BAND OF BROTHERS: DAY OF DAYS {EPISODE 2} (TV)
Summary
Part two in this ten-part miniseries based on the experiences of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, United States Army 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, and featuring commentary from Easy Company veterans preceding each episode. This episode begins as the Easy Company enters French airspace with some planes exploding and crashing. Then, Winters offers some final instructions before the men leap through the clouds and German gunfire toward the beaches of Normandy. Easy Company's landing is a mess, with Winters finding himself without his rifle. He quickly meets up with Pvt. John Hall from Able Company. Winters realizes that one or both of them must have landed in the wrong drop zone, though he insists they are not completely lost. Then, the two men come upon three other soldiers, one of whom reveals their location. Winters acts fast, determining that they are about seven kilometers from where they need to be. Thus, the five men head off toward their objective. Further en route, Winters and his small group run into more soldiers, then see a German horse-drawn supply convoy and gun the Germans down. Winters tells Guarnere that, next time, he's to wait for his command before opening fire. By daybreak, Winters and his crew have trekked through the muck and reached an abandoned house. There, the men take some supplies and ammo from fallen soldiers. Then, the navy landings are heard afar, and Winters and his men march on toward Normandy. On the way, they come upon some captured German soldiers, one of whom is an American who enlisted with his native land's army. Malarkey is shocked to hear that the German soldier grew up close to where he did in Oregon. As Malarkey moves on and glances back, he sees all of the prisoners executed. Then, some of the Easy Company troopers greet Winters and Hall. Compton tells Winters that no one has yet seen Meehan, as well as ninety percent of Easy Company. Thus, Winters is currently in command. Then, Winters make plans for an attack on a German battery at nearby Brecourt Manor as the Germans there are firing onto Utah beach. Rather than rejoining Able Company, Hall accompanies Winters. During the fight, the small group comes under heavy fire but Winters succeeds in confusing two groups of Germans, inciting them to fire on each other. Only Easy Company trooper Robert "Popeye" Wynn is badly injured, having been hit on his backside. Killing about a third of their German adversaries, Easy Company is eventually able to grab control of the four gunning pieces. At the same time, Malarkey continues his goal of securing a German luger to bring back to America and present to his kid brother. His impetuous stupidity angers his fellow soldiers but doesn't affect their battle. After the fight, Winters meets up with old buddy Nixon, who has arrived via tank. By nightfall, the beach has been secured and men are moving inland, though success of the invasion was still not certain. That evening, Winters observes Buck and some others getting drunk and celebrating their small victory. With still no word from Meehan, Winters must remain the commanding officer and decides to have a rare swig. However, Winters's happiness is tempered by Hall's death during the day's battle. Nixon informs Winters that a map he found on the Germans may help the American effort. That evening, Winters thanks God for getting him through D-Day, while praying he can make it through the upcoming battles. The episode ends by revealing that medals were awarded to many of the soldiers for their efforts at Brecourt Manor.
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: September 9, 2001 Sunday 10:14 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:59
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:67902
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; World War II; United States Army
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Tom Hanks … Executive Producer
- Steven Spielberg … Executive Producer
- Gary Goetzman … Co-Executive Producer
- Tony To … Co-Executive Producer
- Stephen E. Ambrose … Co-Executive Producer, Based on the book by
- Erik Jendresen … Supervising Producer
- Erik Bork … Supervising Producer
- Mary Richards … Producer
- Gene Kelly … Co-Producer
- Billy Fox … Co-Producer
- Ivan Schwarz … Co-Producer
- Bruce Everett … Co-Producer
- Terri DePaolo … Associate Producer
- Claire McGrane … Digital Lab Producer
- James Brett … Music Co-Producer
- Michael Price … Music Co-Producer
- Tim Field … VFX Producer
- Cindy Jones … VFX Producer
- Richard Loncraine … Director
- John Orloff … Writer
- Michael Kamen … Music by
- Nicholas Aaron … Cast, Robert E. (Popeye) Wynn
- Kirk Acevedo … Cast, Joseph D. Toye
- Philip Barrantini … Cast, Wayne A. (Skinny) Sisk
- David Blair … Cast, Co-Pilot
- Jonie Broom … Cast, Hans Schmidt
- Steve Chaplin … Cast, Pilot
- Alexis Conran … Cast, George Lavenson
- Matthew Duquendy … Cast, Co-Pilot - Plane 66
- Simon Fenton … Cast, Gerald J. Lorraine
- Ezra Godden … Cast, Robert van Klinken
- Stephen Graham … Cast, Myron Mike Ranney
- Scott Grimes … Cast, Donald G. Malarkey
- Craig Heaney … Cast, Roy W. Cobb
- Nolan Hemmings … Cast, Charles E. (Chuck) Grant
- Andrew Howard … Cast, Clarence Kester
- Frank John Hughes … Cast, William J. Guarnere
- Adam James … Cast, Cleveland O. Petty
- Damian Lewis … Cast, Richard D. Winters
- Ron Livingston … Cast, Lewis Nixon
- Nick Lopez … Cast, US Guard
- Tim Matthews … Cast, Alex M. Penkala, Jr.
- Ross McCall … Cast, Joseph D. Liebgott
- Neal McDonough … Cast, Lynn D. (Buck) Compton
- Phil McKee … Cast, Major Robert L. Strayer
- Benjamin Montague … Cast, Private Matt McDowell
- Jason O'Mara … Cast, Lt. Thomas Meehan
- Simon Pegg … Cast, William S. Evans
- Ben Peyton … Cast, Warrent Officer Hill
- Iain Robertson … Cast, George Smith
- Chris Robson … Cast, Surrendering German
- Andrew Scott … Cast, John D. Hall
- Matthew Settle … Cast, Ronald C. Speirs
- Richard Speight … Cast, Warren H. (Skip) Muck
- Shane Taylor … Cast, Eugene Roe
- Donnie Wahlberg … Cast, C. Carwood Lipton
- Mark Wakeling … Cast, Pilot - Plane 66
- Marc Warren … Cast, Albert Blithe
- Paul Williams … Cast, Private Jack Olsen
- Jonathan Young … Cast, Lt. John W. Kelley
- Youngblood Hills, Peter … Cast, Darrell C. (Shifty) Powers