Season 1 – The Liberator

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06/24/2022 Not a bad biopic on an OK based unit in WWII as the new Lt. Sparks treats his mix ethnic unit of mostly Mexican-Americans, Native Americans and whites. He takes them through Europe and raises in rank to Lt. Col. while he allows an Indian to prove his potential as he becomes a mustang (no college degree) to become a commissioned officer. See more dj f @Juan2Six 06/14/2022 I was initially dismissed this series because of the animation format and style. Simple negligence on my part. My interest was rekindled after listening to a Mike Rowe podcast with Bill Whittle (episode 253). Mike mentioned this series and that he did the narration for the first episode. I gave it a chance and it did not disappoint. I found compelling stories and great voice acting. My preconceived notions about the graphic novel appearance were unwarranted. I was immediately absorbed by the story telling. I favour the visceral imagery of live action but I see the benefit of using The Liberators animation technology as an easier, less costly way of telling stories. See more 02/23/2022 I loved it. If you can get past the, admittedly jarring, 'animation', the story told is one that is both heroic and devastating. Yes, it uses some old war story tropes and yes, it may not be completely accurate to historical events but it still manages to communicate a sense of the horror, brutality, friendship and grief of war. What really carried the series for me, though, was the stunning performances by the leading cast, particularly Bradley James who communicates Felix Sparks' experience so well that one can come to feel like they are seeing all the events as though through his eyes. He draws you into Sparks' life so well that I may go back and rewatch the whole series immediately. See more harsh c @H_A_R_S_H 11/11/2021 Jerky animation aside, the script is just not up to scratch. Very unsubtle in its messaging and the acting sounds wooden. Only watched half an hour. See more 08/12/2021 This movie is based on the book by Alex Kershaw which follows the experiences of Lt. Col. Felix Sparks of the U.S. Army's Forty-Fifth Division, known as the Thunderbirds. As documented in an article by Todd South of the Federal Times, the book was written from countless interviews Mr. Kershaw had with Felix Sparks shortly before his death in 2007. If you are looking for historical non-fiction in this movie, then look elsewhere because the book it was based upon has numerous very relevant factual inaccuracies. That is because many of the stories Sparks told to Kershaw simply did not happen. I am a researcher, WW II history buff, attorney and the author of The Final Battle - An Untold Story of WW II's Forty-Second Rainbow Division. My book has more than 100 official resources in its bibliography, and the history of the Rainbow and Thunderbird Divisions intersect at relevant times during the timeframe and scene portrayals of this movie, especially those involving the Dachau Concentration Camp. Concerning examples of relevant inaccuracies; Lt. Col. Sparks claims that he and his unit of the 45th single handedly captured and liberated the Dachau concentration camp. This belies historical fact. It simply never happened. It was the Forty-Second Division (the Rainbow) that liberated Dachau. Besides the numerous books and reference materials (e.g. Lt. Hugh Daly, The Combat History of the Rainbow Div., The Army Navy Publishing 1946; Sam Dann, Dachau 29 April 1945, Texas Tech Univ. Press 1998; The Rainbow Reveille dated May 11, 1945, published by the US Army and many others) documenting the facts surrounding the events at Dachau supporting this fact, the U.S. Army's Center of Military History credits the Rainbow Division with the camp's liberation and not the Thunderbirds. Of course, that is also why the plaque at the present day Dachau camp dedicates its liberation to the Rainbow Division. The fact is that the Thunderbirds, as an entire division, just not Sparks' unit, captured an adjacent Waffen SS garrison, unrelated to the Dachau concentration camp, and committed war crimes within that garrison. However, Sparks, in the Kershaw book, doesn't even mention that the Waffen SS garrison existed, and, of course, the movie does not have any scenes concerning this garrison, nor does it have any scenes or mention of the Rainbow Division liberating the concentration camp. To expand the Spark's fantasies, he describes what he calls "The Linden Incident." This was shown as a critical scene in the movie. The facts are that Brig. Gen. Linden of the Rainbow Division, and his small contingent, which included a news reporter, actually accepted the surrender of the Dachau concentration camp from SS Lt. Wicker. That is the official historical record and there are numerous documents and pictures of this account as well. However, this official account was not told by Sparks, and thus, does not appear in the Kershaw book and subsequent movie. What Sparks describes is pure made up fiction which not only belies the facts, it belies logic. In the Sparks' "Linden Incident," he claims he saw Gen. Linden outside the Dachau camp and Lt. Col. Sparks went over to the General and ordered him out of the area at gun point. If Sparks had done what he described, he would have been immediately arrested and later court marshaled. And if it happened, of course the news reporter would have reported the incident, and an official Army after action report would have also documented the interaction. There were no news or official records of such an incident, because it never happened. This is just a couple examples of the relevant inaccuracies in the movie based upon the book. My feeling is that if a publisher is going to hold out a book as based on true events, then that book should have been fact checked and not published as non-fiction solely based upon the unverified stories of a single man, AND moreover, a movie studio producing a movie they claim as factual has a responsibility to fact check the sources from which they base the movie. Both the book, The Liberator, and the movie failed concerning historical accuracy, and the publishing of such historical inaccuracies does a disservice to the men who served in both the Thunderbird and Rainbow Divisions of WW II. See more Michael W @mawilps 12/01/2020 This Netflix miniseries was very good. Bradley James, Martin Sensmeier, Taylor James, Jose Miguel Vasquez, Matt Mercutio, and the rest of the cast did a spectacular job in this miniseries. This true story about the 157th Infantry Division that fought in WW2 was intense, heroic, and dramatic. It's about fighting together to achieve a common goal no matter how different you look from others. If you're a Netflix member, you have to check out this miniseries. It's an absolute must see. See more Read all reviews

The Liberator — Season 1

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