I saw enough war movies to fill a few lifetimes so I have a hard time with it. Not to mention boxing on Friday nights.

> I don't know how many of you collect DVD's,
> but I have a few of my own. When the Lord of
> the Rings came out I purchased all three
> movies because I liked it so much.

> Before that I owned only Gladiator (which is
> my all time favorite movie!). This past
> Christmas my daughter gave me the HBO series
> "Band Of Brothers" (purchased with
> MY money, of course!) which I had rented
> this past year at Block Buster. For those
> who are not familiar with it, it is the
> story, factually true but fictionalized for
> dramatic purposes, of one Company in the
> 101st Airborne division that parachuted over
> Normandy and was involved in EVERY major
> front in WWII.

> Easy Company was composed of about 140 men
> and suffered some of the most grievous
> casualties of any other company. It was the
> 101st Airborne, and Easy Company in
> particular, which withstood the German
> onslaught at the battle of the Bulge, was
> also the leading force in the invasion and
> liberation of Holland, was one of the first
> into Germany, finally capturing Hitler's
> personal retreat, The Eagle's Nest, deep in
> the Austrian Alps.

> The series is a character ensemble which
> follows the men from training camp in
> Georgia, then to England, and finally in the
> war itself.

> Many of the same men portrayed in the film
> still, as of the filming, get together for
> occasional reunions. All of the men say that
> there is a special bond they feel with each
> other which is hard to explain. But if you
> watch this excellent series, and witness the
> trials and tragedy of combat, you just can't
> help but begin to understand this bond.

> Perhaps it is only something a guy can
> appreciate because i KNOW that soem of the
> ladies would not even consider watching a
> war movie, much less one that graphically
> portrays combat. For those people perhaps
> they can rent just the last disc (there are
> six of them) that contains interviews with
> the actual men the film portrays and hear
> them describe the events they lived through.

> Even though they are in their late 70's and
> 80's it is amazing to see them weep when
> speaking of buddies who died 60 years
> before, and the love and respect they feel
> for each other.

> In some respects I can understand. After
> all, here we are in 2006 and we are STILL
> talking about our shared past in "you
> know what"! Will we still feel the same
> in another 30 years as these men do? Who
> really knows for sure. We all shared in
> something that changed our lives, as did the
> men of Easy Company, but THEY served a
> larger purpose and payed a greater price.
> Would that we could say the same about
> ourselves!

> The Grouch HIGHLY recommends this one!