The Pacific on HBO

[C118FE]

$200 million to make.I can understand why.Quite a production.I would spend the $56.

[Richard W.]

I think a couple of the episodes were very well done, others not as much.

At the end of episode 9 a bunch of CGI B-29s fly low over Okinawa. I know that B-29s were based on Okinawa during the Korean War, but I didn't think they had reason to go anywhere near it during WWII.

I have the feeling that it was put in for dramatic effect, but was such a scene possible? For instance, would Marianas-based bombers ever fly to Okinawa and then make the turn north to targets in Japan?

[KarenG]

I thought this was very well done, and was something I have waited a long time for. My Dad was stationed in Japan in 1945. He was in the Army. Almost everything I knew about the war in the Pacific, I learned from him. He spent his life reading and learning as much as he could about the war in the Pacific as well as the war in Europe. My one personal regret is that he didn't live long enough to see it with us.

I was so pleased to see how much Chesty Puller was chronicled throughout the episodes. He was a remarkable man, and one hell of a Commander! If any of you are so inclined, his book is worth the read! I hope they come out with a Blu-Ray version as well as the DVD. This was horribly violent, but then so was the war. It was difficult to watch, but I am so glad that this story is finally being told.

Yes Mr. Mudge, I believe this set is worth far more than the $56 price tag, and I seriously doubt you will be disappointed.

Karen

[Mudge]

OK...I just finished watching it and I'm glad I didn't spend the $$$ to buy it. I was hoping for something on a level with BoB and this wasn't even close. Other than the 3-4 main characters, there were so many others that were there for 5 minutes in one episode and never seen again. I had trouble keeping up with who was who. I know Basilone was a hero but I really didn't have much interest in the fact that he came back to the States and got laid twice a day. That, IMHO, didn't add anything to the story of the Pacific battles. The battle scenes, in most cases, were so chaotic that you couldn't determine what the overall scheme of things was. Granted, I'm sure the actual battles were very much like that, but that kind of filming (a 2 second flash of something here and a 2 second flash of something there) doesn't appeal to me. I'm sure that in an environment such as they were actually in (ie. dense jungle), doesn't lend itself to "wide shots". I cannot, however, believe the director didn't see that those "bits and pieces" of engagements didn't explain what was going on for us folks that weren't there.

I'm glad many of you liked it. I just didn't.

Mudge the critic

[Taylor Stevenson]

Mudge, what you've got to realize is that The Pacific was intended to show the emotional, psychological, and physical obstacles the individual soldier faced in the PTO, not necessarily the battles themselves. So if you realize the intent, the home front, hospital, and emotional recap scenes were necessary. The difference between The Pacific and Band of Brothers is that the latter was a story of a unit; the former was a story of three men. In that context, getting to deeply know the minor characters is not that useful. I disagree with you in the sense that I loved the series. To each their own though.

[warbird1]

Granted, I'm sure the actual battles were very much like that, but that kind of filming (a 2 second flash of something here and a 2 second flash of something there) doesn't appeal to me. I'm sure that in an environment such as they were actually in (ie. dense jungle), doesn't lend itself to "wide shots". I cannot, however, believe the director didn't see that those "bits and pieces" of engagements didn't explain what was going on for us folks that weren't there.

Wow, I'm afraid to ask what you thought of "Saving Private Ryan".

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

I remember hearing a Marine who was on Pelilau who said.

"It was a battle of extermination, we had nothing in common with these Japanese"

[Mudge]

me109...glad you liked it. I didn't. Simple as that.

warbird1...Saving Private Ryan is one of my all time favorites. I have the DVD and still watch it on TV.

Mudge the multi-faceted