HBOs Golden Globe and Emmy Award Winning Mini-Series 'Band of Brothers’ Filmed Through Cooke Lenses
“Band Of Brothers,” HBOs highly acclaimed 2001 ten-part epic television miniseries about Easy Company, an Army rifle company that parachuted into France on D-Day, fought the Battle of the Bulge, and captured Hitler’s Eagle Nest at Berchtesgaden, was brought to life with stunning realism and breathtaking clarity by cinematographers using award-winning, innovative Cooke cinema lenses.
Hollywood, CA (July 12, 2005) - “Band Of Brothers,” HBOs highly acclaimed
2001 ten-part epic television miniseries event now available in DVD for home
viewing, combined the directorial talents of Tom Hanks, production by Steven
Spielberg and the DreamWorks production staff, a superb ensemble cast, and a
realism that has to be seen to be believed. The story, based on renowned WWII
historian Stephen Ambrose’s non-fiction book about Easy Company, an Army rifle
company that parachuted into France on D-Day, fought the Battle of the Bulge,
and captured Hitler’s Eagle Nest at Berchtesgaden, was brought to life with
stunning realism and breathtaking clarity by cinematographers using
award-winning, innovative Cooke cinema lenses.
The project was
meticulously crafted to ensure that this incredible story of heroism and the
human spirit were told faithfully, and with attention to even the most minute
detail. Almost all of the main characters were cast as a result of their close
physical resemblances to the real-life soldiers they were portraying. Prior to
shooting, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Stephen Ambrose showed each of the
scripts to the real-life soldiers of Easy Company for authenticity.
Cinematography duties were split between Remi Adefarasin, BSC and Joel
Ransom, CSC. Award winning cinematographer, Adefarasin, chose Cooke 20-100mm,
the precursor of the Cooke 18-100mm, and Cooke 25-250mm zoom lenses. Adefarasin
said he used Cooke lenses to capture the clean, crisp images needed for many of
the scenes shot in segments of ‘Day of Days,’ ‘Crossroads,’ ‘Bastogne,’ ‘The
Last Patrol,’ and ‘Why We Fight.’
In an interview given to Kodak
InCamera, honesty was the watchword for Adefarasin, who shot five of the ten
episodes. “We wanted it to look as if a modern documentary team had dropped into
the war zone and covered events as they were unfolding,” he said. “We limited
crane shots and other devices that distance the audience from the feeling that
it is actually happening. I used color correction filters but hardly anything
else on the lenses. The directors, my operators and I viewed hours of
documentary footage and read books documenting the war to prepare. Some of the
most memorable moments come during a spectacular event that we witness through a
single person’s plight.”
More than 2,000 extras worked on this miniseries
during the course of production. Approximately 700 authentic weapons and almost
400 rubber prop weapons were used in production. A heavy day of filming required
14,000 rounds of ammunition.
The Los Angeles Times said that Band of
Brothers was “The best-ever film depiction of war in the trenches, large screen
or small.” The mini-series went on two win both Golden Globe and Emmy awards as
Outstanding Miniseries, and was nominated for a total of 19 Emmy
Awards.
Cooke is a storied name in both cinemagraphic and the
ultra-high-end professional photography markets. Known worldwide for their
precision, exacting tolerances and superior quality, Cooke lenses are specified
by many of the most renowned directors of photography and cinematographers in
Hollywood. Cooke S4 Prime lenses, acclaimed for their unique and innovative
mechanical design and extraordinary photographic qualities, have been used to
shoot several of the most renowned and visually beautiful motion pictures of all
time, both in Hollywood and internationally. Recent box office releases shot
with Cooke lenses include Cinderella Man, Ray, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Bridget
Jones’s Diary, Chicago, Under the Tuscan Sun, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban and the extraordinarily beautiful Girl With a Pearl Earring.
For
more information about Cooke lenses, visit their website at www.cookeoptics.com
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb260533.htm