The 2001 war dramaBand of Brothersis well-known for its accurate depiction of World War II, yet the show makes some changes from the book it’s based on. Created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the10-episode mini-series tells the story of the real-life men of Easy Company, who landed in France on D-Day and fought valiantly throughout Europe until the end of the war.TheBand of Brothersshow is based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 non-fiction bookof the same name but made some of its own creative decisions.
Band of Brotherschanged TV forever— war movies and TV have long been part of Hollywood, but this show was one of the first to dial in on accuracy and true stories. Using Ambrose’s book and interviews with the real men, the show was able to craft a relatively accurate to real-life story. Though the show can be intense and perhaps unbelievable at times, it is never over-the-top or too unrealistic. For the most part,the changesBand of Brothersmakes to the source material are for entertainment value and continuity.
7Band Of Brothers Gave Some Characters More Spotlight (And Others Less)
Private Blithe’s Story Arc Is Different In The Show
One of the main differences betweenBand of Brothersand its book is that the show highlights certain characters that the book glosses over. TheBand of Brothers’casthas countless names and characters to keep track of, both on-screen and on the page. Because of this, some figures stand out as being particularly important, while others are just passing personalities. However,Band of Brothersdoes a good job of putting a spotlight on characters that Ambrose only briefly references,once or twice. The show makes them real people, whereas the book left them as just names.
Band of Brothers’treatment of Blithe is much more expansive than in the book.
A particularly strong example of this is Private Blithe (Marc Warren). In the episode “Carentan,“Private Albert Blithe is a young soldier who experiences shellshocka week after D-Day. The episode focuses on Easy Company at large, but Blithe gets a significant bit of the spotlight. Audiences see him coping with the realities of war, and later, watch him step forward to embark on a dangerous mission.Band of Brothers’treatment of Blithe is much more expansive than in the book, in which he is only mentioned a handful of times on the page.
6Sobel’s Exit From Easy Company Was More Complicated
Band Of Brothers Dramatizes Sobel’s Exit
When it comes to big moments,Band of Brotherssometimes adds or erases certain details to change the intensity of a story. One such moment is whenSobel (David Schwimmer) is reassigned from Easy Company. In the show,several NCOs band together and tell their commander that they refuse to fight under Sobel, who they believe to be unfit to lead. The NCOs are scolded by Commander Sink (Dale Dye) and several are dismissed, but Sobel does eventually get reassigned to a training school. This comes as a surprise to Winters (Damian Lewis), who then becomes the new leader of Easy Company.
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In reality, this situation wasn’t as clean-cut. Although the NCOs did plan to confront Sink, Winters got wind of it and warned the soldiers that it was a bad idea. Then, before they could even meet with Sink, the commander heard about their plan and chewed them out just as he did in the show. Though the end result is the same, with Sobel being reassigned, these small details change the sequence.InBand of Brothers,the NCOs come across as bold and Winters' lack of knowledge makes him seem more heroicwhen he takes up his new position.
5Lt. Speirs' Murder Of German POWs Is More Explicit On-Screen
Band Of Brothers Takes Creative Liberties
Another major moment inBand of Brothersthat got a bit of polishing wasLt. Speirs' (Matthew Settle) alleged murder of a group of German POWs.In the episode “Day of Days,“Easy Company has only recently landed in Normandy and has taken in several German POWs. After chatting with one of the prisoners, Malarkey (Scott Grimes) wanders away. Speirs then shows up and offers them cigarettes. They walk away to have a smoke break and the sound of machine gun fire can be heard. Malarkey overhears this and looks horrified. The implication is that Speirs killed the men.
Every series in theBand of Brothersfranchise is based on a book.The Pacificis based onWith the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawaby Eugene Sledge andHelmet for My Pillowby Robert Leckie.Masters of the Airis based on a novel of the same name by Donald L. Miller.
In the book, this isn’t exactly how the Speirs situation plays out. Speirs' killing of the German POWs is nothing more than a rumor. Ambrose writes:“No one ever saw ‘it’ happen with his own eyes, but he knew someone who did.” In this way,Band of Brothersis much more explicit about Speirs' actionsand even clarifies which soldier witnessed the event — Malarkey. Once again, this choice to change the story from a rumor to an actual scene distinguishes the effect on audiences. Speirs is not just an enigma who may be a cold-blooded killer, he actually is one.
4Band Of Brothers Created Character Arcs That Didn’t Necessarily Exist In Real Life
Band Of Brothers Made The Random Have More Meaning
Along with giving certain characters more screen time,Band of Brothersalso fills out their character arcs. What this means is that the characters have a more thorough and satisfying story than they received in the book. Rather than letting specific characters jump in and out of the narrative at random,Band of Brothersadds more details so that their inclusion feels thoughtful and impactful. Ambrose’s non-fiction work didn’t need to do this, but a dramatized version benefits from having more complete story arcs.
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Private Blythe is a strong example of this;Band of Brothersgives Blythe more of a story by focusing on his shellshock. However, they don’t just leave it at that. Instead, the seriesshows Blythe overcoming his fear at the end of the episode. Thus, his story comes full circle and audiences leave feeling satisfied. The same goes for Lt. Dike (Peter O’Meara), who abandoned his men during an assault on Foy. Rather than just randomly throwing in this detail, the show includes several things hinting at his incompetence, so the story feels fuller.
3Eugene Roe’s “Bastogne” Story Isn’t As Significant In The Book
Roe Adds A Different Perspective To Easy Company
One of themost beloved episodes ofBand of Brothersis “Bastogne,” whereinEasy Company are stationed in the Belgian forest and Eugene Roe (Shane Taylor) attempts to conduct medical treatment, despite the dangerous conditions. Roe is shown as being incredibly caring and adept at his job, though he inevitably struggles due to a lack of resources and morale. Regardless of this, he forms a bond with a Belgian nurse (Lucie Jeanne) who is offering medical care to the people of Bastogne. The two bond over their similar roles, but Roe is left devastated when the nurse is killed in an explosion.
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Roe’s role in Bastogne was not nearly as pivotal in Ambrose’s book; he lacks the main character status thatBand of Brothersgives him. Additionally, Roe’s relationship with the nurse isn’t even mentioned. One might expect that this is because the nurse is fictional, but she actually did exist. A real nurse named Renée LeMaire was known as"the angel of Bastogne.“However, it seems that her friendship with Roe is what was fictionalized.Band of Brotherslikely wanted to give Roe a bigger role and add a female voice, thus Roe and the nurse were friends.
2Band Of Brothers Focused More On Drama & Intensity Than Total Accuracy
TV Aims For More Drama Than Non-Fiction Books Do
An important change thatBand of Brothersmade from book to TV is prioritizing drama over accuracy. That isn’t to say thatBand of Brothersis wildly inaccurate, but rather, the show sometimes sacrifices the smaller details for a better story. For example, inBand of Brothers’final episode, “Points,” a German colonel offers his gun to Winters as a sign of surrender. Winters gives the firearm back, showing that he respects the soldier.In actuality, Winters kept the German soldier’s gunand discovered that it had never once been fired.
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Ultimately,these types of changes were necessary forBand of Brothers. First and foremost, TV has much more creative license than a non-fiction book. Where Ambrose’s main goal was to educate,Band of Brothers’was to entertain. The show would have suffered if certain details weren’t changed if the story’s delivery stagnated. On top of that, there likely wasn’t time to focus on every little detail. Ambrose had much more time thanBand of Brothersdid. In this way, the show had to decide what aspects of the story were most important and what details could be cut.
1The Band Of Brothers Show Included Darker Parts Of WWII
Band Of Brothers Emphasizes The War’s Darkness
In the same vein as prioritizing drama over accuracy,Band of Brothersshowcased the darkest parts of World War II more than the book did.Once again, this is a byproduct of the book and the show having different priorities. It is much more difficult to watch a soldier suffer an injury on-screen than to read about it. Thus, the show leaned more heavily into the devastating aspects of the war. This includes using a dark atmosphere and special effects, from bombs to blood.
One heartbreaking example of this comes in the episode “Replacements,” whenEasy Companytravels to Eindhoven to carry out Operation Market Garden. While the show follows Ambrose’s story by showing the Dutch celebrating the Americans' arrival, the series also adds a darker perspective to the moment.Band of Brothersshows how women accused of fraternizing with German soldiers were publicly humiliated on the streets of the town. By doing this,Band of Brotherschanged the story but did it to have more of an impact on its viewers.
Band of Brothers
Cast
Band of Brothers is a 2001 HBO miniseries chronicling Easy Company’s experiences from paratrooper training to World War II’s end. It portrays their participation in pivotal battles such as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s book and first-hand accounts from surviving members.
