:
- the crane shot of Lipton.
- Squibs. It's easy to miss if you're not looking or familiar with the practical effects. I paid more attention to the sparks this time.
- The POV shots that is implying action or something ominous is about to happen (I think as war movie fan, you get used to that and don't really make much of it)
- Winters's ability to coach/lead differently. We all know he's a damn good leader. The shot of blithe looking up, Winters firing with him, and the frequent use of his name - all makes the why much clearer.
- The highs and lows with some humor to keep things fresh and balanced.
- Shaky cam, but long, close shots on soldiers to absorb the whole moment.
Ok - that's enough notes for today 😆
Happy Valentines Day. Great reaction and commentary as usual.
13:15 Speirs is 100% correct. I was on point clearing houses in Fallujah and it was my mother's birthday. I had it in my head that no matter what, I could not under any circumstances get killed on her day.
The thing about clearing houses is that it's like russian roulette, 9 out of 10 houses would be empty but that 10th house would be fortified into a bunker with every hallway and staircase turned into a fatal funnel. As the day went on my mind became more and more obsessed with the idea that I absolutely could not die on my mother's birthday and it got to my nerves so badly that I couldn't stop trembling. Over and over again "don't die don't die don't die."So there I am, we're stacked up and getting ready to breach the door and I'm shaking so bad that I can barely reach over to to place the breaching charge when a switch flipped in my brain.
I just accepted the fact that I could die and that if it was going to happen, it was out of my hands. All I could do was let my training kick in and get to work because if I didn't, I definitely was going to die. So I just let go. And it's a good thing I did because there was a PKM pointed right at the door and it probably would have killed me if I hadn't been focused.
6:03 - fun attention to detail - a Pak36 3.7cm 'Panzerknocker' anti-tank gun. By 1944 practically useless, with an ineffective armour piercing round, and an HE round less effective than a handgrenade (albeit able to reach further). ... transformed into a useful infantry support artillery piece with the Steilgranate 15cm rodded bomb (a very large 150mm high explosive shell, mounted to a perforated tube with stabilisation fins, and with a central rod which fits into the muzzle of the gun and is pressed on by the propellant gasses from the 'blank' cartridge used to discharge it (loaded as normal from the breech).
A different support weapon was also fitted to the same shield and chassis, the leIG37, a 7.5cm conventional infantry support howitzer (which was a variant of the original leIG18 which was a high/low angle firing 'tilting breech' infantry gun with a complex folding shield arrangement to give an 80degree elevation range, without allowing a hole in the shield under the gun when elevated.
Only thing my grandfather told me before boot camp: Never volunteer for anything.
My dad, WW-2 Navy, advice to me before I entered the Navy in '69 was not to spit into the wind.
"if I cry, I cry!" Unexpected Rocky moment.
I get emotional watching this series, I've seen it 50 times. But watching you watch this made me cry. It just makes me want to watch all of my favorite movies and series with you.
To think that many of the soldiers, from all countries involved, were below, or just over, 20 years old.
Cpt Ronald Speirs (Sgt during D-Day) was 24 when he jumped in Normandy.
Major Richard Winters (2 Lt at D-Day) was 26 when he jumped.
StSgt Joe Toye was 25.
1Lt Thomas Meehan was 23 and he died when his plane was shot down.
PFC John D- Hall was killed by a landmine at Brecourt Manor at the age of 22 (see last episode, he's played by Andrew Scott).
StSgt William "Bill" Guarnere was 21 years old when he jumped.
2nd Lt. Carwood Lpton was 24 years old when he jumped.
PFC Bradford Freeman was a mortarman and the last surviving member of Easy Company, passing away at the age of 97 on the 7th of July 2022. He was 19 when he jumped into Normandy.
Signed up for your Patreon 10 min ago to watch this episode (just stumbled upon this tonight). At work so hard for me to watch in that format. Came back here to see you had just posted ep 3 😂. Either way the content is worth the money I spent, even if I watch most of it here.
Hello Jacquie, How was your day Wednesday?
Happy Valentine's Day ❤️💫
I had the opportunity to watch this series back in the day on HBO on television and it hurt me a lot. All the episodes are incredible and leave us very sad. Even when the Netflix series arrived this year in my country, They put a warning message to the Series about the sensitive topics and scenes 😞
Fantastic breakdowns thank you
The scene with Blithe screaming in the foxhole is in my opinion one of the greatest performances in the series!
What Speirs tells Blithe about how he is already dead is basically the exact same thing like it's described in the 'Hagakure' the code of the samurai.
"The way of the Samurai is found in death…This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai. If by setting one’s heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling."
There was a comment on another person's reaction to this episode that pointed out something very interesting, is the three very different styles of leadership between Winters, Harry, and Speirs. Winters is compassionate and does his best to keep all of the men under his command alright both mentally and physically. Harry is a lot more cynical, calling war a game, and Speirs is very nihilistic to the point where he feels disconnected from his humanity at times. All three were great leaders in their own ways, and all three styles are useful in different situations, but Speirs is the most interesting to me as his outlook of already being dead makes him more able to do things later on that a person who hadn't, for want of a better description, turned down their self-preservation instincts in order to do their job more effectively and quite possibly being more likely to survive, as odd as that may sound.
One of the replies to that comment mentioned that samurai had a similar mindset to Speirs, with a quote from the Hagakure expressing that to be the best soldier possible you need to think in that way.
Oh, I almost forgot the obligatory "Blithe didn't actually die in 1948" bit of the comment.
Random comment other than how much I love this series. Mentioning the drop camera from the Olympics diving perspectives. Why I enjoy watching this.
7:00 That guy, Tipper, is the old one at the beginning with the pink shirt who thought he would die quickly or live without a scratch.
Fantastic episode!! You are the first reactor that I have seen that caught the meaning behind Speirs words to Blithe. Loving the discussions and your thoughts!
Thank you! 😊
"A lot more injuries in this one"
Probably portraying why this is called the Battle of Bloody Gulch.
I love that you immediately said Blithe has shell shock. “Hysterical blindness” is a symptom of PTSD/ shell shock.
My thoughts on what Spiers says to Blithe about accepting that “he’s already dead.” Spiers is a very blunt guy, in my opinion, and with him saying basically “accept it because if you don’t you won’t be able to do your job” is just him being honest. The man doesn’t sugar coat anything and I think it’s one of the reasons why he becomes a legend in the company.
Harry gives Blithe a lighter version of this earlier to when he says “we’re just moving this ball forward one yard at a time.”
But it was Winters who gave Blithe the encouragement that he needed. Not the blunt delivery that Spiers gave him. Not the weirdly relaxed way that Harry said to him. Winters simply saying “you can do it Blithe” was all that he seemed to need. They are all saying essentially that this is our job and this is what we were trained to do.
Can’t wait for the next episode!
I think Speare's speech about already being dead is one of the most effective of the series.
Thanks for the review.
I really appreciate your thoughtful analysis after the episode
The laundry scene is masterful story telling with a minimum of words.
Winters shouts at the screaming Blithe in the trench when the German armor hits the field: "Stand up! Get up on your feet soldier!" So much like Sarah Connor, in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," yelling at Kyle Reese when he's dazed and wounded inside the factory.
How to take out a tank? Anywhere but the front. Preferably from the bottom, top or rear.
9/11 survivor here. PTSD doesn't just happen with combat.
And it's no joke. Wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.
Oh ya for sure. First responders in particular can suffer from PTSD but anyone exposed to severe trauma can get it..
So articulate it's beautiful - and you are that too! Cheers from France.
Love your reactions
15:10 Winters is reminding Blithe that he is not alone in this fight, that he is amongst friends and comrades. If you remember earlier, Blithe said he found himself "alone in a ditch" separated from his unit (men he had trained with, men he knew and were his friends). After this, Blithe felt as if he was all alone in this war which exacerbated his already heightened level of fear. This is what most likely contributed to his traumatic blindness, which, once again, Winters offered support, reassuring him that he was not alone and was still part of unit and amongst friends. By continually calling Blithe's name during the battle in the hedgerow, Winters was reaffirming Blithe's position as a member of a group, not an individual.
Likewise, after Blithe shot the German soldier, we see him sink down again in the foxhole, seeming to lapse back into an oncoming state of blindness until a fellow soldiers comes and asks, "hey buddy, buddy, are you OK?" Blithe once again hears reassuring (friendly) words that indicate he is not alone and that his comrades are still concerned about (watching out for) him. He is not alone!😉
Fear tends to isolate people which is common, sometimes all it takes is some positive reinforcement. BTW, I'm a retired police officer.
Blithe actually survived WWII, served with distinction in the Korean War (receiving 2 medals for valor in combat) and redeeming himself amongst the rank & file of the army. He was a career soldier, never retired from the army and died while on active duty in Germany sometime in the 1960s.😉 The "Purple Heart" is for being wounded in combat. "Injured is when you fall out of a tree". You'll see what I mean.😄 Peace.🕊
I’ve spent time in carentan. Beautiful place & very historic
Blithe did not actually die of his wounds. He recovered and had a very distinguished career in the army. He went to also serve in Korea as well. He never went back to his original company and in a time when records were spotty, many of his comrades assumed he had died. He wasn't seen or heard from by any of those men for over 2 decades before he suddenly showed up at a company reunion in the 1960s.
Respects to Blithe, he grew up to be a great soldier.