"The Pacific" Band of Brothers for the Pacific War

[MAW]

Thanks for the pics and welcome to the forum.

 

Just curious....are you of Japanese ancestry...and what percentage of people portraying Japanese soldiers in the movie were actually Japanese? Lots of times you here about movies using "the real thing" for the up close shots, while the people in the distance are much more generic.

 

Feel free to post more pics....they are cool to see.

[cutiger83]

Yes. Please post more pics. And welcome to the Forum. The guy that Basilone helps is just plain gross! :pinch: Amazing special affects...but gross...

 

...Kat

[bratwurstdimsum]

Practicing our war faces and using modern technology to create the illusion of more firepower from a distance Our Nambu LMG's frequently jammed so a more recent version was used

[bratwurstdimsum]

Hey Maw, I am Malaysian by birth, there was a "weapons company" set of Japanese extras that was 99% Japanese and there was b company, us, a cobbled together bunch of asians, some which barely fit the description :w00t:

 

Yes most of the time you had Japanese nationals for the close ups and for the massed banzais b-company

[Blake_E]

Awesome pictures mate, and welcome!

[bratwurstdimsum]

No one, not even the director will ever contradict or override a TA on uniform or equipment details. Another thing every TA learns very quickly is, people notice everything. A show like The Pacific with literally millions of viewers comes under the scrutiny of thousands of knowledgeable people. Everyone knows viewers will pause a scene to count the eyelets on a pair of shoes.

 

Hmm, not sure on that, one bizarre thing was the almost total absence of Japanese collar tabs. None of us had them, Yutaka, our Sergeant, who had a scene with Eugene Sledge in a closeup with the NCO sword thing in ep6 was "demoted" to a corporal and that was one of the only times we saw collar tabs. (look at the photos above of the Japanese extras for example)

[bratwurstdimsum]

Shooting at USMC, Ep6 Peleliu Airfield, if you look very carefully at the guy lying down, he is firing an ak47.

[bratwurstdimsum]

Me.

[MAW]

Thanks for the reply.....I love your pics and insight into the movie....keep posting them!

 

BTW, just to confirm.....I was at a music/video store in a shopping mall last night, and they had "The Pacific" behind the counter, already accepting "pre-release orders"........it did say on the case that it is to be released on Nov. 2d.

[filupe]

Niiice ... I heard from a mate of mine in the Army Reserves that they were seeking reservists with an Asian background. I went for audition myself later with a causasian mate of mine, but even though I was received enthusiastically I never got the call (having been either too fat or too tall for a war-ravaged Okinawan!). My mate on the other hand appears very briefly through the window of the newspaper editor's office in the very last episode ...

 

I'd be very interested in obtaining your book too ...

[bratwurstdimsum]

Niiice ... I heard from a mate of mine in the Army Reserves that they were seeking reservists with an Asian background. I went for audition myself later with a causasian mate of mine, but even though I was received enthusiastically I never got the call (having been either too fat or too tall for a war-ravaged Okinawan!). My mate on the other hand appears very briefly through the window of the newspaper editor's office in the very last episode ...

 

I'd be very interested in obtaining your book too ...

Were you prepared to travel to Victoria/Queensland for the filming? That's keen. Okinawa was a big call out here in Melbourne with lots of responses, I even bumped into a work collegue of mine during filming, it was bizarre, we didn't know we were both associated with the production, and she was the receptionist so usually beautifully dressed, to see her in rags and "injured" and for her to see an armed Japanese soldier in place of work collegue was bizarre!!!

 

Okinawa was pretty disturbing also, even while filming. It was more subdued than your normal episode but there were funny spots. Volunteers were asked to do the naked guys scene (the naked guys lying on top of each other by the well) it was freezing cold on set with wetsuits supplied to any soldier running across the mud and the naked guys got paid double for just lying there.

 

Funny that about the reserves, I ended up joining the reserves after the experience with boot camp in the Pacific but found the overall boot camp experience in the Army easier!

[bratwurstdimsum]

anyone recognise the guy on the left

[fortworthgal]

Very cool pictures, thanks for sharing them and your experiences! It is always interesting to hear from an "insider."

[D.A.T.]

The series has just started over here in Germany, every Thursday night at 22:15 hrs., that's 10:15 P.M. for you civilians out there.

You'd be amazed how many US Marines and Japanese soldiers who speak fluent German!

http://www.kabeleins.de/serien_shows/the-pacific/

[willysmb44]

A co-worker of mine was asking about this series today and it dawned on me I have not once watched any of the episodes after the first time. I recorded them all on DVR but haven’t felt any interest in breaking them out and watching them. I watched my BoB set until I probably wore the finish off of them and watch “Generation Kill” set every now and then, too. But not “The Pacific”. I’m not even 100% sure I’ll get the DVD set when it comes out (although I’d bet my wife will likely get it for me for my birthday soon after the release or Christmas later on).

:think:

[bratwurstdimsum]

I agree with u only about the early leckie episodes, before sledge in ep 5 - very forgettable affairs - but from there on I watch at least one episode a week now - makes bob look like a scout camp

[Glenn61]

I thought it was a great series but I did find the series much easier to watch on the second viewing.

[gunbarrel]

Thanks, BWDS! :thumbsup:

[bratwurstdimsum]

Marines park where they want!

[Glenn61]

You can have a scale model from Propstore for about $6-7,000

[bratwurstdimsum]

It'd be hard to do this in that model

[Seff]

I love your pictures, bratwurstdimsum, please post more. Movie sets are always interesting to me, and doubly so when it's a WWII movie.

[tdogchristy90]

anyone recognise the guy on the left

 

 

The guy on the left is the same red headed kid from jurassic park. I couldn't get the fact that that was that same whiny kid out of my head the whole series. It was frustrating.

[Zippo Grunt]

Ive just been reading quite alot of the past posts, on The Pacific,and i like the way it as brought up many different topics,and mostly quite interesting.

 

I would like to add the following info,which was first shown on a Zippo forum,of which im a member.

 

The photos and text are by Mathieu a good friend and fine collector of Vietnam/Military Zippos.

 

 

Do enjoy. Zippo Grunt

 

 

 

 

 

In this series we often see the Marines using a ... Zippo lighter. But what kind of Zippo Lighter?

 

You will see some screenshots I have made.

 

The first two pictures show a Marines "Gunny Hanney" on the left giving some light to another Marines. There is an enlarged view about the Zippo used.

 

I have suddenly noticed even horrified (it took me 1 sec to see that) that the inside unit was not from this period. boohoooooo! Shame on you Steven and Tom, what an historical mistake! (just kidding).

 

Later in the series, part 9, from third pictures, the two Marines discuss together about a Zippo lighter. One of them named "Sledgehammer" with tee-shirt, twirls his Zippo and we can see more detailed that on the insignia of 1st Marine Division, it is written "Guadalcanal" inside the number "1" in red color.

 

Note that this insignia is on the back side of the Zippo.

 

This Zippo has a 4 barrel hinge and suddenly appears the famous flat bottom but upside down.

 

I have rotated and slightly modified the picture with Photoshop and it appears that there is the date code "07" for ... 2007 on the right of "Zippo" (year when the series was realised).

It is too difficult to see exactly the month it was made.

 

So finally, after all this, the Zippo used is just a "1941 replica".

I would be curious to know what happened to this Zippo after the shooting. Have fun!

[Zippo Grunt]

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