Blu-Ray Review:

Band of Brothers

By Jason Gillard

*Screen shots are not from the Blu-Ray source.

Movie

Band of Brothers is the story of Easy Company from their initial training in 1942 to the end of WW2.  I want to tell you that this is a series you should definitely see.  Each episode starts off with interviews of the actual veterans of Easy Company.  It's really interesting to hear their stories and it gives it that sense of authenticity that makes this series a definite must watch.  The series is collaboration between Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks.  The production values are nothing short of spectacular.  Easy Company is airborne rangers.  When they are jumping out of the planes, the special effects are incredible giving you that feeling of what it must have been like on that fateful night.  The series also has some amazing actors that may not be well known, but they do an amazing job of bringing these real life heroes to life.  The set came out on Remembrance Day which is only fitting and after watching this you will want to thank your local veterans for what they did.  There are 10 episodes that are around 50 minutes each.  This should be required viewing and HBO has done an amazing job with this series.

9 out of 10

Video

The transfer for this set is nothing short of spectacular.  Everything looks sharp and crisp and the detail is impeccable.  Black levels are also very consistent and evidence of this is in the many night scenes in the series.  Grain is only evident when it has been put there on purpose.  Since this is a miniseries that's about war the colours are obviously dark and grimy, but when there are scenes of colour they pop off the screen.  HBO has done a wonderful job with the transfer, and you are definitely getting your money's worth here.

9 out of 10

Audio

Just like the picture, the audio is fantastic.  You would think you were listening to a theatrical movie with the way this soundtrack sounds.  The surround channels are really alive putting you in the trenches and gunfire and bullets are whizzing by your head.  Dialogue comes across nice and clear as well.  The sound in this mini series reminds me of Saving Private Ryan, which is a good thing since it won an Oscar for sound design.  Turn up the volume and head into battle with the men of Easy Company.

9 out of 10

Extras

Here is what is included in the way of extras:

80 minute documentary "We stand alone together: The Men of Easy Company"
30 minute "Making Band of Brothers" featurette
The Premiere in Normandy

Exclusive Blu-ray features:
Picture-in-picture commentary "In The Words of Easy Company"
Interactive Field Guide

My favorite extra would have to be "We stand alone together: The Men of Easy Company".  This documentary is very thorough and gives you all the history.  It's not some kind of fluff piece and does a great job of giving you all the information about Easy Company that you might not have got from the series.  I also liked the "Making Band of Brothers" featurette.  For me one of the best features has to be the PIP commentary.  It's fascinating to hear from the people that were actually involved and it's interesting to watch the episode hearing the veterans talk about their experiences.  Overall this is great set of extras giving you everything you could possibly want.

8.5 out of 10

Overall

I think you can see from my review that I will definitely be recommending this set.  You have an awesome mini-series, a great transfer, top notch sound and amazing extras.  What more could you ask for?  Go out right now and buy this set on Blu-ray, trust me you will be thanking me after.

9 out of 10

Highly Recommended.

Band of Brothers Blu-ray is available now from Amazon.com