The Pacific [Blu-ray]

When I talked to a 1st and 4th Marine Division vet, the reason combat accounts are often vague became very clear to me: "At Saipan, we did a FOUR day assault, which was... the most..." - as he trailed off, I could see his mind discarding a succession of words, and his eyes welled with tears as each attempt took him further back to places he didn't want to go - "... INTENSE... experience". His relief at finally finding that single word - finally free to pull away from the nightmares and resume his story - communicated volumes more to me than any mere adjective.Very few units (never mind individuals) survived the entire Pacific war intact, and those who did can rarely afford to tell us much about it. Thus, in lieu of a single narrative, the producers of "The Pacific" instead pieced together three stories which, taken together, span the experience of the 1st Marine Division throughout World War Two. Leckie and Basilone's accounts cover Guadalcanal, Gloucester and leave in Australia while Sledge's account describes Peleliu and Okinawa, with flashes from Basilone describing life stateside and the landing at Iwo Jima.Several negative early reviews suggest to me that understanding the brilliance of this miniseries requires patience. Indeed, upon a first viewing, "The Pacific" may appear muddled and disjointed as it forcibly juxtaposes three very different story lines at contradictory moments of dramatic inertia. There are two critical reasons for this.One problem for the first five episodes is a matter of source material. It is important to remember that "The Pacific" covers FOUR YEARS of warfare while "Band of Brothers" covers only one. For veterans, the memory of earlier battles (such as Okinawa) tends to get obliterated by the searing intensity of late battles (such as Okinawa). It would be much like trying to recall memories from childhood: you have isolated but extremely vivid scenes etched in your mind, but there is little rhyme or reason connecting them. However, your more recent memories, especially when they are so wrenching, can be recalled almost to the day.The second problem is that of recognizing characters, a issue shared by "Band of Brothers". Many scenes appear to read as, "Some random guy in a helmet tells us this and that". These "guys in a helmet" are not only hard to identify in their combat gear, but also answer to a bewildering variety of names, nicknames, ranks and even rank slang. However, as those who've come to admire the once nameless likes of Hoobler and Shifty from "Band of Brothers" can attest, none of these helmeted figures are as anonymous as they seem, and as viewers go back and review these once random snippets they will discover a wonderfully rich tapestry of personalities that teaches us how the barbarism of war affected these people and their relationships to each other.No one demonstrates this growth better than Joe Mazzello ("Timmmy" from Jurassic Park), who's slight frame evolves Eugene Sledge from a kindly, quiet kid to a bitterly angry vet. James B. Dale may lack the confrontational "bad boy" edge that Robert Leckie's character seems to call for, but his powerful innate decency radiates a layered and humane interpretation that's endlessly watchable. The inner life of John Basilone is not as well known, leaving actor Jon Seda little choice but to play him as a somewhat generic hero for fear of disrespecting a Medal of Honor winner by ascribing motivations that may appear less than courageous. However, Seda is an excellent ensemble actor, most notably developing wonderful romantic chemistry with Annie Parisse in the calm before the storm of Iwo Jima. This actress is just one of the many outstanding co-stars who create memorable sub-plots as they effortlessly perform the period dialog that seems to elude just about every other WWII production.The music is also unusual and daring. Hans Zimmer's New Age sensibilities construct a distinctly Japanese dissonance of bells that quietly envelopes the fury of battle with an unsettling form of Zen that never competes with or interrupts the urgency of combat - quite unlike the standard pounding action score or screeching horror effects that seek to heighten violence in other films. Zimmer also proves he's perfectly capable of writing more conventional title music that evokes a gushingly American sense of honor without ever falling back on snare drum cliches. His title music retains the "Plaisir d'Amour" quote (sung by nuns in an Ardennes convent) and will occasionally replay "Band of Brothers" in its entirety for those listening carefully to background music in certain dialogs.There are, of course, nitpicks, which are inevitable in a project of such massive scope: Leckie's romance central to Part 3 never ignites, American mortars seem to be more accurate than baseballs (even on the first shot), starving, shell-shocked Japanese are somehow perkier and better dressed than fully supplied Marines (or even Okinawan civilians) and the hasty exposition to Part 1 is quite awkward (yes, it's true that that the nation was gloomy, but it's difficult to imagine ANYONE - especially Chesty Puller - assuming the Japanese were on the verge of world conquest barely 3 weeks after Pearl Harbor!) With that said, for every little thing "The Pacific" might get wrong, there is SO much more it gets right that there is little doubt that this series is now the definitive recreation of the Pacific conflict.The latter episodes of "The Pacific" are saturated with intense action and contain some of the most disturbing scenes ever put in a war film, once again reminding me of that conversation with the veteran: "These are things that no human being can possibly deal with. The only thing you can do is 'wall it out'. Guys that couldn't wall it out - officers who were trained to cope by keeping things organized or artists who tried to cope by expressing themselves - these people simply couldn't handle it". Even this man's tremendous skills, inherited from a lifetime in the backwoods, were of no comfort. As a member of an elite recon unit, the Japanese would deliberately let his unit pass then ambush the main body behind him. The number of times that he literally walked *through* the gunsights of hundreds of enemies - each CHOOSING to spare his life - was only one of an endless list of profoundly disturbing things he had to "wall out" just to survive another day... not to mention another year.To quote the series:"You can't dwell on it. You can't dwell on any of it".NOTE: To obtain honest and often intense Japanese accounts of the war, I suggest Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War: Letters to the Editor of Asahi Shimbun, where a newspaper column provided one of the few opportunities for participants to discuss their experiences on such a politically dangerous topic.

This presentation follows several soldiers, from joining the service until their participation ends. The ferocious battles and continuing uncertainty of staying alive, along with the stresses endured by the participants. I found it amazing that the actors so closely resembled the soldiers that served. The music at the end of each episode created a reverence that matched the intensity of the presentation.

Excellent movie, almost on par to Band of Brothers.Not quite as good as Saving private Ryan however still a realistic ( for the most part) ww2 movie.IMHO a good value for the $ spent.Some scenes are very realistic so use caution if very young children are watching.

Perfect unopened and good condition. Quick service and well packaged.

Absolutely loved Band of Brothers. This is a Side Story to the same time frame, with Soldiers dealing with the Pearl Harbor and Japan Fronts. Its not as good, but its pretty close up there with BoB. I still enjoyed it.

Very emotional series. You just have to watch it. It definitely shows the way war changes people. It helps give understanding to the quote "War is hell!"God bless all who served and gave that ultimate sacrifice!

For the past fifty years, the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II has never been given the "definitive" treatment. Now, there have been some very good movies made about the events of the Pacific War ("Letters from Iwo Jima" and the underrated "The Great Raid" are two very fine films), but none (save for maybe "The Great Raid") have really captured the full brutality, realism and heroism that shaped the war in the Pacific. But all that finally changes with "The Pacific," the ten-part miniseries from executive producers Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman, the men who brought us the award-winning "Band of Brothers," the definitive look at combat in Europe.Whereas the European and Pacific wars were vastly different entities unto themselves, the producers chose to take a different approach to "The Pacific" than was taken with "Band of Brothers." While the previous miniseries focused on the camaraderie that forms between men during war, this one focuses on the brutality of war, and how it affects the individual. It focuses on three Marines: Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie and "Manila John" Basilone, and their actions in battles at places named Guadalcanal, New Britain, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and how the war changed their lives forever.Does the new miniseries achieve the same power and gravitas that its sister miniseries did? It does come very close. The only thing that keeps it from becoming a perfect companion to "Band of Brothers" is the first four episodes of the series. Although very good, there are a few minor problems with them. Unlike the previous miniseries, which gave us a chance to get to know the men before throwing them into battle, we are briefly introduced to the characters before quickly being thrown into the conflict. So there really isn't a lot of emotional connection with the characters at first. Also, episode three of the program, a look at the 1st Marine Division's time in Australia during R&R after Guadalcanal, provides the series' real weak point. Although a pretty good episode, was there really need for an entire hour devoted to the break between battles?However, things take a turn for the excellent with episode five, the beginning of a three-episode arc about the Battle of Peleliu, a battle unfamiliar to those who have not read either Sledge's or Leckie's memoirs, or frequent the History Channel. It is hear that the show finally achieves the quality of "Band of Brothers." The battle scenes go from great to fantastic, bringing us into the hell of the battle, and the challenges those men faced.Episode Eight of the series, one of the more mixed-reviewed episodes, is actually a well-written and performed episode that looks at the relationship between Basilone and Lena Riggi, the woman whom he marries before shipping out to Iwo Jima. While some people complained at the fact they focused on the love story, what sets this one apart from films such as "Pearl Harbor" or "From Here to Eternity" is that the love story isn't a flight of fancy; it actually happened. And as Tom Hanks said in an interview, "it's damned good drama," and really helps us to feel an emotional connection with Basilone as he leaves the love of his life to return to the war effort, and his fate at the Battle of Iwo Jima.The penultimate episode of the series, Episode Nine, looks at the battle of Okinawa, and proves to be the series' best. Of the twenty episodes made of "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific," this is by far the most harrowing, graphic, and emotionally-draining episode, throwing us into a hell we could scarcely imagine. The final episode of the series shows the men return home, and the challenges they faced while readjusting to civilian life after the horrors they faced on the islands of the Pacific, and provides a powerful sendoff to this incredible series.As a whole, "The Pacific" is the definitive look at combat in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It shows the absolute horror that these men faced fighting an enemy that they didn't understand, on islands never heard of before. Most important of all, you get a real sense of the brutality of that war, and the sacrifices these men made upon the altar of freedom. "The Pacific" is a near-perfect companion piece to "Band of Brothers," and one that will change the way one sees how that war was fought, and its impact on the participants!Program/Blu-ray Grade: A