The Pacific [Archive] - SirSteve's Guide

JimJamBonds

08-20-2007, 10:33 PM

I just read that The Pacific has begun filming. What's The Pacific you ask? Well if you liked Band of Brothers then you'll like The Pacific, it follows three Marines in the PTO during WWII. I had heard about this project several years ago but I thought it was dead, I'm quite happy to hear that it is back on.

The only bad thing is that it has a release date of 2009.

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Band-Of-Brothers-Follow-Up-Begins-Filming-5839.html

2-1B

08-20-2007, 10:47 PM

Is this at all related to Vin Diesel's The Pacifier ?

JimJamBonds

08-20-2007, 10:59 PM

Is this at all related to Vin Diesel's The Pacifier ?

Not so much.

Ji'dai

02-03-2010, 10:05 AM

HBO's The Pacific (http://www.hbo.com/the-pacific)

This 10-part mini-series is finally here! The first episode premieres Sunday, March 14!

Basically follows the story of three Marines fighting the Japanese from Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands, Fall 1942) to Okinawa (Summer 1945) and finally their return home after V-J Day.

DarthQuack

02-03-2010, 10:42 AM

I can't wait for this....I'm a huge Band of Brothers fan. :thumbsup:

JimJamBonds

02-03-2010, 03:10 PM

I read the very same news a couple of days ago, I can't wait!!!

Tycho

02-25-2010, 11:33 PM

I don't even know if I get HBO in my cable package, but I'll add it for this one if I don't.

I too loved Band of Brothers and hope The Pacific is just as good.

I'm disappointed that the show seems to be mainly infantry-based, because I loved how WWII advanced the fighter plane to the forefront of modern warfare. But we may yet see some P-51s in action!

Phantom-like Menace

02-25-2010, 11:44 PM

Thanks for the heads up. I don't have HBO, but Band of Brothers just gets better and better with every viewing. I'm going to have to turn to an unnamed source to see about getting this from a perfectly legitimate and legal channel that in no way is questionable. Then I'll probably buy it on DVD later, but not because I feel guilty because I didn't get it in a completely kosher fashion.

Tycho

02-26-2010, 12:11 AM

Oh, I'll buy it on DVD for sure anyway. I enjoy having BoB and watch it every now and then. I expect it will be the same with The Pacific.

JimJamBonds

02-26-2010, 08:56 PM

I'm disappointed that the show seems to be mainly infantry-based, because I loved how WWII advanced the fighter plane to the forefront of modern warfare. But we may yet see some P-51s in action!

From my understanding it is based a several books and mainly deals with Leathernecks... well just the ground pounders not the fly boys.

Blue2th

02-26-2010, 11:18 PM

Most of the Marines and Navy Pilots flew F4F Wildcats, and later F6F Hellcats and F4U Corsair fighter planes.
The US Army Fighter Pilots (USAAF) in the Pacific flew mostly P-40B Tomahawks (Pearl H) P-40E Warhawks, P-39 Aircobra's then got upgraded to P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and nearer the end of WWII when the tide had turned finally got their P-51 Mustangs.

It was tough going the first 2 years and the outmoded US fighters were outmatched by the Imperial Airforce. Though they learned to deal with the enemy by sturdier aircraft and improved tactics and tenacity.

Probably more than you wanted to know but there it is (I love airplanes)

Thought I saw some Corsairs flying over the troops in the trailer.

I'll have to rent this as well, or buy it when it comes out like I did Band of Brothers.

Tycho

02-27-2010, 12:48 PM

Probably more than you wanted to know but there it is (I love airplanes)

Not at all! Thanks for the great post Blue2th.

Blue2th

02-27-2010, 01:23 PM

That's cool thanks.

They'll probably cover the early war battles that didn't go so well at first.
Guadalcanal (Thin Red Line)
Not many films made about the "Cactus Airforce" probably because they don't have many of the older obsolete planes the US had in the beginning of the war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus_Air_Force
There is a famous air battle covered there on "Dogfights" though.

The early 1942 battle of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands surely they will cover. That didn't go well at all for the Marines. It's the one of the bloodiest, where they showed pictures of many dead US Marines half covered by sand and floating in the surf. The first time the American public got to see what was happening by way of pictures in LIFE magazine I do believe.
http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/tarawa.htm

I was born not too far from there on Canton Island, part of the same chain of islands. (long after the war of course)

TeeEye7

03-13-2010, 03:17 AM

While you're setting your clocks for the time change, don't forget to set your DVRs for the first episode this Sunday (14th).

Tycho

03-14-2010, 10:52 PM

A perfect show. Yet not spectacular - though it clearly shows that promise.

The combat scenes were filmed very clearly with the best modern camera quality. You could see that.

The film ran exactly like The Thin Red Line for a large part of it.

Everyone recognize William Sadler (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The Shawshank Redemption as the C.O. ?) That was a nice performance.

The girl reminded me of Kate Beckinsale in Pearl Harbor with her bright blue eyes being the stuff found in Michael Bay's dream.

The young man who couldn't get accepted for service reminds me of my own grandfather's plight during World War II. They wouldn't let him go because he had knee injuries.

But I'm very glad I watched this show. Very glad.

TeeEye7

03-14-2010, 11:33 PM

I agree with Tycho: so far, so good.

I will add (since I'm a soundtrack junkie) that I will give the opening theme a big :thumbsup: as well as the rest of the musical score! After all, Hans Zimmer had a hand in it! :pleased:

TeeEye7

03-22-2010, 01:01 AM

Kudos to the folks who did their homework! A lot of small nuances that most folks wouldn't catch (which I did, being a student of WWII history) in the show that are historically correct! Hollywood has still made its imprint known, but some accuracy has prevailed. Keep up the good work!

Tycho

03-22-2010, 05:20 AM

Tonight's episode was really good. Did you see that Marine's body-count? He piled up like 50 Japanese!

The Marines stealing from the Army was funny in a sad sense of it.

The night-time Naval battles were probably really scary for the men.

Band of Brothers focused on the 101st Airborne Army.

The Pacific was focused on the Marines on approach to Japan.

I'd love to see a series about the Navy and one about the Airforce pilots.

I think they'd play out a lot like Midway and Pearl Harbor.

The photography is top-notch. I catch The Pacific in HD cable and it's amazing. However, I can also watch it early on HBO-east (not HD) and I don't notice any difference (I think). It's just this show that was filmed in such good quality.

JimJamBonds

03-31-2010, 10:47 AM

I'm caught up and have seen all three episodes. I'm not sure what it is but there is something about this that just seems off. I think its good but not (at this point) as good as BoB.

I don't care for THanks talking in the beginning, I'm ok with there being a commentary at the start but I'd rather have it be somebody 'no name' much like the actors on the screen. Plus I liked how at the end of BoB there was a bit of a recap of what happened with a couple lines of text.

This past episode I thought could have been shorter, not shorter in the sense of only a half hour but less hanging out in Melbourne getting 'friendly' with the natives and more training/fighting (yes I know THanks said it would be nearly a year before their next fight).

Tycho

03-31-2010, 03:15 PM

I loved the Melbourne episode. It wasn't what I expected but it got better! I saw boobies!

The brunette girl, daughter of the Greek immigrants, was very fine. The whole situation was both awesome and then sucking for Lackey.

The other girl, the younger blonde one, was Isabel Lucas of recent Transformers fame! She looked great, though I noticed she very much lacks much breat development at all. I never caught that in Transformers, but the metallic Decepticon tail under the panties was kind of distracting.

JimJamBonds

03-31-2010, 04:08 PM

I loved the Melbourne episode. It wasn't what I expected but it got better! I saw boobies!

I can do without the $ex stuff, boobies? Who cares, yeah that stuff happened but I don't want 1/10th of a WWII series to be taken up by boobs and whatnot.

Tycho

03-31-2010, 04:19 PM

TeeEye7

03-31-2010, 04:26 PM

I'm caught up and have seen all three episodes. I'm not sure what it is but there is something about this that just seems off. I think its good but not (at this point) as good as BoB.

I have the same feeling. It seems disjointed to me for some reason and a bit rushed. I'm with you that I like it, but it just seems lacking and I have trouble knowing exactly what it is that's not delivering.

JimJamBonds

03-31-2010, 04:31 PM

I know what you mean - I watch war series for the combat being featured.

However, this is a historical show, and the Australian R&R adventure was part of the Marines' history.

But yeah - let's hope that was only 1 /10th of the show.

I hope they don't explain to us that we had to nuke Japan because our Marines wouldn't leave their girls on Australia's beaches.

That stuff happened in Europe as well and it got a glimpse in BoB which I was fine with. Lt. Welsh kept his reserve chute so his fiance Kitty could use it for a dress back in England (I believe the chute was made of silk) but that is all that was shown about that other then at the end of the 10th episode Major Winters said that they got married.

Also they show some unknown paratrooper 'getting friendly' with some civilian but that lasted maybe 4 seconds? The only other reference I can think of is Malarkey getting slapped by that girl after him and Percante take those eggs. (On a side note Nixon had an affair with some English women and after his wife divorced him he married that woman after the war, but that marriage as well didn't work out.)

I guess my point is that type of stuff took up way too much time.

:stepsoffofsoapbox:

Phantom-like Menace

04-04-2010, 02:24 AM

Everyone recognize William Sadler (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The Shawshank Redemption as the C.O. ?) That was a nice performance.

The girl reminded me of Kate Beckinsale in Pearl Harbor with her bright blue eyes being the stuff found in Michael Bay's dream.

The actress playing the girl was Caroline Dhavernas of Wonderfalls fame. Sadler played her father in that series.

TeeEye7

04-12-2010, 11:04 AM

The choppiness of the story line is really beginning to bug me. It's like a bunch of small, couple of minutes vignettes thrown together without much coherency. Reading this, I guess it's the editing that's failing me. This is almost a good show, but it's still lacking for me. I'm still not solidly behind any of the characters (with the exception of Leckie, maybe since they've spent the most time on his character). I still can't put my finger on what's wrong with the show. I really would like to embrace the show but it's been difficult.

TeeEye7

04-19-2010, 12:21 PM

Probably the best episode thus far. Concentrated more on the historical drama of the events on Peleliu, better insight into the character's experiences, and a whole lot less soap opera-y. This is what I've been looking for. This series is based on a couple of biographies, let's see the events through their eyes...not Hollywood's.

TeeEye7

04-27-2010, 03:06 AM

Even better.
More of Sledge's experiences, please. (I'm going to buy his book after seeing Episode Seven. Probably will look into Leckie's works, too).

TeeEye7

05-03-2010, 03:45 PM

*Sheesh*!

Back to being disjointed. A rapid look into John Basilone's life after winning the Medal of Honor. The episode has me not caring about one of the most heroic Marines of WWII. Lickety split here's my life. The end. They could have done much more. They had the same treatment for Robert Leckie, as well.

I'm wishing they would have stuck to one person only at this point. They've concentrated more on Eugene Sledge's horrific war experiences and it's kept my interest. Trying to cover three separate Marine's Pacific experiences just hasn't held my interest the way BoB did. Such a shame.

BTW: The actor playing Eugene Sledge is Joe Mazzello, the little red headed kid from Jurassic Park. Some fluff I read said he had to audition for Speilberg six times before being chosen for the part.

TeeEye7

05-11-2010, 10:37 AM

Half of Sledge's book relates the horrors of the two month campaign in Okinawa. Through the magic of HBO, it's told in an hour....and not very well.

One more episode to go....I can only imagine how butchered THAT will be....

Rocketboy

05-11-2010, 02:54 PM

I think I've missed the last 2 episodes...and I really didn't care.
It's a good show, but it's no Band of Brothers.

TeeEye7

05-17-2010, 10:29 AM

Well, the series has mercifully ended. Last episode aired last night.

I'd give the whole series a grade of "C". I'm sure all of us BoB fans were hoping for something just as good if not better. What a shame!

JimJamBonds

05-17-2010, 11:26 AM

I watched the first few episodes but then fell behind, I have them all dvr'd and now that the series is over I'll watch it all over a couple of days.

Tycho

05-18-2010, 01:07 AM

Overall, I liked it. Yes, Band of Brothers was probably better. But they are running a marathon of Pacific over Memorial Day Weekend and I plan to DVR the whole thing and then spend a day watching it all. I haven't formed my concrete opinion yet.

Rocketboy

06-05-2010, 11:33 AM

Title: The Pacific
Released: 2nd November 2010

Further Details:
HBO has announced 6-disc DVD ($79.99) and 6-disc Blu-ray ($99.98) releases of The Pacific for the 2nd November. The full details have yet to be revealed I'm afraid, although the DVD release will be packed with bonus features including extensive interviews, Marine Profiles, and more. The Blu-ray release will also include an enhanced viewing picture-in-picture mode, and a Pacific Field Guide which includes animated maps, interview with historians and veterans, historical footage, photos, and more.And a familiar looking packaging to boot.

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/the-pacific.html

TeeEye7

06-05-2010, 05:12 PM

Thanks for this RB. Although I was very critical of the series, I'll probably pick this up as a book end for BoB. The bonus features look interesting.

If you're into WWII stuff, I'd highly recommend Ken Burns' documentary The War. Sidney Phillips, who was featured in The Pacific is interviewed in Burns' work but the real treasures are the interviews with his sister, Katherine Phillips. Her insight into the war, as well as commentary on Eugene Sledge and her brother are fascinating.

Rocketboy

06-05-2010, 07:41 PM

I just recently got The War, but have yet to sit down and watch any of it.
I've wanted to see it since it debuted a few years ago.

Tycho

06-06-2010, 12:10 PM

I've been watching The Pacific a second time through (I DVR'd the series but I'll definitely buy the box set)..

I really enjoyed this one.

Do I need to watch Band of Brothers again to see which one I liked better?

Not really. I don't know. I just watched BoB not too long ago. But Inglorious Basterds is what's stuck in my mind from WWII movies at the moment.

However I don't need to know what I like the best. It only matters that I enjoy what I choose to spend my time watching - and I really enjoy The Pacific.

JimJamBonds

06-07-2010, 08:29 AM