Good post. I've always been interested in the history of WWII, I'm re-reading Ken Burns' "The War" these days. The best book I have read is David Webster's "Parachute Infantry", he was a good writer who was there at the Normandy and Market Garden airdrops and also did Germany occupation duty. They did him a real disservice in the "Band of Brothers" episode "The Last Patrol", they made him out to be a weasel when he was anything but.

Several things always bugged me about the scene where they rush the MG 42, although I know that Spielberg had to have this scene the way it is to move the story along. Capt Miler assigns somebody to rush right, he takes the middle then waits for someone to volunteer to go left. And gets irritated when nobody volunteers, why not just order someone like he did on the right side? And then they have their only medic as part of the assault team. And why not have Jackson the sniper pick off the MG 42 crew? No doubt because his sniper skills already were the focus of two previous scenes. The MG 42 scene provided a turning point in the movie but the logic always irritated me.

And there always seems to be a perfectly intact piano in the street in WWII Europe, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, and Fury all had one.

"Defilade, other side of the hole!"

@Mordhaus, yeah, good points. Thanks for the clarification of what lies behind the soundbite (nobody has time to explain what they really mean these days, do they?)

However (isn't there always a "however"), I don't agree with "valid to question the integrity of the second vet." Integrity? Pretty loaded word.

It presumes that someone can be gungho about something in the abstract but when confronted with the reality, can't learn something about the world and themselves they didn't know before.

You're right that he didn't know he was CO before. He learned he was.

It isn't integrity to turn away from a learning situation. To me, it is the utmost in integrity.
There are different types of bravery. The bravery to go into battle. And the bravery to decide in the closeknit world of "band of brothers" that you can't be in that particular band anymore.

Maybe it was cowardice in the face of death or maiming that he learned and he ran away. I would say, in this particular case, he honestly came to a new understanding. Otherwise he wouldn't be speaking up, right? He'd be hiding at home? Knowing what soldiers who stayed are saying about him?

War is hell. So many casualties, both physical and mental.

Goddamnit, this is actually worse than the TMNT trailer.

And what the fuck is Neal McDonogh doing in this? He was in Band of Brothers, FFS. He must now go do penance for the rest of his life for participating in this atrocity.

How, pray tell, did you survive to an age old enough to actually post things on the internets if this is how you learned how to ski?
Or were you one of a band of brothers, and now the only survivor?

I'm going to be that guy that answers "The Wire" to every question about TV but; The Wire.

I also liked Band of Brothers intro, although it does drag on a bit if your watching more than a couple of episodes in a sitting.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'rhetoric, shakespeare, band of brothers' to 'rhetoric, shakespeare, band of brothers, kenneth branagh' - edited by brycewi19

Tags for this video have been changed from 'WW2, Winters, Band of Brothers, Hero, Company of Heros, Grandpa' to 'WW2, Veteran, Winters, Band of Brothers, Hero, Company of Heroes, Grandpa' - edited by kulpims

They should release dozens of "diplomatic pouches" (actually crates, big enough for a human to fit inside), only 30 seconds or so apart, while at the same time, hundreds of impersonators just walk about in front of the embassy, and surrounding streets, creating a huge confusion for the police. Meanwhile, other impersonators leave the embassy at the same time. Some through the door, others through the windows to pretend they are actually Assange trying to escape.

Previous to all that, Assange would have called a press meeting, to announce his surrender to the british authorities.

In the middle of the confusion, Assange, with black hair, slightly tanned, prosthetic nose and what not, comes out of the embassy pretending to be a reporter, with another person holding a camera pretending to be his camera-man. OR... he was in the first crate all along, and with the confusion he actually manages to escape because the police loses focus. The crate could actually contain a false bottom where he could hide if they actually got around to open it.


Or plan B: Assange, simply strolls out the door at any given minute, as if nothing was wrong, not even trying to be sneaky. He would be like Capt. Speirs in Band of Brothers.

It reminds me of that line in Band of Brothers; "You salute the rank, not the man." No matter what your political leaning or personal enmity towards any President, having the rank of "President of the United States" is bigger than both, and deserves the accorded respect.

I dunno about planes, but it reminds me of the book I read by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, "Band of Brothers" - which was about an all black tank battalion

I just finished The Pacific. I really liked Band of Brothers, so I had high hopes, but in the end I felt it was not completely up to par with its predecessor. Nice to learn a little bit of WW2 history from the other side of the globe, though.

Right now I'm at a loss as to what I should watch next. I watched the first two episodes of Mad Men, and while I enjoyed the retro scenery, the storyline didn't really drag me in. I'm thinking of continuing on with season 3 of Dexter, and watch Arrested Development for comedy, since everyone speaks so highly of it. When Game of Thrones comes out, I will watch that. I would love suggestions, though. Things I've seen and enjoyed in the past:

-Deadwood
-The Wire
-Battlestar Galactica
-Firefly
-Doctor Who
-Rome

http://videosift.com/video/Band-of-Brothers-We-salute-the-rank-not-the-man

In reply to this comment by ForgedReality:
>> ^MrFisk:

You up-vote the rank, not the person.


This is the same sickening mentality that causes people to vote for class representatives, and public representatives alike (especially Presidents) based upon the individual's perceived popularity of the person in question.

It is based upon the instinct to want to "fit in," rather than forming one's own opinion based upon facts and observations. It's lazy, and it provides a quick excuse for people to not have to actually do the work of forming their own opinions at the risk of becoming the popular outcast. It allows dictatorships to be put into power. And for stupid videos to be upvoted on Videosift.

>> ^BoneRemake:

You didnt get the memo ? I is the new We.


Oh. Well then. That explains it. This is the alternate universe where lemmings are the new humans.

Finally got around to watching Band of Brothers (it just started on TV in NZ). Really epic series. Looking forward to the Pacific.

I'd really like to see a similar series based on the Great Patriotic War, which was bay a large margin the biggest part of WW2

>> ^ryanbennitt:
I sincerely hope the closest I ever have to get to war is through the medium of computer games. But as lifelike as they get even they don't bring the reality of it home, especially compared to the likes of Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers, and the first hand testimony of someone who was there tops the list. It's the politicians that send people to war, but it's the soldiers that have to deal with the humanity of it. If only the decision makers were the ones we send to fight, they might not be so keen...


If you want to do something about this, and think it will help, vote more veterans into office.