Masters of the Air

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

Masters of the Air has been green lit. Spielberg and Hanks are producing but HBO passed. It will be among Apple's flagship entries into streaming TV.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/entertainment/masters-of-air-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-apple/index.html

 

I loved Band of Brothers but found The Pacific rather meh. I'm not quite sure what to think on HBO taking a pass. Here's hoping it's as good as Brothers.

[sevenless]

2 minutes ago, II/JG17_HerrMurf said:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/entertainment/masters-of-air-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-apple/index.html

 

 

I loved Band of Brothers but found The Pacific rather meh. I'm not quite sure what to think on HBO taking a pass. Here's hoping it's as good as Brothers.

 

"Masters of the Air" is based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller, which chronicles the history of the American Eighth Air Force in World War II. The source material tells the true story of the American bomber boys in World War II "who brought the war to Hitler's doorstep," according to a description of the book.

 

I don´t know the book but the combination Hanks and Spielberg is outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed everything they produced. Looking forward to their take on the mighty 8th.

[6./ZG26_Custard]

3 minutes ago, II/JG17_HerrMurf said:

I loved Band of Brothers but found The Pacific rather meh.

 

I have to agree, a fantastic series. What I also found interesting is how many British actors portrayed the men of Easy company.  Damian Lewis was a stand out as Dick Winters, and who can forget that sound track?

 

 

Hopefully Masters of the Air will deliver. 

[RedKestrel]

31 minutes ago, II/JG17_HerrMurf said:

Masters of the Air has been green lit. Spielberg and Hanks are producing but HBO passed. It will be among Apple's flagship entries into streaming TV.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/entertainment/masters-of-air-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-apple/index.html

 

I loved Band of Brothers but found The Pacific rather meh. I'm not quite sure what to think on HBO taking a pass. Here's hoping it's as good as Brothers.

I liked Band of Brothers. The Pacific was, IMO, a much more...unpleasant experience, I guess? I found it didn't shrink at all from the brutality so it was more disturbing to watch. I did think it was as well done as Band of Brothers, but maybe less satisfying from an entertainment point of view because of the direction they took it.

I do want to read the book it was partially based on - Helmet for My Pillow. Haven't gotten around to it yet, I feel like I need to be in the right frame of mind to read a brutal war memoir like that.

[Trooper117]

Loved Band of Brothers... what a fantastic series.

I did enjoy the Pacific as well... it may have had more interludes away from the action, but boy, the action scenes were awesome when they appeared.

Hope this Masters of the Air follows along the same lines!

[vipe155]

Both are excellent IMO.  The Pacific doesn't get as much love, but there were differences with how that show was constructed vs. Band of Brothers.  Unlike being based on a book (drawn from research and interviews) by a historian that covers a group of guys in training plus a year(ish) in Europe , the Pacific is primarily based on the memoirs of two men and their personal experiences throughout the war.  I've read Helmet for my Pillow and it matches up well with the series, and Robert Leckie was an intelligent and thoughtful person.

 

For whatever reason people don't like the different focus of the Pacific or don't like the portrayal of guys personal lives/relationships/downtime, but I love both series.

Edited October 11, 2019 by vipe155

[LukeFF]

6 minutes ago, vipe155 said:

Unlike being based on a book (drawn from research and interviews) by a historian that covers a group of guys in training plus a year(ish) in Europe , the Pacific is primarily based on the memoirs of two men and their personal experiences throughout the war.

 

Unfortunately, the one thing about the book (Band of Brothers) is that the author was a known plagiarist and was very sloppy with some of the details he included (such as the note at the end of one episode about how Albert Blithe died in 1948, when in reality he didn't pass away until 1967). 

[=DW=_Patriot32]

This is exciting to hear!  I've been looking forward to it since I found out about the project/met Don Miller in 2014.  Hopefully the wait will be worth it!

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

2 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

Unfortunately, the one thing about the book (Band of Brothers) is that the author was a known plagiarist and was very sloppy with some of the details he included (such as the note at the end of one episode about how Albert Blithe died in 1948, when in reality he didn't pass away until 1967). 

 

Ambrose is more lazy with citations than outright plagerizing. Most of the other's after Wild Blue (which he did cite but also did lift) are considered "similar" as opposed to being used directly. It's hard to write much that is completely new when you are documenting facts as opposed to fiction. Similar to writing music. Every note and single measure has probably already been written long ago. It's only when you start combining measures that you can get into trouble.

 

Regarding Blythe, Ambrose only stated a sniper shot him in the neck. He never says anything further about him in the book. Anyone reading the book could draw any conclustion from that passage they want. The producers put in the blurb about never recovering from his wounds, got called out by Blythe's family and later appologized.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2019 by II/JG17_HerrMurf