HBO's The Pacific with spoilers

danger boy

Warning! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS...

this thread may contain spoilers about the HBO mini series the Pacific.

Started this thread so that those people who wanted to discuss the series could.... and not be nagged to death about their being spoilers in here.

danger boy

what was your favorite moment in part 1?

there were so many.. and everyone has a favorite scene that got to them emotionally or made them think about for some time.

How about the scene where the doctor and another guy try to help the Japanese soldier who seemingly is the only one left alive.. only to find out he is holding a gernade and ends up killing the doc?

how about the birthday song, then the line after it?

how about the ships being blown up at night that made such a light show.. the guys think they are Japanese ships being blow up.. when in fact they were American ships.

opening ?

discuss.

Huck344

Probably the "Turkey Shoot" with the lone Japanese soldier who obviously had gone nuts from the war and just wanted to be put out of his misery. It was a very moving scene which showed the mental torment that existed on both sides of battle.

danger boy

Huck344,
I agree.. that was a tough scene.. but I think in some aspect we could feel his frustration with the whole war.

fatchowmein

I thought they did a good job. I barely recall reading Guadacanal Diary as a kid other than it was just miserable. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I think that ship battle was the Battle of Savo Island, August 9th, 1942.

Marines land Aug 7th.
Capture airfield Aug 8th.
Battle of Savo Island Aug 9th.

Some history lesson here for background info (10 parts listed in order).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBdqXLa73w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OglaeEpK5GY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc0H8-O8Z4E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiPg0JklEIk (Battle of Savo Island; stop at 4:42 if you don't want to pass episode 1)

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pPRLx7zntc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx62ehU1qxQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i_VpxOdo0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAhb1YTO2Cg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmC949m8_2U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJfjnCILvqw

danger boy

anyone watch part 2 Guadalcanal?

the bombing scene was intense, I was surprised more people didn't get killed.. at least they didn't show that many.. then later the insane battle scene... whew.

loved the ending where they are drinking coffee on board the battle ship. classic scene but such a great ending. talk about a tear jerker.

dave shepard

Seems like the Clint Eastwood movie "Flag of our Fathers". I'm on the fence with it.

Dave

danger boy

this was only the second episode.. so I think it will get better as it goes on. not that the first two parts haven't been good. not great.. but pretty good.

Same as BoB, a few episodes didn't wow me like a couple other ones did.

Huck344

I'm enjoying the series. My only complaint, if any, is that Part 2 seemed a bit rushed. One hour isn't a whole lot of time to develop characters AND show an epic battle. I agree with the coffee scene, but I think what really displayed the essence of what they went through was when they were climbing the rope ladder to get back on the ship. They were so weak, they could barely make it up. . . This in contrast to Part 1 when they flew down the ladder on their way to the island.

fatchowmein

Agree with all sentiments on part 2, including the Flags of Our Fathers bit. Looking forward to the next one. Currently, I haven't warmed up to any of the characters like I did with Winters, Nix, Lipton, Shifty, Buck, Harry, Skip, Toye, Malarky, Luz, Eugene, Liebgott, Popeye, Perconte, Tab, Gonorrhea...

bruss

this is going to be a awesome series.

AsSiMiLaTeD

It's good so far, but lacking compared to Band of Brothers through the first 2 episodes. BoB grabbed you from the first episode and never really elt go. There were a cou0ple weaker episodes along the way, but The Pacific hasn't yet reached out and grabbed me with the first 2 episodes.

hearingimpared

I like it so far . . . not great but good.

I saw a special on Guadalcanal on the History International Channel and that battle scene where he pickup the sub-machine gun with his bare hands was much, much more intense and heroic as well as the bombing than how it was depicted on "The Pacific." The **** were on them and there was more hand-to-hand fighting, much more than was depicted in Part II. The Vets commentary on that particular battle gave a blow by blow on what actually happened and it seemed cut short in Sunday night's episode.

Someone above mentioned it seemed a bit rushed . . . I agree!

Fongolio

I found episode two much more entertaining than eppisode one. It feels like it's building momentum. I think Band of Brothers was one of those rare mini series that just totally hits the mark. Any comparison is in my mind a bit unfair as the ultimate high mark has already been reached. If I had never seen Band of B I would say the Pacific is amazingly good. I agree on the rushed comment though. These episodes would be much better two hours long.

danger boy

The Pacific and Band of Brothers will always be compared to each other... but maybe they should be allowed to stand on their own merits. If the Pacific isn't as good as BoB, then so be it. It's still better than a lot of the other crap that's on TV these days.

dave shepard

I agree with letting it stand on it's own. I just feel that thus far it seems to be going in the direction of a mix of B.O.B. and Flag of our Fathers and given the caliber of the directors involved I would have thought it would have been a little more original. The other thing is the boats going to the beach with troops even the person getting sick before exiting looked like it was a short out-take from Saving Private Ryan, which IMO is one of the all time best for auditioning a theater.
So far though I will continue to watch it I just hope they take it in it's own direction as there were probably many movie worthy stories during that horrible and heroic time.
The movie was recorded/ produced in the style of two highly acclaimed people were behind it and that I would have expected nothing less, really well done in that respect. When those two are involved you get one steller movie shot and released.

Dave

Hillbilly61

Dad was in Guadalcanal, after they took it but the ships could not get in to provide supplies. As he stated it, they nearly starved to death and they hated the night. During the night, the Japanese would try to come back in and retake the airstrip.

There would usually be a big fire fight and the next morning would reveal the wounded, but not dead Japanese soldiers laying within the perimeter. If you tried to help them, they would take advantage of the situation and try to kill you. So the order came down to simply shoot the wounded on sight.

He was there after the ships could come in and provide supplies. He remarked that you could tell when a bulldozer was laying out the airfield further and would plow across a Japanese's soldier's grave. It would be a gray rectangular spot in the dirt beneath.

Hillbilly61

Guys and Gals,

When is the next installment due to be aired next? I am traveling most of next week and might be able to catch that installment in a hotel room.

I do not have cable at home (too rural) and satellite went to crap last fall when the neighbor's trees finally grew sufficiently tall as to block the signal.

Thanks,

Lee

fatchowmein

I don't know what time zone inside of the Matrix is but it airs on Sunday nights at 8PM Central.

danger boy

didn't get the chance to watch part 3 on Sunday night.. can't wait to see it though.

Fongolio

I really liked the character development in episode 3. Now we are really getting to know who these guys are.

hearingimpared

Fongolio wrote: »

I really liked the character development in episode 3. Now we are really getting to know who these guys are.

Yep I liked it too. I found the twist of the Medal of Honor winner going home to sell war bonds interestingly sad. I really, really liked the Greak/Australian family portion, very well done.

Next weeks episode looks like it's going to be intense.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I'll be watching this tonight, glad to hear it's getting better

Jstas

hearingimpared wrote: »

Yep I liked it too. I found the twist of the Medal of Honor winner going home to sell war bonds interestingly sad. I really, really liked the Greak/Australian family portion, very well done.

Next weeks episode looks like it's going to be intense.

You just liked it 'cause it was soft-core ****!



I'm not really feelin' this one. I'm hoping that the Guadalcanal episodes were only "rushed" and so week because, honestly, how do you cram 6-7 months worth of intense story in to an hour and a half of un-narrated film work and still develop that story fully?

I'm hoping that it does more justice to the story of the people in the unit and gets away from this fluff like the covering of the relationship with the Greek girl. I got the hint after the first dinner with the Greek family. We didn't need another 20 minutes of sex scene after sex scene.

They are focusing alot on a single character, "Lucky" and his "sanity". The next episode seems to show him cracking up and losing it. I dunno, I'm not looking forward to that episode. We'll see.

I'll say one thing for Band of Brothers, you can play each disc, one after another, and it plays like a movie. The Pacific, I'm not getting that feeling and nothing is leaving me hanging and waiting for more.

danger boy

Jstas wrote: »

I'll say one thing for Band of Brothers, you can play each disc, one after another, and it plays like a movie. The Pacific, I'm not getting that feeling and nothing is leaving me hanging and waiting for more.

I have to agree... but again, maybe since we've all seen BoB so many times.. we've become so engrossed in the individual parts that they blend together seemlessly.

The Pacific may not blend from one part to the next as easily.. but in the end and after having watched it as many times as Bob... I may feel differently. But i do get that sense these episodes don't flow as well.

bsoko2

History of two of the characters in Pacific:

Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Puller is the most decorated U.S. Marine in history, and the only Marine to receive five Navy Crosses, the United States Navy's and Marines' second highest decoration after the Medal of Honor. During his career, he fought guerrillas in Haiti and Nicaragua, and participated in some of the bloodiest battles of World War II and the Korean War. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955, spending the rest of his life in Virginia.

Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. He was the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.
He served three years in the United States Army with duty in the Philippines before joining the Marine Corps. In 1940 he joined the Marine Corps and after attending training was sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Solomon Islands and eventually to Guadalcanal where he held off 3,000 Japanese troops after his 15-member unit was reduced to two men. He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima, after which he was posthumously honored with the Navy Cross. He has received many honors including being the namesake for streets, military locations and a United States Navy destroyer.

Bill

cnoat

Really dis.After Band of Brothers

George Grand

I watched it last night for the first time because of what you people have said about it. I was pretty excited at the beginning with the actual combat footage. Then came the color and the Hollywood production. I don't know.

Cream and sugar? That was good.

bsoko2

The thing for me is the historical content. When I first went into the corps, alot of those guys from the 2nd WW and Korea were still in service. Some of the stories they told during the training of us were fasicnating and at the same time, scary for a young recruit. It prepared us youngsters for the Cuban Crisis and then Nam.

Bill

DeusExa

Might check out The Pacific if time allows...how much worse is it compared to Band of Brothers?

AsSiMiLaTeD

DeusExa wrote: »

Might check out The Pacific if time allows...how much worse is it compared to Band of Brothers?

Dude, read the thread, it's been discussed here ad naseum...