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The Pacific
- Thread starter RonJ
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Slow for the first few episodes, but truly a great series. Much better then Band of Brothers in my opinion, and I liked Band of Brothers very much. It will be released on DVD some time in November if you can wait that long.
JC4013
Member
I guess I have to be the dissenter. I loved Band of Brothers, but not The Pacific, partly because I heard an interview with Tom Hanks where he characterized the Pacific Campaign as a racial war and he wanted to show how the Marines treated the Japanese brutally. Certainly there were racial overtones in the Pacific. You cannot wage war by loving your enemy. Second, war is brutal all the way around, but I don't need my nose rubbed in it, especially one-sided. Last, while Band of Brothers was the story of Easy Company, not the European Theater, The Pacific was the story of that theater. It omitted telling any portion of the role played by the Navy or the air forces. Producers said that was too expensive. I question the character development as pretty slanted. Just one man's opinion.
CGM
Member
I thought "Pacific" was just ok. On the other hand, to me "Band of Brothers" was great.
Pacific is a gotta watch imo. I couldn't wait for the next episode.
sipowicz
Member
I loved it...
sigp220.45
US Veteran
I loved it, and thought it was better than Band of Brothers. It took a little more investment by the viewer, since you have to keep three storylines (Lecke, Basilone, and Sledge) straight, but it was well worth the effort.
Just the scene where Snafu is talking to Sledge and absent mindedly tossing stones into the open skull of a dead Jap is worth the subscription to HBO.
I'm glad I didn't miss it just because Tom Hanks is a tool.
Just the scene where Snafu is talking to Sledge and absent mindedly tossing stones into the open skull of a dead Jap is worth the subscription to HBO.
I'm glad I didn't miss it just because Tom Hanks is a tool.
alde
Member
I never got into The Pacific like I did BOB. I have watched BOB several times and look forward to the next time I have a chance to break out the DVD's. Maybe it's because I have read more about the Euoropean theater, though I had a co-worker who fought on the Pacific islands as a Marine and told a few stories. He is gone now
but was quite a guy.
but was quite a guy.mg357
Absent Comrade
my grandfather on my fathers side also fought in the philippines but he served in the Army not the Marines he also did some occupation duty in japan at the end of the war. but unfortunately for me he passed in 1978 i was not born until 1985
Dennis The B
US Veteran
"The Pacific" wasn't as good as "Band of Brothers". While entertaining, the premise that Tom Hanks used was historically wrong. Japanese imperial expansion was well-known before the Pearl Harbor attack. The Japanese had clearly shown their savagery and brutality, even against other asians; the "rape" of Nanking is but one example. They were going to expand, either to Siberia, to the north; or Singapore and other southeast asia to the south, depending on Nazi Germany's success against the USSR.
While there is no doubt as to Sgt John Basilone's heroism on Guadalcana, his character was not anchored to later USMC campaigns, such as Cape Gloucester. With "Band of Brothers", Richard Winters was the central character, and the rest of Easy Company's members were fully developed. In "The Pacific" the three central characters, Basilone, Eugene Sledge, and John Leckie, just didn't have enough experience in the overall campaign. "With The Old Breed" and "Helmet For My Pillow" were too narrowly told to give a broader picture.
The Pacific campaign was just too large, and the various campaigns were given short shrift in an attempt to keep the series to ten episodes. "Band of Brothers" limited itself to a core of one company, and the series didn't attempt to expand to a coverage of the entire European campaign.
While there is no doubt as to Sgt John Basilone's heroism on Guadalcana, his character was not anchored to later USMC campaigns, such as Cape Gloucester. With "Band of Brothers", Richard Winters was the central character, and the rest of Easy Company's members were fully developed. In "The Pacific" the three central characters, Basilone, Eugene Sledge, and John Leckie, just didn't have enough experience in the overall campaign. "With The Old Breed" and "Helmet For My Pillow" were too narrowly told to give a broader picture.
The Pacific campaign was just too large, and the various campaigns were given short shrift in an attempt to keep the series to ten episodes. "Band of Brothers" limited itself to a core of one company, and the series didn't attempt to expand to a coverage of the entire European campaign.
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doc540
Member
"As good"?
I dunno.
But I will tell you this.
It broke me down to tears more than once and caused me to head to work the next day thanking God and everyone who went through that hell on earth.
And that's "good" enough for me.
And I think it should be mandatory material in every school in America even if you have to pry their little eyes open and make'em watch it like A Clockwork Orange.
I dunno.
But I will tell you this.
It broke me down to tears more than once and caused me to head to work the next day thanking God and everyone who went through that hell on earth.
And that's "good" enough for me.
And I think it should be mandatory material in every school in America even if you have to pry their little eyes open and make'em watch it like A Clockwork Orange.
