“Those of you who are lucky enough to get home for Christmas: hold your loved ones dearly. Join them in prayers for peace on Earth and goodwill toward all men. Then report back here, ready to sail across God’s vast ocean, where we will meet our enemy … and kill them all.” — Col. Puller
I’m a huge fan of HBO’s Band of Brothers mini-series. Alongside Saving Private Ryan, it’s just an incredible series of film representing the horrors and triumphs of European-based WWII and America’s involvement in it. Anytime I had asked my late Grandfather about his time in the war, he wasn’t able to convey what it was like in Normandy or anywhere else in Europe, since he was stationed in areas of the Pacific islands. HBO now gives us a chance to see what things were like on the other side of the world during that time.
HBO’s The Pacific is probably my most anticipated show of the Spring, and so far it doesn’t disappoint. Things start out rather quickly in showing you that Guadalcanal isn’t like the beaches of Normandy, though it doesn’t hold back from showing you that it’s not at all sunshine and coconuts. To use Producer Tom Hanks’s words: you’ll feel like a big, fat pussy after watching this show.
The opening credits alone give goosebumps, even after seeing it several times. Tell me you’re able to fast forward through them, even after seeing them a third time. The battle scenes are very impressive, especially those we see of the oceangoing vessels and their mighty guns. It appears that technology has improved the CGI used in these scenes, as they seemed incredibly massive and realistic — an improvement over Band of Brothers, which still was an impressive piece of work. It makes sense, though, as this is supposedly the most expensive min-series ever created.
One review I read on the series — or, at least, the first three episodes — was the lack of depth given to the characters, such that we don’t really “care” about them enough to truly feel what they are going through. But isn’t that the point of a ten-episode journey? They don’t want to bore people too much with the personal lives of these soldiers early on — something that might take 2-3 episodes to complete. No, we need to be brought into the mess as quickly as possible and let us care about how much these young men went through to get to the end. By the time the ninth or tenth hour approaches, I’m sure we’ll have those deep feelings for these characters that appears lacking early on.
The family Christmas dinner in the early part of this episode contains a bit of sad realization for the viewer, as the home-bound brother wishes for them to be home for the next year’s Christmas. As we know from history, many families will be without their sons for several years — or forever. It’s when we see the subtitle stating “August 7, 1942″ in only the first hour that there’s a long road ahead for these boys.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Mar 14, 2010 @ 22:19 EST5EDT
Oh, the opening credits, such artistry! The music is compelling as well, it reminds me of a hymn from church, but was told from family I was wrong, so I may be just projecting that.
I’m going to “try” not to compare to BOB too much as I think they are going for a different feel with Pacific. That said, these fellas seem more contemporary in some way, except for the letter that signed off with “your obediant servant” – so gentlemanly.
Interesting how they showed the rays of the Japanese flag overtaking other areas on the map.
Eagerly awaiting next week!
What’s ‘funny’ is that the war started in ’39 and lasted six years – half als long as Vietnam, but shorter than how long the US has been in Iraq and Afghanistan now. It’s really eery. Three years can be a long time, sure, but compared to other wars it’s a real short time. On the other hand the war in the Pacific lasted six months longer than it did in Europe.
I found the interview with Tom Hanks on The Colbert Report to be quite remarkable. Colbert told Hanks that only because of ‘Band of Brothers’ his mother was able to connect with the men who served in the army with her husband. They also talked about the fact that many people died in Europe in accidents – even though the war was over, people still died and didn’t make it home.
I still haven’t watched “Band of Brothers” on BluRay. Just hooked up my PS3 to the TV Set properly yesterday so I guess I can say it’s about time. Bought it on Amazon when you mentioned it was 40% off before Christmas. Still wrapped…
But back to the topic of this post – I really hope “The Pacific” shows us a little bit about the opponents like “Band of Brothers” did. The Germans on the show weren’t perfect but they weren’t exactly bad either. And I’m quite interested in Japan so I have my fingers crossed.
It also reminded me that I haven’t seen “Flags of Our Fathers” or “Letters from Iwo Jima”. I guess I’m in for some good TV in the next couple of days :-)
The Pacific war began earlier as well, with the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 (or 1931 if we’re counting the conquest of Manchuria). On both fronts, fighting was underway well before the formal entrance of the U.S.
I don’t have HBO, but the behind the scenes videos on their website are truly beautiful.
It is not at all what I expected. I need to watch it again…