I have been re-watching this 10 part mini-series over the past couple of days for the first time since the original showing. I am surprised by it. I remember liking it very much during the first showing but this repeat watching is bringing out details that I must have missed the first time. It seems very much more intense and very much bloodier than I remember. The personal nature of this series, from the POV of just 3 main characters, as opposed to being a unit level or battle history, makes this series as good as anything I've seen on men in battle. A tremendous series. -- Al
HBO's The Pacific mini-series (2 Viewers)
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Sentaapua
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I agree. It's a fantastic series, IMHO even a little better than the also fantastic Band of Brothers, and puts me to wonder what's in the works for the third Spielberg produced WWII series, that from what I recollect would cover the air campaign over Germany by US airmen parting from England. Any news on the status of that project?
Have to say that I found The Pacific more intense and intimate than Band of Brothers and thus the more interesting series. I hold BoB in high esteem but The Pacific would be my choice. -- Al
Go for Broke
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I'll have to give this series another shot. I watched the first three episodes and lost interest. I didn't like all the night fighting (hard to see). I also have this habit of buying DVDs and never watching them.
uksubs
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DMNamiot
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Watched both series several times over the years and have to agree they are both amazing in their own ways. The Pacific Theater in my opinion was a far darker and more intense fight mainly due to the vast differences between the Eastern Culture and the Western Cultures fighting them. The few stories my best friends dad told were equally as dark and he was in several of the battles/campaigns covered in the series, he was a very private guy when it came to these experiences and whenever he mentioned the war we all took note and listened because he didnt talk about it. So for me this darkness was captured pretty well in the series.
Dave
Dave
gk5717
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I know what you are saying about the charectors. Maybe it was just the actors themselves that didn't seem to bond with the audiance . Seems every, charector, actor, on BOB was extremely likeable. Kinda hard to put this into words.
Gary
Desertkiwi
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For some reason the Pacific theatre of WW2 has often played second fiddle to the conflict in Europe & North Africa and that seems to reflect what the majority of TS collectors are interested in too. Personally I thought the Pacific series was excellent and very well done, the impact of the Marines being based in Australia and NZ can not be understated and as a Kiwi I'm extremely grateful of the USA's entry into the war at that time.
Both my countryman here and in Oz were very concerned about Japanese rapid expansion down under and the bombing of Darwin highlights how close things were getting.
The war in the Pacific was ugly and exceptionally nasty and the Japanese gave no quarter and expected none in return. In that sense the series was completely different to the BOB and in all fairness I don't think we should compare the two series. They told different stories about an entirely different enemy and terrain.
Cheers.:salute::
Excellent statement. I found the characters to be quite good and very interesting. Thought they perfectly portrayed men in a vicious war that was fought with very little in the way of 'civilised' manners against an enemy that despised them and a war which they didn't expect to survive. I found myself more invested in the characters than I was in BoB because of the nature of the combat, both in the terrain it was fought in and in the intensity in which it was fought. This was a superb series that repays repeat viewings. -- Al
hotel3alpha
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Gents,
The first HBO series I watched was The Pacific and then watched BoB and thoroughly enjoyed them both. Each with their own historical perspective from the author(s) who the books were used as the genius behind the episodes. Well thought out, well scripted, incredibly performed and wonderfully directed. I own them both and watch them both yearly as I never tire of the series.
However, I will reach for The Pacific in favor of BoB only because I spent 9 years serving and living in the far east-specifically Japan. So, I am a little bias on the subject matter only because I spent time there. I have had the sobering opportunity to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and have visited other areas in the Far East that still have remnants of WWII in plain site. It is an eerie site to see Japanese Zero's crashed on an island and creepier seeing one on display...untouched ready to fly.
It never ceased to amaze me when you would hear a news report about a construction project (in Japan) that had to stop because an American bomb was found buried in the ground. The US Army Corps of Engineers and Bomb Squads were sent out to defuse it and remove it as they were sometimes "500 pounders" they were possibly still "live". So, yes I have a little more appreciation for series that reflects The Pacific, but not so much for the latter story. Just the War in the Pacific as a whole.
I am sure there are others out there who spent time in Europe who have the same feeling I do. But more so in a European sense who appreciate BoB because they served or lived in Europe and experienced WWII history in the European Theater. Like I said I believe that both series were awesome. I don't think one outshines the other by any means as the stories told are amazing and awful in the same breath. The conditions our soldiers faced on the battlefield whether in Europe or Asia were rife with triumphs and tragedies.
All in all...War is Hell and these two series nailed it on both ends of the continent.
John from Texas
The first HBO series I watched was The Pacific and then watched BoB and thoroughly enjoyed them both. Each with their own historical perspective from the author(s) who the books were used as the genius behind the episodes. Well thought out, well scripted, incredibly performed and wonderfully directed. I own them both and watch them both yearly as I never tire of the series.
However, I will reach for The Pacific in favor of BoB only because I spent 9 years serving and living in the far east-specifically Japan. So, I am a little bias on the subject matter only because I spent time there. I have had the sobering opportunity to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and have visited other areas in the Far East that still have remnants of WWII in plain site. It is an eerie site to see Japanese Zero's crashed on an island and creepier seeing one on display...untouched ready to fly.
It never ceased to amaze me when you would hear a news report about a construction project (in Japan) that had to stop because an American bomb was found buried in the ground. The US Army Corps of Engineers and Bomb Squads were sent out to defuse it and remove it as they were sometimes "500 pounders" they were possibly still "live". So, yes I have a little more appreciation for series that reflects The Pacific, but not so much for the latter story. Just the War in the Pacific as a whole.
I am sure there are others out there who spent time in Europe who have the same feeling I do. But more so in a European sense who appreciate BoB because they served or lived in Europe and experienced WWII history in the European Theater. Like I said I believe that both series were awesome. I don't think one outshines the other by any means as the stories told are amazing and awful in the same breath. The conditions our soldiers faced on the battlefield whether in Europe or Asia were rife with triumphs and tragedies.
All in all...War is Hell and these two series nailed it on both ends of the continent.
John from Texas
larso
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I enjoyed BOB more. You got time to take breath between battles and the comraderie was easy to follow. Plus it had the awesome Winters as its mainstay. However, in terms of delivering the reality of battle and the dehumanisation of war to the screen I think The Pacific is supreme. I could hardly believe I was seeing some of those scenes on TV! They have different strengths but for me, in significant ways, The Pacific was better.
larso
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My review -
What an astonishing achievement this show is. There are things here I never dreamed I'd see on TV. HBO and all the people behind getting this series made are to be commended.
The mini-series covers the experiences of several marines in the war against Japan in WW2. The war memoirs of Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie form the basis of the screenplay, with several other marines, in particular John Basilone, featured to varying degrees. The common thread is their service in the 1st Marine Division but the men concerned served with different sub-units and in different campaigns (and John Basilone was with the 4th Division for Iwo Jima). Accordingly the series doesn't have the cohesion that was attained in covering the exploits of Easy Company in Band of Brothers. I didn't mind this though. The war in the Pacific was a wide ranging one and its events took place over a much longer time frame than its predecessor was concerned with.
The stand-out feature of The Pacific are the battle scenes. They are grisly, loud and confronting. I never thought I'd see war carnage as graphic as this on TV. The makers have also, across the four campaigns, Guadalcanal, Cape Glouster (on Bouganville), Peleliu and Okinawa shown the battles quite differently. These take into account the different types of actions, tactics and conditions on each island. Each campaign also sees an increase in brutality and this allows the deterioration of the men, particularly Sledge, to be shown to vivid effect. Indeed by the end, the men are sick of war and killing, sick of each other and simply sick. It is a long way from the comraderie of Easy Co.
While I want to concentrate my review on The Pacific, the relationship to Band of Brothers needs to be addressed. I have read many people say The Pacific is not as good. Certainly it has no character as compelling as Dick Winters. I think it is also clear that `Brothers' is more enjoyable but it is in this that the strength of The Pacific lies. It is a far grimmer, visceral and more shocking portrayal of war. On this and several other points, I think The Pacific is more personal and more powerful.
This is a show for adults. Aside from very graphic war violence, there is profane language and sex scenes and concepts. The most confronting element though is the descent into darkness, culminating on Okinawa, where the basic humanity of the characters frays to a thread. It is perhaps an antidote, or at least a reality-check to the glowing/glorifying depiction of war that BOB was at times. A theme common to both series is that though war is horrible, sometimes you get an enemy that simply must be fought. After watching the Pacific you're in no doubt what this entails in its entirety.
What an astonishing achievement this show is. There are things here I never dreamed I'd see on TV. HBO and all the people behind getting this series made are to be commended.
The mini-series covers the experiences of several marines in the war against Japan in WW2. The war memoirs of Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie form the basis of the screenplay, with several other marines, in particular John Basilone, featured to varying degrees. The common thread is their service in the 1st Marine Division but the men concerned served with different sub-units and in different campaigns (and John Basilone was with the 4th Division for Iwo Jima). Accordingly the series doesn't have the cohesion that was attained in covering the exploits of Easy Company in Band of Brothers. I didn't mind this though. The war in the Pacific was a wide ranging one and its events took place over a much longer time frame than its predecessor was concerned with.
The stand-out feature of The Pacific are the battle scenes. They are grisly, loud and confronting. I never thought I'd see war carnage as graphic as this on TV. The makers have also, across the four campaigns, Guadalcanal, Cape Glouster (on Bouganville), Peleliu and Okinawa shown the battles quite differently. These take into account the different types of actions, tactics and conditions on each island. Each campaign also sees an increase in brutality and this allows the deterioration of the men, particularly Sledge, to be shown to vivid effect. Indeed by the end, the men are sick of war and killing, sick of each other and simply sick. It is a long way from the comraderie of Easy Co.
While I want to concentrate my review on The Pacific, the relationship to Band of Brothers needs to be addressed. I have read many people say The Pacific is not as good. Certainly it has no character as compelling as Dick Winters. I think it is also clear that `Brothers' is more enjoyable but it is in this that the strength of The Pacific lies. It is a far grimmer, visceral and more shocking portrayal of war. On this and several other points, I think The Pacific is more personal and more powerful.
This is a show for adults. Aside from very graphic war violence, there is profane language and sex scenes and concepts. The most confronting element though is the descent into darkness, culminating on Okinawa, where the basic humanity of the characters frays to a thread. It is perhaps an antidote, or at least a reality-check to the glowing/glorifying depiction of war that BOB was at times. A theme common to both series is that though war is horrible, sometimes you get an enemy that simply must be fought. After watching the Pacific you're in no doubt what this entails in its entirety.
Been doing my annual re-viewing of The Pacific and I must say that my respect and admiration for this series just continues to grow. I continue to see things/details for the first time. I also find the Leckie character more and more compelling each time I watch. This guy simply defines what war does to an individual, on both the physical and mental level. A superb acting job by James Dale. This series has become one of my favorite war films, right up there with The Thin Red Line and All Quiet on the Western Front (original). -- Al
Go for Broke
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I bought this series years ago, watched 3-episodes and quit. I got to start watching this again, based on Al's review. I didn't like how a lot of the action was in the dark and it was hard to see. I saw the Thin Red Line in the theater and hated it. I thought they were pushing the film art aspect too much. Got to give this one another chance too.
Have to admit that when I first watched this series I also had trouble distinguishing what was happening during the night actions. I watched this on old technology tube TV the first time. My subsequent viewings have been in HD widescreen which makes things much easier to see. Despite my being a technophobe I have to admit that the HD tv's are a HUGE improvement over what I grew up with and with my old eyes, every little bit helps.:wink2:^&grin -- Al