"The Pacific" Band of Brothers for the Pacific War

[Bob Hudson]

I have written about this before but can't find it, so we'll start a new thread on what was being called "The Pacific War," but is now just "The Pacific."

 

This is from the same folks who brought Band of Brothers to HBO and right now it looks like this 10 part mini series will air in 2009. But they are already filming and Dale Dye, who is a military adviser on the film is posting updates. These are quite interesting descriptions of recreations of amphibious landings and battles:

 

http://www.warriorsinc.com/cfblog/

 

 

There is also a new "fan site":

 

http://www.pacificfans.com/

 

That site has this summary:

 

Episode Guide

 

Currently, not much information is available about “The Pacific”. Here’s what we do know:

 

The miniseries tracks the intertwined odysseys of three U.S. Marines - Robert Leckie, John Basilone and Eugene Sledge - across the vast canvas of the Pacific. The extraordinary experiences of these men and their fellow Marines take them from the first clash with the Japanese in the haunted jungles of Guadalcanal, through the impenetrable rain forests of Cape Gloucester, across the blasted coral strongholds of Peleliu, up the black sand terraces of Iwo Jima, through the killing fields of Okinawa, to the triumphant, yet uneasy, return home after V-J Day.

 

It is said there will be 10 episodes at 1 hour each.

 

And here's a sample from Dale Dye's blogs:

 

Monday, 17 September 2007

Week 5: Orange Beach 3 in sight! Land the Landing Force

We have all re-rigged our 782 gear, added brown-side-out camouflage helmet covers and blanket rolls to become 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines for the Peleliu invasion which took place in September 1944, 53 years ago almost to the day. Late last week, we loaded up PFC Eugene Sledge and the other members of his 60mm mortar squad into an LVT-4, putting them to sea for our cameras to catch the pre-invasion jitters just before they hit the beach on the main allied target in the Palau Islands. On Monday we put the first wave of Marines ashore and will bring Sledge and the rest of the second wave onto the bloody sands later in the week. We will spend the whole time on the beach under the blazing guns of the Japanese defenders manning coral and rock bastions in our version of the Umurbrogol Hills. We'll stay with 3/5 for most of the time in the landing sequences but PFC Leckie and his fellow Marines from 2/1 will also be seen landing on White Beach to the north of the 5th Marines' sector in some scenes. And Leckie has been reassigned. He's now out of machineguns and serving as a scout with B-2 (Battalion Intelligence Section) where he will serve out the remainder of his combat tour in the Pacific. These Peleliu episodes will be particularly involving and emotional for me. I've spent a lot of time on Peleliu and crawled all over those hills and caves, so I know what those Marines must have gone through in trying to wrest them away from determined and fanatical Japanese defenders. Major General Rupertus, CG 1st MarDiv on Peleliu, predicted a bloody but brief fight in the Palaus. He was right about the first element and dead wrong about the other. It was one of the Division's most extended and grueling island campaigns during World War II. We fully intend to show the unmerciful, unrelenting nature of that combat campaign with very few punches pulled. Monitor this frequency for more from the embattled beaches. Semper Fidelis!

[cbuehler]

Its about time that PTO is finally getting recognized by the general public. The only aspect I continue to find frustrating is the primary focus on the Marine Corps in that theatre. While the Marine's battles in the PTO are well recognized, the Army (yes, the Army actually did fight in the Pacific Martha!) particularly is rarely mentioned.

The fact is that the Army was the primary fighting force in the Pacific and the Marine island hopping campaigns were relatively small, although intense, actions compared to the overall picture. And of course the Navy never gets much coverage either.

In most of the places Marines fought, the Army was there as well. And of course the biggest and longest campaign of the war in the PTO, the Liberation of the Philippines, was almost totally an Army affair on the ground and mostly in the air as well.

 

 

CB

[ww2vault]

Yeah, there was a topic about the series over at MCF as well. I am really stoked and can't wait for it to air. BoB was extremely excellent and hopefully it carries over into this series. It's great that the PTO is finally getting a little lime light what with the few recent movies that came out recently.

 

- Jeff

[Ricardo]

WoW!! Thank you!!

 

2009??

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

[Lee Ragan]

Yea it is about time the Pacific theater got some press with a modern-made movie. I agree with some of you other guys that the Army & AAF are almost forgotten when it comes to the Pacific. I lost an uncle in the AAF over the P.I. in 1945. I've also known quite a few Pacific vets including my Dad.

I just hope this movie is as good as B.O.B.

[Jim Baker]

Unfortunately, I don't have HBO......

 

How long do you think it will be before it's released for sale??

[Ricardo]

Unfortunately, I don't have HBO......

 

How long do you think it will be before it's released for sale??

 

Maybe 1-3 mouths.

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

[disneydave]

I have interviewed many patrol torpedo boat veterans who served in the South Pacific...in and around the Solomons, Marshals, Philippines...the conditions could be brutal at times and the enemy could be very, very unforgiving. Can hardly wait to see what they do with the series!

[craig_pickrall]

Unfortunately, I don't have HBO......

 

How long do you think it will be before it's released for sale??

 

 

Jim,

When BOB came out I did one of those 3 month trials of HBO and recorded all the series. It is probably cheaper than buying the boxed set after the fact. After the trial is over just drop HBO.

[Lucky 7th Armored]

Set to air March 14 and will air every following Sunday

Article from link: http://www.tvguide.com/News/HBO-Premiere-P...ic-1013190.aspx

 

HBO's 10-part miniseries The Pacific will set sail Sunday, March 14. The series will air every Sunday at 9/8c through May 16.

 

The Pacific comes from executive producers Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman. The trio is the same team behind HBO's Emmy-winning 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers.

 

Read our Band of Brothers Blu-ray review

 

Like Band of Brothers, The Pacific chronicles World War II. This time, the focus will shift from the European to the Pacific theater. The series will follow the real-life journeys of three U.S. Marines from the United States' entrance into World War II to V-J Day and beyond.

 

Hoping this doesn't drive up USMC prices , but it probably will.

Can't wait,

Haydn

[cutiger83]

I can't wait! Thanks so much for posting this. I have been waiting and waiting since it was first announced they would start filming....Kat

[ClaptonIsGod]

Definitely expecting this with open arms, and attempting to scare away the USMC fakers...

[MAW]

Check out the links from Youtube:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pM-U5qk8jk

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noUJHcdX6KU

 

 

 

 

I'm anxious to see it.....the quality looks very good. I wish someone would make a WW1 or CW movie of this quality.

[willysmb44]

Ah, yes, here we go again. I can hear it now:

This will FINALLY get people into PTO re-enacting in large numbers!

yeah. Right.

I heard this when “Thin Red Line” came out, again when “Wind Talkers” came out as well. Nobody started making runs for USMC stuff or getting new PTO events going. When I pointed this out to those who said PTO was going to explode onto the scene, they all pointed out how terrible those films were. I might have bought into that, that is UNTIL “Flags of our Fathers” came out, which nobody would likely say was a terrible PTO movie. Guess what, no big run on PTO stuff then, either!

I’m really looking forward to this series, but I think someone at a show pretty much summed up why you’ll never see PTO events much in re-enacting, “But nobody gets to be the Germans!”

[Target]

We'll have to wait a longer here in Europe.

 

Over here, I think it will have some repercussions. Well I think not as big as BoB but...

 

It already hapened with Flags of our fathers.

 

Before the movie a very few people were interrested by Marine corps, by the PTO in general I should say, and now there are much and much people buying USMC stuff.

 

Anyway when itwill be out let's tell us your impressions about it.

 

Kind regards

[usmcski]

Greetings all,

 

I am due to leave "on business" for a year the week before The Pacific airs on HBO. Obviously I'm not too happy about missing the series, but yesterday I got some fantastic news....

 

On Feb 26, Camp Pendleton will be showing a pre-screening of at least one episode (two, if they do like they did with Generation Kill), to active duty Marines! What a farewell gift!

 

I am beside myself with excitement, I'll be sure to share my initial impressions with the Forum (without any spoilers, of course!)

 

Not at all trying to rub it in, but I figured you all would appreciate it!

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[Corpsmancollector]

Haha Thanks Ski! :thumbsup:

 

When does it air on HBO with you guys? I'm charming my girlfriend's parents at the moment, so I can sneak over and catch it on Sky Movies in HD.

 

Where are you heading out to?

 

All the best,

 

Will

[usmcski]

March 14 is the scheduled HBO air date in the States, so I would have missed it by about a week.

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[navrocky]

Thanks for the "heads up." I was not aware of this new mini-series at this point in time. I won't miss it now if I can help it. Does anyone know how soon they offer such a series on DVD? Immediately after its airing perhaps?

[usmcski]

If you go to the following site, they have some pretty good pics as well as links to a couple videos on The Pacific. Additionally, they have a Forums section where occasionally, Eugene Sledge's grandson chimes in on some production notes...

 

www.pacificfans.com

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[Brian Dentino]

I too am looking forward to The Pacific coming out. It will be interesting to see how this stacks up again BoB though. Afterall, they only followed a small AB unit in 10 episodes in that....I wonder if The Pacific will have the same depth of characters? Does anyone know if this is, like BoB, based on actual specific mens stories, or is it going to be encompassing a larger field? Either way, should be good!

 

Nevermind, I found out the answer for myself.....a little reading BEFORE posting helps out a lot! :think:

[Corpsmancollector]

I have little doubt about it driving up the prices and demand of USMC gear, at least over here. I have heard friends who have little interest in anything military talk about this with excitement. We've already seen an increase in Marine Corps re-enactment after Flags came out and I really do think this will boost it to another level. We'll see...

 

Going into it with an open mind though!

 

Will

[warpath]

I have little doubt about it driving up the prices and demand of USMC gear, at least over here. I have heard friends who have little interest in anything military talk about this with excitement. We've already seen an increase in Marine Corps re-enactment after Flags came out and I really do think this will boost it to another level. We'll see...

 

Going into it with an open mind though!

 

Will

I suppose this will show that only Marines fought in the Pacific just like the 101st won WWII in Europe! (Where the heck was the 82d Airborne-on R&R????)...Still, it'll be a good show I'm certain. Ed

[Brian Dentino]

I suppose this will show that only Marines fought in the Pacific just like the 101st won WWII in Europe! (Where the heck was the 82d Airborne-on R&R????)...Still, it'll be a good show I'm certain. Ed

 

You know Ed, I kind of agree with you on your comments above. For those out there in the general public with little/no interest in history period, these do seem to sort of distort the true reality of WWII in particular. Heck, with SPR and BoB I am sure that there are a lot of people in US that think that the 101st was the ONLY para-division in the war, let alone our beloved "glider riders". Oh well, if this series sparks more people to actually read and study the conflict a little more then I suppose it will have its benefits amoungst the general population. But you do bring up a very valid point that I have often thought about as well. We will see if this renders the sort of general response that BoB did?

[THAT GUY]

I too am looking forward to The Pacific coming out. It will be interesting to see how this stacks up again BoB though. Afterall, they only followed a small AB unit in 10 episodes in that....I wonder if The Pacific will have the same depth of characters? Does anyone know if this is, like BoB, based on actual specific mens stories, or is it going to be encompassing a larger field? Either way, should be good!

 

Nevermind, I found out the answer for myself.....a little reading BEFORE posting helps out a lot! :think:

 

It's based off of 3 guys who went through the pto. all marines. One is the guy who wrote Helmet for my pillow.

 

They are:

 

Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie, and John Basilone