“The Pacific” (2010 HBO Miniseries): “None Came Out Unscathed…”

In September 2001, the Home Box Office (HBO) cable network released one of its very finest television programs ever: Band of Brothers, a ten-part miniseries that told with exquisite eloquence the true story of the men of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, one of the most famous and highly decorated U.S. Army units that fought during World War II.

Band of Brothers focused on World War II in Europe as seen through the eyes of the men who fought from the beaches of Normandy in 1944 to Germany's surrender in 1945. The miniseries showed, with graphic detail and realism, the full horror of the war in Europe, and how one U.S. Army unit's courage, determination, and sacrifice contributed to the ultimate victory over Nazi Germany.

In the light of Band of Brothers' enduring success, many people asked: would HBO ever produce a miniseries dedicated to the courageous men and women who fought in the Pacific during World War II? After all, Americans fought just as bravely and made just as many sacrifices of life and limb to achieve victory over the Empire of Japan in 1942-45.

That question was finally put to rest in March 2010 with the premiere of the HBO miniseries The Pacific, a ten-part docudrama dedicated to telling the story of World War II as it was fought by members of the 1st Marine Division, U.S. Marine Corps, in the Pacific theater of operations. Like its sister miniseries Band of Brothers, The Pacific is outstanding in every way. It is tough, gritty, filled with the unimaginable horrors of war, and clearly shows the tremendous courage and sacrifice of the young men and women who fought, bled, and sometimes died in defense of their country.

Unlike Band of Brothers, however, The Pacific does not follow one particular unit as it fights its way across its assigned theater of war. Instead, it focuses on three individual enlisted Marines who were directly involved in some of the worst combat of the Pacific war - at Guadalcanal, Peleliu, and Okinawa. One of the Marines became a Medal of Honor winner, and two others wrote famous wartime memoirs after the war. All of them experienced the full brutality of the war against Japan while serving on the front lines.

The Pacific is primarily based upon two outstanding wartime memoirs:With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene B. Sledge, and Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. These frequently eloquent books describe in stunning first-person detail the day-to-day experiences of their respective authors as they fought their way through the jungles of three South Pacific islands: Guadalcanal, Peleliu, and Okinawa.

These three islands were scenes of some of the bloodiest and most brutal fighting of the entire war on any front. These were the places where Japanese soldiers simply refused to surrender even after they had been beaten; where they frequently resorted to barbaric tactics against their American foes; and where American Marines were forced to respond to Japanese brutality with a no-holds-barred fighting style of their own...

The Pacific has among its executive producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Graham Yost, Gary Goetzmann, and Bruce McKenna, the same group that co-produced Band of Brothers. With such cinematic luminaries leading the production team, one would expect The Pacific to be as outstanding as its predecessor, and it does not disappoint. Taken as a whole, the ten episodes of The Pacific provide a highly accurate and faithful chronology of the events narrated by Sledge and Leckie in their memoirs. Taken separately, each episode stands as a powerful and gritty testament to the patriotism, heroism, and character of every Marine who fought in the Pacific.

Part 1: The story begins on the home front in the days immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Three young men from disparate backgrounds and locations each respond to their nation's call to arms. Robert Leckie, an aspiring journalist from New Jersey, enlists in the Marine Corps on the day Pearl Harbor is attacked. Eugene Sledge, an 18-year old doctor's son, is initially refused permission to enlist because of a heart murmur. And Sergeant John Basilone, already a proven Marine Corps enlisted leader, prepares to ship over to the Pacific to help take on the Japanese foe...

Part 2: Basilone and Leckie's trials by fire begin in mid-1942 on the island of Guadalcanal. Basilone and Leckie are among 16,000 Marines trapped on Guadalcanal by the Japanese. Assigned to different units, each man witnesses for the first time the brutal nature of their Japanese foe. Leckie begins to prove his mettle in battle. And Basilone's actions in the midst of a fierce firefight earn for him the Medal of Honor, America's highest award for gallantry against an armed foe...

Part 3: After six months of relentlessly vicious fighting against a determined and often treacherous enemy, the U.S. Marines win the battle for Guadalcanal. They are relieved and sent to Australia for rest and refit. Leckie becomes romantically involved with an Australian woman of Greek ancestry; he also manages to get himself in trouble with the Marine Corps; Basilone receives his Medal of Honor and is reassigned to the American home front to sell war bonds.

Part 4: Eugene Sledge finally enlists in the Marine Corps and begins his training as a member of a mortar crew. In Australia, the Marines complete their rest and refit and ship out to Cape Gloucester. The strains of battle, the stifling heat, and the relentless monsoons begin taking their toll on Leckie, who begins suffering from a deep depression. He is sent to nearby Banika for a psychological evaluation.

Part 5: Newly minted Private Eugene Sledge arrives in the Pacific theater and is reunited with his long-time friend Sid Philips. Leckie returns from Banika and rejoins his old unit. Sledge and Leckie are among the 16,000 Marines sent to capture the island of Peleliu from the Japanese. The battle begins, and the Marines find themselves confronting a fanatical Japanese foe who refuses to give up no matter the cost.

Part 6: As the Marines attempt to take the heavily defended Peleliu airfield from the Japanese, Leckie and Sledge experience the fiercest fighting they have faced so far. Sledge begins to confront within himself some of the moral ambiguities caused by war; Leckie is seriously wounded in battle. Basilone continues selling war bonds on the home front and enjoying his status as a celebrity.

Part 7: As the battle for Peleliu continues, the Marines move beyond the captured airfield and onto Bloody Nose Ridge. Sledge continues to become more embittered and hardened to his surroundings, almost to the point of moral exhaustion. Sledge's unit faces the sudden loss of its beloved and respected commander.

Part 8: Sergeant John Basilone has had enough of the home front. Tired of selling war bonds, and equally sick of all the celebrity attached to being a Medal of Honor winner, he requests transfer to Camp Pendleton, where he can train Marine recruits. While there, he meets and marries Lena Riggi, a fellow Marine noncommissioned officer.

Part 9: In perhaps the most gut-wrenching episode of the entire series, we witness the Marines in battle on Iwo Jima and on Okinawa. With the same gallantry and self-sacrifice he showed on Guadalcanal, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone leads his platoon off the beaches of Iwo Jima and into murderous enemy fire. Meanwhile, on Okinawa, the Marines face their most fanatical foe yet, and Sledge slowly begins to find his moral compass once again.

Part 10: As the war ends, The Pacific comes full circle, returning to the home front. What has become of Privates Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie and Sergeants John and Lena Basilone? What are the fates of the other Marines who were close to our protagonists? Watch The Pacific to find out!

It is impossible to describe with full justice how good The Pacific really is. Like Band of Brothers, it is a nearly perfect war chronicle. It accurately depicts real events; it is arrayed with a stellar cast that includes James Badge Dale as Robert Leckie, Joe Mazzello as Eugene Sledge, and Jon Seda as John Basilone. Among the actors in supporting roles whose performances are equally outstanding: Matt Craven, Keith Nobbs, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, Annie Parisse, Jacob Pitts, and William Sadler.

Technically, The Pacific is the equal of Band of Brothers in nearly every way. Special effects, especially in the battle scenes at Peleliu and Okinawa are frequently very bloody and fully convey the grim brutality of war. Somehow, however, the violence never seems gratuitous, but rather seems necessary to show the tremendous courage and excruciating pain and suffering of the 1st Marine Division.

The cinematography is superb. The Pacific's producers eschewed the faded colors and grainy look that were deliberately used to give Band of Brothers its authentic World War II "look and feel." They opted instead to show with sharp images the full panoply of vivid, bright colors so commonly seen throughout the Pacific islands.

The six-disc DVD set is one of the most beautifully crafted I've ever seen. Packaged in a "tin can" style container, the discs are laid out with obvious care on an internal cardboard accordion. Two episodes appear on each disc, and are accompanied by "field guides," episode summaries, and other extras. The sixth disc contains several "special features" that definitely add to the enjoyment of the miniseries.

MY VERDICT: Simply put, The Pacific is a brilliant achievement in every respect. It joins Band of Brothers as one of the two best war stories I've ever seen in any medium. It deserves an honored place in every DVD owner's collection.

SOURCES:

- Personal viewing

- On-disc "field guides" and episode summaries