Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg joined forces with writer Erik Jendresen to adapt Stephen E. Ambrose’s book, Band of Brothers, into a miniseries. The show told the story of the paratroopers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Out of the 10 episodes that began with their training and followed their horrific experience in World War II, Jendresen has a clear favorite.
Jendresen and Hanks met with Major Richard “Dick” Winters, who contributed largely to Ambrose’s book. Major Winters was the commanding officer of the company and he was initially silent on his experiences. According to Jendresen, one of the episodes helped all the soldiers who were silent about their experiences to open up to their close ones.
Band Of Brothers Lead Writer Reveals His Favorite Episode And Explains Why
It was Tom Hanks and Erik Jendresen who worked tirelessly on detailing the plot of Band of Brothers. Steven Spielberg provided insights for the series which he gathered during his work on Saving Private Ryan. Hanks and Jendresen met with Easy Company veterans including Dick Winters and Donald Malarkey to add historic details.
During an interview with the Television Academy, Jendresen was asked if any of the episodes stood out for him. The writer had a clear favorite as he immediately named the seventh episode of the HBO series, The Breaking Point, his favorite. The episode was written by Graham Yost and detailed the Easy paratroopers holding the line near Foy, Belgium.
According to Jendresen, the episode explored the journey of many characters, viewed through the eyes of First Sergeant Carwood Lipton, played by Donnie Wahlberg. Jendresen added that the episode was written elegantly and it was shot and directed beautifully. He called the episode the “zenith of the show”.
He shared that the episode almost served as a frame of reference for men who fought in wars to explain their stories and experiences to their families. Jendresen shared with the Television Academy:
[The Breaking Point] is the one that features the journey of many characters through the eyes of Carwood Lipton. It was elegantly written, beautifully directed and shot. That’s the zenith of the show for me, and it’s important to understand that — at the time, the men really didn’t talk about their stories, their experiences, prior to when Band of Brothers came out. The principal reason being that there was no frame of reference for them to explain this stuff to their families.
Jendresen continued:
When Band of Brothers happened, it was just the single most gratifying thing to me. We hit it at just the right moment where there were just enough of them left. And across the country, thousands and thousands of men, and some women, were able to go to their families and say, ‘Now, you’ve seen this. I can explain what part I took in this.’
Jendresen also shared that the show tried to remain “fact positive” and ran everything by Dick Winters before filming the scenes. He also shared that nothing in the show was made up. He revealed, “It was all about what we didn’t have room for. What these men did really happened.” Spielberg even put the actors through harsh WWII conditions to get them into character.
Band of Brothers Boot Camp Put Actors Through Hell
Steven Spielberg arranged a military boot camp for his Band of Brothers actors just like he did with Saving Private Ryan. By the end of their training under Vietnam veteran Captain Dale Dye, the small group of actors formed a close bond like their real-life counterparts. However, they went through a lot of misery before Spielberg achieved what he wanted.
When they arrived at the boot camp, they learned that they were no longer known by their civilian name and they had to live as if it was 1942. They were not allowed phones or contemporary books. Ron Livingston, who played Captain Lewis Nixon, made a video diary of their entire experience. He shared that they had to wear a period combat uniform, including boots that “felt like they were made out of corrugated tin” (via The Telegraph).
The actors were fatigued by the intense training. They underwent orienteering training, tactical maneuvers, firearms drills, and mock fire-fights. Actors like David Schwimmer and Neal McDonough suffered injuries during this time. However, the boot camp eventually worked out in favor of the series.
Band of Brothers is now available for streaming on Max.
