Plot: Band of Brothers is a 10 part mini series, based on Stephen Ambrose's best seller about a World War II American Army Unit, produced by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks.  Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Tom Hanks, Sid Owen, Ron Livingstone, Frank John Hughes. Directors: Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Genre: War, Drama Tagline: They depended on each other. And the world depended on them. Filming Location(s): Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, England, UK; Giessbach Hotel, Brienz, Kanton Bern, Switzerland; Goldings, Hertfordshire, England, UK; Hertfordshire, England, UK. Release Date: September 9th, 2001 Runtime: 600 min (10 episodes) Trivia: Almost all the main actors were cast because of their close physical resemblance to the real-life soldiers they were portraying. More than 2,000 extras worked on the miniseries during the course of production. A heavy day of filming required up to 14,000 rounds of ammunition. Hatfield offered 1,000 acres of open space as well as empty airplane hangars - perfect for indoor sets and construction needs - as well as office space. The actors endured a grueling two-week boot camp where they learned the basics, from how to wear a uniform and stand at attention, to sophisticated field tactics and parachute jump training. The average day was 16 hours long, beginning at 5:00 a.m., rain or shine, with strenuous calisthenics and a three-to-five-mile run, followed by hours of tactical training, including weapons handling and jump preparation. The wardrobe department hired the Corcoran boot company to manufacture 500 pairs of paratrooper jump boots to the original Army specifications. All of the insignia are either originals or exact replicas, down to an identical stitch count on the "screaming eagle" patch, and "wings" pins cast from original molds. Several innovations involved the use and firing of squibs, the small charges that cause the bullet holes in costumes and sets. The special effects team came up with a firing mechanism using compressed air, instead of the traditional pyrotechnics, so that actors could be much closer together when a squib went off without the dangers inherent in conventional squibs. They also invented a new firing system, whereby an actor was pre-wired with up to eight hits, controlled by a button he activated that was hidden in the sleeve of his costume. "Currahee" is the American aboriginal Cherokee Indian equivalent for "Stands Alone". The original members of the 506th were trained at Currahee Mountain Georgia. "Currahee" was the cry of the 506th paratroopers as they cleared the door on their first jump, and it continued to be their cry when in combat. In "Day Of Days" when the company first attacks the German gun position at Brecourt, there appears to be some kind of cimematic error when it looks as though an American soldier throws a grenade and it explodes upon hitting a fleeing German soldier. Grenades don't explode on contact; they have timed fuses. However, this actually happened: Buck Compton had been an All-American catcher for UCLA and threw that grenade at the enemy with no arc and it exploded as soon as it struck. The Band of Brothers backlot measured 1100 acres. One important special effects innovation was the use of human dummies on electromagnetic bases, which could be posed in any position, holding weapons and gear.  The dummies were modeled after auto crash test dummies, so they had the proper weight and dimensions, and their joints behaved like human joints. When the dummy took a hit, the electromagnet was released and the dummy crumpled as a human would. The title is from Shakespeare's "Henry V" Act 4, Scene 3: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers". Quote: Carwood Lipton [narrating as Captain Speirs runs across the battlefield] "They didn't shoot, probably because they couldn't believe their eyes from what they saw. But the most amazing thing was, after he made contact with I company, he came back." Official Site: http://www.hbo.com/band/landing/currahee.html Other: BOB Continuity Photographs Photographs: http://www.thosewahlbergmen.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=117  (register to view) Episode Guide (includes transcripts) (Please do not take any transcript without permission.  Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of each page.) Episode #1: Currahee (09.09.01) Episode #2: Day of Days (09.09.01) Episode #3: Carentan (09.16.01) Episode #4: Replacements (09.23.01) Episode #5: Crossroads (09.30.01) (coming soon!) Episode #6: Bastogne (10.07.01) Episode #7: The Breaking Point (10.14.01) Episode #8: The Patrol (10.21.01) (coming soon!) Episode #9: Why We Fight (10.28.01) Episode #10: Points (11.04.01) (coming soon!) "This is a war.  This the hardest project I've ever had to do, physically and emotionally." - Donnie (BOB) * Pictures obtained from various sources.  Copyright goes to all original owners. © thosewahlbergmen.com