The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia,
Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on 14 March 2010.
The series is a companion piece to the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers
and focuses on the United States Marine Corps' actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations
within the wider Pacific War.
Whereas Band of Brothers followed one company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
through the European Theater,
The Pacific centers on the experiences of three Marines
(Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie and John Basilone) who were all in different regiments
of the 1st Marine Division.
The Pacific was spearheaded by Bruce McKenna (co-executive producer),
one of the main writers on Band of Brothers. Hugh Ambrose, the son of Band of Brothers author
Stephen Ambrose, served as a project consultant.
User Review
QuoteDisplay MoreDeeply emotional, intense and historically accurate.
9 December 2010 | by David Martinez (Western Hemisphere)
What HBO & Spielberg are doing for America deserves my gratitude.
Probably the best thing about this 10 episodes mini-series is that the more you watch it again and again, the better it gets.
The Japanese are depicted just like they were: brutal fanatics. Savages I would say.
Try to watch episodes 5,6 & 7 non-stop and you will feel like you never experienced something like that before. For me it was the violent and tragic climax of all war cinematography in history.
You can't help feeling deeply touched by Eugene Sledge's experience in war. Coming home and adapting to civilian life was just as hard as surviving Okinawa...
...Okinawa, Lord, how could people in the States expect these Marines to "get over it" and become "normal" citizens after all what happened there?! To find out, you must watch Episode 9, or better yet, read Eugene's memoirs: "With The Old Breed".
There are so many guys to talk about in this show: Snafu, Leckie, Basilone, Ack Ack. Each of them special, enjoyable and unforgettable in their own way.
______Critic_____ If only the episodes had been longer... I have one major complain that is about not making Okinawa justice. The TV episode seems somehow not as beautifully horrible as compared to Eugene's memoirs.
All in all, I realize it wasn't easy to tell the story of the entire Marine Corps at once. While a Division was in Melbourne for relax other could be fighting in Tarawa or Saipan. If we pick one division only, the 1st in this case, we go with them to Australia and we won't see the big combat until Peleliu. If we had been with the 2nd we would have been in Tarawa but not Peleliu, and so on. I think they choose right taking the 1st Division because of the quality of Eugene Sledge's memoirs through Peleliu and Okinawa. We can't have it all.
The main protagonist in Episodes 1-4 is a fascinating guy, Bob Leckie. His personal story is worth being told but I think that because of that they missed the opportunity to do a better job in portraying the events in Guadalcanal. Perhaps they should have focused only in Sledge from the beginning? And then there's the legend, John Basilone. Another story worth to be told but it happens the same as with Leckie. They don't fit well in Eugene's story. They belong to different units, it's impossible to follow a storyline like in Band of Brothers because of that. They are three Marines serving in different units and in different places.
Conclusion: Perhaps The Pacific would have been better off if they had followed one single storyline in one single unit, the K/3/5 where Eugene Sledge served. Pretty much like Band of Brothers and the Easy Company. We would have missed heroes like Basilone and fascinating guys like Bob Leckie, but! we would have been much deeper involved in Okinawa, the most horrible campaign in the Pacific War.
Despite this, my 10/10 stars are well deserved. Enjoy American history with HBO, courtesy of Mr Spielberg, a great patriot. Edit: Also Tom Hanks is a patriot.