War Historian Declares Steven Spielberg’s World War II Mini-Series Scene “Greatest Television Ever”

The D-Day scene from the incredible Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-produced war series Band of Brothers is “one of the greatest scenes in television history” according to historian Dan Snow. Sharing his opinion in a new video for History Hit, Snow shares his thoughts on the dramatic recreation of one of the most pivotal moments in World War II, and has nothing but praise to give for the show’s accuracy and attention to detail.

Band of Brothers was created by Spielberg and Hanks, developed from the Stephen E. Ambrose 1992 book of the same name. As is to be expected, the star-power pull of having a Hollywood heavyweight such as Spielberg involved as executive producer, the cast of Band of Brothers is quite an ensemble. Including Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Cudlitz, David Schwimmer, Michael Fassbender, with minor appearances by James McAvoy, Tom Hardy, Jimmy Fallon, and Simon Pegg, the 10-part series delivered what is still regarded as one of the greatest television shows in history.

In Snow’s analysis of the pivotal moment of the series, he breaks down the effort that went into making the scene so perfectly accurate in everything from the on-screen action to the sound design. He said:

“This is one of the great scenes, I think, in television history. They’ve gone through enormous lengths to make sure it’s pretty accurate, they’ve put the cast through the type of tactical training these men would have gone through, the sound design, the weapons are accurate. They fired World War II weapons to create an accurate soundscape, and it shows the importance of small units of well trained, well led men, each playing their part on D-Day and it’s the sum total of all those small actions that meant that D-Day was a success and the Allies suffered less casualties than they’d feared when they hit those beaches.”

Band of Brothers is Regarded as One of the Greatest TV Shows of All-Time

Band of Brothers is often cited as being one of the most accurate and realistic portrayals of war ever put on screen. The directorial prowess of Spielberg helped elevate the show to receiving a near perfect score from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and landing Primetime Emmys and Golden Globe awards among its many accolades.

The series has not completely avoided some minor disputes, over the incorrectly stated date of Adolf Hitler’s death, the portrayal of some of the real-life characters. In all, though, anyone would be hard-pressed to find another show or movie that can surpass what Speilberg and Hanks brought to screens over two decades ago.

Spielberg and Hanks Continue to Deliver Engrossing World War II Stories

Band of Brothers still stands as one of the highest-rated projects of both Spielberg and Hanks’s careers, so it is not surprising that they have since collaborated on two further WWII-focused projects. In 2010, they worked on The Pacific, telling of the experiences of Marines fighting in the Pacific Theater, and the psychological trauma they suffered. This was then followed this year by the release of Masters of the Air, another mini-series starring Austin Butler and following the 100th Bomb Group of the U.S. Air Force. While neither project could match the pinnacle that was Band of Brothers, both were generally well received on their own merits.

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Whether Spielberg and Hanks have any further collaborations up their sleeves is unclear, but with both actors still being busy in the industry, and considering the length of time between their past projects, it could be that this trilogy is where their World War II chronicles end.