1 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,233 There were a great majority of the guys who were... 2 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,073 ...what you'd just call good soldiers. 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,036 You could depend on them. They were always there. 4 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:22,716 These kids were from farms. They weren't paratrooping guys. 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,271 They wanted to be the best, to look and do their job the best. 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,479 It hadn't been done before. You're dropped at 1000 feet... 7 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,030 ...which means if anything goes wrong, you die. 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,591 Once you've assessed the situation and how dangerous it is... 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,833 ...and then you go and do something, that's true courage. 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,912 These guys were everything to each other. 11 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,356 In a way, they were more than family. 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,915 It is a story of courage and comradeship... 13 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,236 ...endurance and sacrifice. 14 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,439 Executive producers, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and HBO... 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,239 ...re-create the true story of Easy Company... 16 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,073 ...an elite WWII parachute infantry regiment... 17 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,879 ...in the epic miniseries Band of Brothers... 18 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,476 ...based on the best-selling book by Stephen Ambrose. 19 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,430 They followed one group, from them signing up to the end of the war. 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,876 They were in Normandy on D-Day, fought in Holland... 21 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,955 ...and were in the Battle of the Bulge. Very well-chronicled all the way. 22 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,069 The massive production spanned three years and cost over $ 120 million. 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,677 Primarily shooting on an 1100-acre back lot in Hatfield, England. 24 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,991 A 12-acre village set was continually modified... 25 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,789 ...to portray 11 different European locations. 26 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,431 It's five times bigger than what we had on Saving Private Ryan. 27 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,594 We're in Aldbourne and Upottery in England, France, Normandy, Holland. 28 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,638 We're in Bastogne. We're all over the place. 29 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,271 The costume department provided 2000 German and American uniforms... 30 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,113 ...including 500 pairs of Corcoran jump boots. 31 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,677 Twelve hundred civilian costumes were authentic vintage clothing. 32 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:14,193 On our project... 33 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,429 ...every department has the best people you can find. 34 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,991 It's a first-rate production facility for re-creating the past... 35 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,914 ...as well as the next generation of special effects... 36 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,116 ...and computer-generated effects. 37 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,478 In some ways, it's intimidating, but it's also incredibly fun. 38 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:40,317 10,000 extras worked on the miniseries, which featured 500 speaking roles. 39 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:48,838 Everybody in this had the role as soon as they walked through the door. 40 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,436 We had this fabulous session where we said: 41 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,792 "Let's see how they relate to each other in different roles." 42 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:03,556 Steven operated the camera, and Tom staged the action... 43 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,712 ...and we would mix and match different roles. 44 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:12,193 Steven was down with his video camera, filming. He asked me and another guy: 45 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,478 "When you say that line, can you move this way a little?" 46 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,552 We said sure, and the scene started. 47 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,032 Before you knew it was over, we were being shuffled out. 48 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,031 And the guy said to me: 49 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,869 "Did I just get directed by Spielberg?" I says, "Yeah." 50 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,913 Senior military advisor, Capt. Dale Dye, served as a watchdog... 51 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:43,996 ...for military accuracy and trained the cast in a 10-day, actor boot camp. 52 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:51,432 When they portrayed something, when the director said, "You're exhausted"... 53 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,599 ...or "You're frightened," they would have something. 54 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:00,754 Some sort of understanding of what exhaustion and fear mean to a soldier. 55 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:02,831 I wanted them to know that. 56 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,879 There's no way to do it but to put them in that position. 57 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,272 You're in barracks with the guys. The barracks smell like feet. 58 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,479 I remember going, "I'm never gonna make these 10 days." 59 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,554 Boot camp's exhaustive 18-hour days... 60 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,554 ...were fiilled with physical training and military drills. 61 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,632 - Hold your fire! - There! Behind the house! 62 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,475 I want concentrated bursts of fire. Don't waste ammo! 63 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,076 - Go, runner, go. - Get them round the side as well. 64 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,676 We have somebody in here on the left-hand side. 65 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,991 See who he is. He's in a black coat. 66 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,833 - Got him? - Lipton, come with me. 67 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,958 Private, get a weapon on this guy. 68 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,149 Capt. Dye can tear you down... 69 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,279 ...make you realize what you need to do... 70 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,075 ...and then bring you right back up within a sentence. 71 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,632 "Now just shut up." Then you'd go do your thing and he goes: 72 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,156 "Sgt. Luz. Earn them stripes." 73 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,272 1940s-style jump training... 74 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,513 ...included jumping from a 40-foot-high plane fuselage mockup. 75 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:26,231 So we climb up this tower. Some little woman walks up to me... 76 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,790 ...and puts two little hooks around my waist. 77 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,992 She's like, "Okay, you're safetied in." 78 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,516 "What do you mean? I'm not safetied in." 79 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,433 She's like, "Go!" "I'm not safetied...!" 80 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,479 I jump off, "1-1000, 2..." What the hell is that? 81 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,438 The worst was sleeping in sleeping bags. 82 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,478 It was colder inside them than being outside. 83 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,269 Guys took off their socks to give others to stay warm. 84 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,159 You'd give your jacket to someone else. 85 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:58,197 You hit walls in boot camp. 86 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,478 These personal, mental, physical walls you have to go over. 87 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:06,519 Some guys, the first night, cried themselves to sleep. 88 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,109 We were there for each other. 89 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:14,274 I came out of the boot-camp experience doing anything for these guys. 90 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:19,594 We became soldiers. When I went into boot camp, I thought I was ready. 91 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,957 When I left, I felt like a different person. 92 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,635 It's like you did something no one could take away. 93 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,555 The same way that no one could take away what Easy Company has done. 94 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,753 To be a paratrooper in WWII, it was experimental and elite. 95 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,151 It was the first time it was being done. 96 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,990 Their job was unique in that they were dropped out of planes. 97 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,038 They had to be, in essence, one-man armies. 98 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,431 They had to bring everything with them. 99 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:58,230 Just the thought of being dropped in the middle of enemy territory... 100 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,635 ...surrounded on all four sides... 101 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,554 ...knowing that there's gonna be no help, it's just you. 102 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,759 There's a grit and a resolve they had to just never quit. 103 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:13,550 It was beat into them at boot camp, and they wouldn't quit then. 104 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:18,794 It prepared them. They didn't quit under the most dire conditions... 105 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,872 ...that, really, any soldiers could've faced. 106 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,192 There was a scene at a crossroad, where we surprise Germans. 107 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,670 And it's just about a hundred Germans running away. 108 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:35,437 Then they start firing at us. We're popping off clips, having to reload. 109 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,752 Another German platoon storms down this hill and attacks. 110 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,469 All of a sudden, this riverbed just explodes. 111 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,552 All the way down. The ground's shaking. 112 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,154 I remember when I was reloading... 113 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:54,036 ...that's when you're most vulnerable, because you can't defend yourself. 114 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,988 And I was having trouble because my hands were shaking. 115 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:03,188 I was thinking, "I'm gonna get shot in the head when I'm not looking." 116 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,638 Then you come out of it, and you go, "That's what it's like." 117 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,588 When you go through years of war with guys next to you... 118 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,799 ...you're dependent on this person. Their small mistake... 119 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,794 ...or their one heroic event can save or destroy your life. 120 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,589 You have to bond. If you're not one unit... 121 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:28,038 ...you're not gonna necessarily survive, you know. 122 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:36,354 One of the most ambitious re-creations occurred in the fiirst week of shooting. 123 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,114 From a physical production standpoint... 124 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,231 ...the most challenging scene was taking off for D-Day. 125 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,234 Hundreds of extras had to be accurately equipped... 126 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,233 ...and uniformed and webbed and geared up. 127 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,473 As a paratrooper, everything you survive on, you must carry. 128 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,393 The amount of equipment they're carrying... 129 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:03,838 Getting on those planes with 100 pounds of excess equipment. 130 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,878 They had to be shoved onto these planes. 131 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,918 It was a tremendous feat of coordination. 132 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:15,638 We had four C-47 aircraft from the period that actually could work. 133 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:21,033 We had seven cameras shooting planes take off, all in different positions. 134 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:22,997 Cameras had assignments. 135 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,312 As soon as the plane passes you, you run here... 136 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,268 ...so you can get the takeoff. Then get this aerial shot. 137 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,955 Then the planes will return so you can get a flyby. 138 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:36,680 Everybody had multiple assignments. 139 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:42,153 It was pretty thrilling to watch those old planes roaring around. 140 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:50,635 You knew that some of you wouldn't be coming back and some would. 141 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,315 I can only guess how those guys must have felt. 142 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,552 To get to the point that you can understand: 143 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,838 "Okay, this is the routine. I jump out of a moving plane... 144 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,158 ...and I fall to the earth, and hopefully a chute opens. 145 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:10,751 And then the easy part is to grab my weapon and go kill people." 146 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,789 It's a totally different world. 147 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,639 They flew pretty much into mayhem. 148 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,918 They lost 1000 paratroopers before they hit the ground. 149 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,312 Planes shot down or being shot, just in their parachutes. 150 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:31,235 Guys were dropping at 500 feet. The ground is very close at 500 feet. 151 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,473 The pilots didn't know what to expect or weren't trained... 152 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,599 ...for that amount of fire and flew too low, flew too fast. 153 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:44,788 Some of them flew too high and got scattered all just to hell and gone. 154 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:46,154 A-camera. 155 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,154 The special-effects department constructed a gimble. 156 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:55,997 It's a very large, hydraulic-driven apparatus that sits under the plane. 157 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:57,354 They can control... 158 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,672 ...every possible axis of movement in varying degrees of intensity. 159 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,719 That thing is rocking, as if you were in a real plane. 160 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,634 We went onboard, and we said, "Show us how it works." 161 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,519 And he, very gently, did the controls. 162 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:17,674 Fool that I am, I said to him jokingly, "Come on, show me what you got." 163 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:19,751 It was an E-ticket ride. 164 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:26,755 My episode starts with the aircraft, the C-47s, full of paratroopers. 165 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,275 It starts with the guys jumping. 166 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,750 We decided we'd predominately keep with Winters... 167 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,071 ...one of our main characters in the episode. 168 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:41,748 Eight seconds. That's all it took. Plane to the ground. 169 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,709 I'm gonna do it in about four. 170 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,555 Very dangerous, highly-skilled stunt I'm about to do. 171 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,030 We decided to follow him to the ground in one go. 172 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:57,352 From the time he jumps to when he hits the ground is one shot. 173 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:03,152 We do that by hanging him against blue with a lot of air being blown at him... 174 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,788 ...so we can swivel and pivot him. 175 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:10,397 Then a camera crane is moving, representing a floating camera. 176 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,553 He's not falling at all. The aircraft is moving away... 177 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:20,033 ...so it looks like he's falling. It's done in an optical process afterwards. 178 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:24,512 If you shoot someone against blue, the computer can remove the blue... 179 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:29,231 ...and put whatever background you want: aircraft, sky, paratroopers. 180 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,951 We have our actor falling. The camera moves in, goes up to his face... 181 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:39,240 ...Iooks down to the ground, looks back up to him again, all in one shot. 182 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,470 Let's go! 183 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,074 That looked real. Very good. Cut. 184 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:20,233 The look and feel of Band of Brothers was enhanced at Cinesite, London... 185 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,598 ...using a revolutionary, all-digital fiilm-fiinishing process. 186 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:26,751 The technologies we pioneered... 187 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,956 ...were really about electronic color timing. 188 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,669 It was about the ability to electronically control... 189 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:41,551 ...all of the aspects of hue and color and to match them shot for shot. 190 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:43,358 There were instructions... 191 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,796 ...about what the look of things had to be. It's desaturated. 192 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,872 It's as though you were back in the 1940s... 193 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,271 ...with a 1940's camera, shooting stuff for real. 194 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:01,992 With postproduction and digital effects, we keep a consistent theme throughout. 195 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:06,915 Cinesite also provided many of the 700 visual-effects shots... 196 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,470 ...that re-create Easy Company's experiences. 197 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:15,834 We're dropping into occupied Holland. Our job is to liberate Eindhoven. 198 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,950 We're re-creating the drop of thousands of troops. 199 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,189 This is the first shot of the parachute sequence. 200 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:35,559 We're looking at low-resolution models so we can very quickly and easily... 201 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,872 ...lay out the look of the shots, speeds, animation and timing. 202 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,555 This is an individual soldier with a parachute. 203 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:49,437 There's animation on the soldier as he comes down, just to give life to it. 204 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:53,434 Then from this, we can render our resolution models. 205 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:58,913 In this case, we're taking Mike's CG, and I then layer those CG elements... 206 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:03,790 ...over the live-action background which, in this case, is this shot. 207 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:08,716 What we needed to do is separate the background from the foreground. 208 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,634 So we create a matte, which would look like this. 209 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:18,113 And anything in the black area will allow the parachutes to be visible. 210 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:22,193 When they hit this white area, they'll disappear from view. 211 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:27,593 You give the impression of them falling behind the foreground elements. 212 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,828 All those details need to be achieved so you believe it really is happening. 213 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,756 Re-creating the battles... 214 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,834 ...required up to 14,000 rounds of ammunition a day... 215 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:48,791 ...utilizing about 700 authentic WWII weapons and 400 rubber prop guns. 216 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:50,791 Over here on the right... 217 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,515 ...we have the M-1 Garand rifles. 218 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,111 On the opposite side, we have the Germans with the K-98 rifles. 219 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,796 This is a paratrooper version of the M-1 carbine. 220 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,790 That means it has a folding stock, which makes it easier to jump with. 221 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,791 This is one of our MG42s. 222 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:13,357 Roll, please! 223 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,838 That's an 88 flat-ground high explosive. 224 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,589 This is what would've been fired from the planes... 225 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:23,955 ...when they went in on D-Day. 226 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,914 This is one of the rubber pistols that we'll be using. 227 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,358 Wherever possible, we'll use a rubber gun. When it's in its holster... 228 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:37,190 ...it should look like the real thing. This is one of our rubber 5-0s... 229 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,750 ...that we've just finished painting up. 230 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,073 We highlighted the rubber here to make it look a bit like metal. 231 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,793 Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing? 232 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,158 I thought for sure that thing was made of total metal. 233 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:02,796 This is a Tiger tank. 234 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,555 We actually built this on a chassis of a T-34. 235 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,157 We've actually put wheel spats and hubcaps and things on... 236 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:15,956 ...to make it look more authentic, like a Tiger tank. 237 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:21,149 All this sheeting is covered in this zimmerit finish... 238 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,392 ...which the Germans use like a paste... 239 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:28,718 ...which actually stops magnetic mines from being put on the side. 240 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,072 The turret works, and we will be having the gun firing... 241 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,158 ...with the special effects, with the full ricochet. 242 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,393 These are some British army armored personnel carriers... 243 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,997 ...which have the smaller wheels, which work very good... 244 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,950 ...for the Panzerkampfwagen III. The big problem with these is that... 245 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,715 ...we have to extend the length with one more wheel. 246 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,071 We got six wheels there and only five here. 247 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,397 The engine on these comes right at the front. 248 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:05,156 Obviously, it's in the wrong position. We will be cutting it off... 249 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:09,353 ...right through there and moving the engine further back. 250 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:15,271 We are building, all together, six tanks and renting in four. 251 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:23,188 The scene we've just finished shooting is a major assault... 252 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,797 ...on the American line in the forest in the Ardennes. 253 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:32,239 The battle was planned by Capt. Dale Dye, and we only shot it once. 254 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:36,069 This'll be a close-in, hole-to-hole fight... 255 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:40,717 ...between Easy in these holes here and that infantry. 256 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:47,356 We have five cameras running, and because we had explosions... 257 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,189 ...we had to make sure the stuntmen, the extras, the drivers... 258 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,558 ...know exactly where they are and where their vehicles should be. 259 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:57,392 Action! 260 00:18:57,600 --> 00:18:59,113 Here they come! 261 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,753 This is a big shot. It's one of the biggest ones so far. 262 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,270 By the time they completed shooting the third episode... 263 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,075 ...the special-effects department had used more pyrotechnics than... 264 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,754 ...Saving Private Ryan. 265 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:36,598 What we've developed here is an air hit. There's a system... 266 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:41,152 ...that activates this valve here, that allows the blood... 267 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,550 ...and the air... 268 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,758 ...that's pressurized in here to come straight out. 269 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,556 And it blasts through the little cloth cloak that we put on here... 270 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,997 ...and pushes the blood out at high velocity. 271 00:19:55,240 --> 00:20:00,553 The great thing with this is, the actor can wear this, run around... 272 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:05,197 ...and fire it himself from a button that we conceal up his arm. 273 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,994 You press this button, and off we go. 274 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:10,358 Action! 275 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:17,559 Cut it! 276 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:22,277 These things here, as you can see, are air mortars. 277 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,199 We bury these in the ground... 278 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,955 ...and we use compressed air in the yellow tank there. 279 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,955 The air comes through the tank and out through this cone. 280 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,948 The cone, we fill with debris. We can put people right on top... 281 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,197 ...and have them look like they're blown up... 282 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:42,795 ...and there's no danger at all. 283 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:47,152 And it's an 88mm shell or a hand grenade... 284 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,351 ...whatever we want it to be. 285 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:57,394 In addition to executive producing the fiilm with Spielberg... 286 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:02,350 ...World War II buff, Tom Hanks, also directs part five. 287 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,469 I go home and I tell my parents: 288 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,872 "Yeah... Tom Hanks, you know, he's giving direction or whatever." 289 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,596 They're like, "Son, that's great!" "How was your work today, Mom?" 290 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:19,834 "Who cares? Tom Hanks is telling you to knock it off. That's awesome." 291 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,554 Cut. Sweet. Thing of beauty. 292 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,793 He knows all the characters. He knows who we should care about... 293 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,474 ...and who we wanna see... 294 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:33,832 ...and who's got something going on four episodes later. 295 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,919 What he absolutely is sure of is how he wants to tell the story. 296 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,590 We're gonna start with just your firing on the Germans. 297 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:47,153 But then on a cue, you're gonna see those 100 other guys coming. 298 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,279 Episode five lands squarely in the middle of our 10-part series. 299 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:55,359 Now we're dealing with a lot of combat veterans for whom... 300 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,149 All they want to do is get home. The only haven they have... 301 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,995 ...is the company itself and friendships they've made... 302 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,711 ...because the rest of the world really is not a pleasant place. 303 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,354 Part six and seven re-create a time when Easy Company... 304 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,398 ...was pushed beyond human limits. 305 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,798 It is the moment that they became a band of brothers... 306 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,395 ...because what they experienced... 307 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,757 ...they could not relate to anybody who wasn't there. 308 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:33,397 The conditions in Bastogne were horrendous. 309 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:34,834 Freezing cold... 310 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:39,995 ...no long johns, just a pair of socks and no mittens. 311 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,791 About 200 yards away, there's enemy fire coming right at you... 312 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,589 ...and you have to stay your position for the next month... 313 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,389 ...and try not to get killed and try to take more ground. 314 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,598 And most of the guys didn't make it. 315 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,958 These guys were losing limbs, dying for their best friends. 316 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,670 You've got no food, you're eating snow, and you're hallucinating... 317 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,952 ...and everything's falling off because of frostbite. 318 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,159 That doesn't come close to what it really was. 319 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:15,797 The art department constructed the forest in a airplane hangar... 320 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,350 ...using hundreds of real trees and 250 trees... 321 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,592 ...created by the special-effects department. 322 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,149 We created our own trees... 323 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,359 ...which are a mixture of fiberglass, like this one, hemp and latex... 324 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:34,190 ...to give a shattered-tree look. And hard-foam trees... 325 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:38,109 ...with a cardboard tube core that keeps the weight down. 326 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,029 The Germans set their timers on their mortar rounds... 327 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,795 ...so they exploded in the treetops. The soldiers got shrapnel... 328 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,191 ...from the mortar rounds and from trees being hit. 329 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:53,075 When we've got to do a tree being hit by mortars... 330 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:54,998 ...like this one... 331 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,552 ...we've got the tree section, and there's a hole in the middle here. 332 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:04,950 We put our narrow, full-size foam section of the tree... 333 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,192 ...onto the stump, and we can blow the whole tree. 334 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,637 Do a big hit in the bottom, and the tree falls over. 335 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,671 Incoming! 336 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:19,916 Incoming! 337 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,553 Find a foxhole! Come on! Take cover! 338 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:33,795 We can have people as close as 5 feet. 339 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,874 Looks like the real tree has taken a major hit... 340 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:39,872 ...and it's safe. 341 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:44,956 It took four weeks to dress the Bastogne sets with man-made snow. 342 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:53,360 What we use mainly is cellulose-base snow. It's like pure paper. 343 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:58,634 We mix that with polymers and certain plastics so we can have slush. 344 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,992 We're using more of that outside on the bombed-out towns. 345 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,192 The forest set is a composite of three different parts. 346 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,558 We're actually using a third of a million pounds of paper. 347 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:15,032 It's the biggest amount ever used on one set for anything. 348 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,152 It should be in the Guinness Book of Records. 349 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,632 Most of the machines are huge things. This is a lovely device. 350 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,793 We saw Ghostbusters and fell in love with the look. 351 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:30,589 I felt the snow wasn't glamorous enough, so we made these. 352 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,752 They're really great. You just switch them on... 353 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:35,952 ...and that's snow. 354 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,517 You can turn the snowflakes so they're bigger or smaller. 355 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,790 You can dissolve it faster or slower. 356 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:50,591 This backpack contains... Almost like a children's bubble-bath solution. 357 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:55,675 Everything's rigged to make this thing give realistic-Iooking snowflakes. 358 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,995 In part nine, the production re-creates the reason... 359 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,950 ...for the incredible sacrifices Easy Company made fighting World War II. 360 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,310 The episode deals with liberating a concentration camp. 361 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:17,479 That has a lot of personal meaning to me. I had family... 362 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,196 ...who died in camps and also family who escaped Nazi Germany. 363 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,755 The most challenging scenes... 364 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:29,869 ...are the scenes at Landsberg, the concentration camp. 365 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,959 Trying to capture what it must have been like to find... 366 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,994 ...a concentration camp. Most of them didn't even know they existed. 367 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:43,189 But to see it in the flesh and to see so much dead flesh... 368 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,797 ...was traumatic for a lot of soldiers. The first time you come here... 369 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,157 ...and there's nobody here, it seems like a monument... 370 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,153 ...to people who died in camps rather than a movie set. 371 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:57,716 I have a lot of personal emotion tied up in this episode... 372 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,629 ...so it's very satisfying to be able to bring it to life. 373 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:09,789 The men in Easy Company were unquestionably heroes... 374 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,998 ...because of their strength in adversity... 375 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,357 ...their ability to come through... 376 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:20,155 ...what must have been... 377 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:22,872 ...Babylon to them. 378 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,393 They did a job that frightened them... 379 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,313 ...that was bigger than them, that was overwhelming. 380 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,990 And they did it courageously and took care of each other... 381 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,312 ...under extraordinary circumstances. 382 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,798 There's nobody like them. Or ever will be like them. 383 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:42,359 Elite. 384 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:47,956 The real Easy Company guys, they will never call themselves heroes. 385 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,517 But now that we're getting to play them, and people are calling us... 386 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,917 ...Easy Company, we can say it for them. They are heroes. 387 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:59,351 These guys lived hell for years... 388 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,711 ...for the betterment of the world. 389 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,117 Doing a movie like this, hopefully... 390 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,916 ...is a small shred... 391 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:12,759 ...of a sliver of a thank you... 392 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,596 ...and a little piece of... 393 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,593 ...information that we can pass along to others. 394 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:21,796 Don't forget. 395 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:26,989 Don't forget. It was really hard, and they did it so you don't have to. 396 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,751 It's an amazing program. I think this is really gonna be special TV. 397 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,390 All of us will watch this next year and be like, "Wow. 398 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,393 I miss those guys. I can't believe I was part of that." 399 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:43,430 We'll never be part of something like this ever again. Pretty amazing.