The pacific

[Bolt2bounce]

I just finished watching the Pacific.. wow was that a good series. I liked it better than band of brothers.. and the Marines.. They did a task.. that boggles the mind.. up root the Japs on all those islands.. Thanks you to the marine corps.. :icon_salut: B2B

[tmark]

I also recommend you seeing FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS and WINDTALKERS.

[Guamsst]

I didn't like the pacific as much as I thought I would. A big thing that bothered me was how much shooting the Japanese did. Seems like they all had semi auto rifles. Overall it was a good show though. I think seeing something that bugged me in the opening battle just took it down a notch for me. Seemed like the hollywood thing of "Lets make it really good and have lots and lots of shooting"

Windtalkers was kind of terrible. Had some good scenes but had tons of hollywood style problems. Plus Nick Cage sucks.

Thin Red Line was REALLY TERRIBLE.

Flags of our Fathers was very good but allot more story than action so it is lost on some people.

Letters from Iwo Jima is very accurate and a great movie.

The Great Raid is a very good movie and accurate. Lots of action and a well developed story. Too much love story but oh well.

To End All Wars is a very underrated recent movie. If you can find it, WATCH IT! It is about POWs and their treatment at the hands of the Japanese and is extremely accurate and realistic in that regard. Not much action but a good story based on POW accounts.

[Dan Shapiro]

I found "The Pacific" rather disappointing as compared to BoB. Guess that's because they used 3 books for source material rather than just one book.

[UUURah]

Just started "Pacific", on the first DVD.

It is a BLOODY sucker. I too can't see where all the shooting comes from, it's now 1942 the Marines are using 03's and the Japs have to be using bolt actions too. Surely Speilberg and Hanks wouldn't try to glamorize it because they are, uh, anti-war now, would they?

Re: "Flags Of Our Fathers". I strongly suggest that one reads the book first if they plan to watch the movie for the first time. The flashbacks in the movie are confusing but once one knows the whole story it smooths out.

[Dan Shapiro]

"Surely Speilberg and Hanks wouldn't try to glamorize it because they are, uh, anti-war now, would they?"

Nah, they wouldn't do that. Hanks even made the stupid comment that 'the Pacific was a hate-filled war'. Guess he thought the European Theater was full of brotherly love.

[Guamsst]

Well, the Pacific theatre definitely had allot more hate than the european theatre. Atleast as far as American involvement goes. Even the Russians verses the Nazis was not as consistently personal.

[rider]

I enjoyed watching "The Pacific" series but I wasn't expecting perfection. I also thought the individual Marines' stories on the Features disc were interesting, and the brief Pacific War synopsis useful for people with very limited knowledge of WWII.

[Griff Murphey]

Aside from the A3's on Guadalcanal, I really liked the Pacific. There just was too much small stuff that they got right for me not to be impressed. Just one example - they modified a C-47 wreck to resemble a JNAF "Tabby" complete with extra cockpit windows in the airfield combat. At John Basilone's MOH ceremony, I was impressed with the close order drill. This is very hard for Hollywood to get right with actors but by and large the men were in step, squared off their corners, etc. As far as the combat scenes, it certainly makes you realize how miserable combat was for the USMC in the Pacific. I know personally one Marine who was in the Pacific from first to last and he certainly had a lot of emotional problems he covered up for a long time; in his 80's they came back full force. Band of Brothers is a little easier to watch as entertainment... though there are a very few gory moments. PACIFIC is much harder to watch in lots of places. Let me put it this way; my wife could and did watch BofB. I would not even try her on PACIFIC. None of them do very well showing actors loading weapons and they never break them down, they just rub them with little cloths or use toothbrushes on them. The funniest one was in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN showing a sniper dismounting his scope and putting on "clicks" adjusting his sunshade....

[Art]

"Surely Speilberg and Hanks wouldn't try to glamorize it because they are, uh, anti-war now, would they?"

Nah, they wouldn't do that. Hanks even made the stupid comment that 'the Pacific was a hate-filled war'. Guess he thought the European Theater was full of brotherly love.

I may be wrong but I believe that Hanks said it was racist or racial and it was on both sides.

It was what it was.

Like you I don't recall a situation where thousands or hundreds of thousands of people butchered each other out of love.

[Guamsst]

My big problem with accuracy in the pacific was when The Japanese soldier pretended to surrender then pulled the pin on his grenade and blew himself up. That's not hwo their grenades workd. A few other little things bugged me. But overall it was impressively accurate for hollywood and that probably made the mistakes seem a bit worse. All the shots from the T-38 and T-39 bolt actions were well over the top.

[El Paso Mark]

The funniest one was in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN showing a sniper dismounting his scope and putting on "clicks" adjusting his sunshade....

Was he twisting a sunshade? What type scope did he put on? How do you adjust parallax on an old Unertl? On my Lyman 30X STS the A/O is up front and you have to loosen a lock ring then twist the front of the scope the correct amount corresponding to distance. Will have to watch that scene again sometime.

Cheers,

Mark

[Griff Murphey]

He had dismounted the M-73 he came ashore with on the A-4, and put a Unertl on the rifle, in the field... yeah... and he was muttering about the wind and saying he was putting on "...two clicks left..." or some such.... as he was twisting the sunshade.

[Ken The Kanuck]

When I watch a show like the BOB or the Pacific the biggest thing that I think of is just how much we owe those fine men and women. Although I am not an American I realize the tremendous debt we have to our Allies for our freedom.

Thank-you.

KTK

[Guamsst]

When I watch a show like the BOB or the Pacific the biggest thing that I think of is just how much we owe those fine men and women. Although I am not an American I realize the tremendous debt we have to our Allies for our freedom.

Thank-you.

KTK Your boys did good in Europe though. There might have only been 14 of em, but they done good.

[Ken The Kanuck]

Your boys did good in Europe though. There might have only been 14 of em, but they done good.

Hard to believe your ignorance.

You done your nation and fellow countrymen proud.

As you can see below Canada suffered more deaths than the US in WWII as a percentage of population.

So not only are you an ignorant prick but poorly educated as well.

KTK

Country Total population 1/1/1939 Military deaths Total deaths Deaths as % of1939 population

Canada 11,267,000 45,400 0.40
U.S. 131,028,000 416,800 0.32

[Bill F]

In WW1 the British thought so highly of the Canadians they made them the shock troops of the Brit Army.Kinda like our Marines.

[Guamsst]

Hard to believe your ignorance.

You done your nation and fellow countrymen proud.

As you can see below Canada suffered more deaths than the US in WWII as a percentage of population.

So not only are you an ignorant prick but poorly educated as well.

KTK

Country Total population 1/1/1939 Military deaths Total deaths Deaths as % of1939 population

Canada 11,267,000 45,400 0.40
U.S. 131,028,000 416,800 0.32

Kiss my as eh. It was not meant as an insult, I wasn't aware Canadians have such delicate constitutions.
You are proud because Canada had higher losses? How does being better at dying help?

I simply meant that despite Canadians being a relatively small part of the overall force they had a good showing in battle. I'll never make the mistake of trying to say anything nice about them again.

[Ken The Kanuck]

Kiss my as eh. It was not meant as an insult, I wasn't aware Canadians have such delicate constitutions.
You are proud because Canada had higher losses? How does being better at dying help?

I simply meant that despite Canadians being a relatively small part of the overall force they had a good showing in battle. I'll never make the mistake of trying to say anything nice about them again.

Guamsst,


Your post was insulting and belittling to the fine folks who serve and have served in our Armed Forces, especially to those who fought in WWII.

It was yourself with the cheap shot about Canada supplying 14 men in the ETO which caused me to quote the figures I did. Our contribution has always been considerable in wars past and the ongoing. We are a nation with 1/10th of the population of the US and I would suggested that we have always pulled more than our weight and carried more than our fair share of the load.

For you to even suggest that your post was complimentary is an insult to the intelligence of any member of CSP who read your crap, we are not that stupid.

I don't really care what a donkey such as you says about my country, generally I won't even reply. But don’t insult our military folks.


KTK

[Guamsst]

Guamsst,


Your post was insulting and belittling to the fine folks who serve and have served in our Armed Forces, especially to those who fought in WWII.

It was yourself with the cheap shot about Canada supplying 14 men in the ETO which caused me to quote the figures I did. Our contribution has always been considerable in wars past and the ongoing. We are a nation with 1/10th of the population of the US and I would suggested that we have always pulled more than our weight and carried more than our fair share of the load.

For you to even suggest that your post was complimentary is an insult to the intelligence of any member of CSP who read your crap, we are not that stupid.

I don't really care what a donkey such as you says about my country, generally I won't even reply. But don’t insult our military folks.


KTK

Go F yourself Ken. Obviously you are too stupid to understand anything that isn't spelled out literally. I guess everyone in Canada speaks only in exact numbers. I am sorry I did not qoute the exact number to the last man. I said 14 to emphasize how small your forces were numerically. Apparently you assume that as an "ignorant prick" I don't know that there were more than 14 Canadian soldiers in europe. I said they "done good" because they earned a reputation for fighting as well as their counterparts.

Here, maybe this will get you out of your pissy mood. Canadian forces were the hardest fighting, straightest shooting, TALLEST, best looking, most well hung units in world history, it is only through their extreme kindness they allowed others to participate and did not conquer the entire world and drink it's beer. KMA

[Griff Murphey]

Now Boys, Boys.... please!

It is a somewhat regrettable fact that to most Americans Canadian participation in WW-2 is seldom fully remembered. If you asked me to name a single important Canadian commander or hero of WW-2 I couldn't do it without research. Just to mention a few matters that DO come to mind... they bore the brunt of the "experimental D-day" at Dieppe, formed much of the backbone of the RAF's heavy bomber campaign against German cities (50,000 airmen KIA), had the thankless task of manning the small, miserable, slow convoy escorts such as the FLOWER class Corvettes, and suffered huge casualties in the Italian campaign, particularly at Monte Casino.

Incidentally, one of the Marine characters in PACIFIC is a Canadian who had been at Dieppe!

[Guamsst]

That's part of why I am so ticked. I do understand that Canada was there and did make a good showing. But if you don't spell it out in glorifying terms apparently it is the worst insult ever and you deserve to be burned at the stake for heresy.

[androck14]

Are you two gonna punch it out behind the gym at recess?

[Guamsst]

Are you two gonna punch it out behind the gym at recess? Yes, but not until after we take your lunch money.

[androck14]

I'll tell on you!

[phil441]

I done tol' teacher whut you guys are doin'.

[Sean P Gilday]

Didn't like it as much as BoB. But your telling the story of 3 different guys in different battalions who never met vs a company together since Basic.

Then the whole 03A3 had me disgusted along with the A4 grips on M1917A1's. The battlescenes were very well done, as was things like the sheer monotony of Cape Gloucester weather.

[pdawg1911]

I watched it and would have to say I thought Band of Brothers was the better of the two. Just my two cents, but it was like in Pacific they tried to show the US a little more brutal than the Japanese. (Not saying that Allied forces weren't brutal, just that it didn't seem as balanced in the movie.) The other thing was I felt they spent too much time developing the girl friend on shore leave story, the "i peed my pants story", and missed opportunities to show more development of combat activities or even non-combat time in the front lines. I will still probably purchase it, but will wait till the price drops at the discount bins.

Regards
Pat

[pmclaine]

The story is too big in fact as well as geographically to try and express in a miniseries. It would have been more effective if they focused on one battle. Guadalcanal alone could provide enough material to fill as many episodes. Focusing on the one battle would do so at the neglect of the rest of the theatre but it would allow for the non-historical inclined audience to engage with the characters and get to know them as individuals same as was possible in BOB. I also agree with those that have expressed disagreement with a slant or political agenda in the movie that seems to paint the US negatively. While the scene of Japanese attrocities is flashed quickly across the scene so that the viewer is just able to see enough to say "what the hell was that?" the US brutality is played out slowly with the sound of a KBar grinding on jaw bone.

In the battle theatre the US fought the war with the intensity the Japanese themselves decided upon. If the US was guilty of any uncalled for racial attrocity it would be the imprisonment of the American citizens of California and the west coast after Pearl Harbor.

[Roadkingtrax]

While the scene of Japanese attrocities is flashed quickly across the scene so that the viewer is just able to see enough to say "what the hell was that?" the US brutality is played out slowly with the sound of a KBar grinding on jaw bone.

In the battle theatre the US fought the war with the intensity the Japanese themselves decided upon. If the US was guilty of any uncalled for racial attrocity it would be the imprisonment of the American citizens of California and the west coast after Pearl Harbor.

I can agree to a point, but there a thousand books that tell the story of Japanese brutality. It is difficult to watch when the story is not told from the perspective of the victor.

These scenes were talked about many times in the memoirs of the fighting men of the Pacific that made it back.

[pmclaine]

I can agree to a point, but there a thousand books that tell the story of Japanese brutality. It is difficult to watch when the story is not told from the perspective of the victor.

These scenes were talked about many times in the memoirs of the fighting men of the Pacific that made it back.

So why does it seem Speilberg and Hanks show the American brutality in detail yet flash over the well documented Japanese brutality? This series would not appeal much to the person with little to no interest in the period so most will see the bias. What concerns me is that those just getting interested in the history, perhaps never inclined to read the source materials, will come away with the view the US was the worse of the two when it came to brutality.

[Roadkingtrax]

So why does it seem Speilberg and Hanks show the American brutality in detail yet flash over the well documented Japanese brutality? This series would not appeal much to the person with little to no interest in the period so most will see the bias. What concerns me is that those just getting interested in the history, perhaps never inclined to read the source materials, will come away with the view the US was the worse of the two when it came to brutality.


I agree on that point,...they are making the unsafe assumption that the viewers have an understanding of the Japanese brutality in the Pacific, even long before US involvement.

I, and I can only assume most of us here did not watch the Pacific for a thorough dissertation of the War, but a soldiers experience. The telling was based off of Sledge and Leckie's books, perhaps the real issue is the way they wrote their memoirs. In the 1940s-1950s there was not a need to give a reason, nor many examples as to why the Japanese were the enemy, they already knew...as did the readers of the day.

In 2011, half the people probably think Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Germans...

[dave]

If they even know what "Pearl Habor"disignates!

[mustanggt]

I have both series and like them both though I will give the nod to the Pacific. I was really drawn to the characters more I guess. Lecke wrote his books over a period of years from the 50's onward. Sledge didn't publish his till 1981? I think. I read Lecke's book on Guadalcanal which was good but more an overall historic telling with just a few personal side bars thrown in here and there. I'm not real keen on his writing style. Sledge just grabbed me with his story and all of the gut wrenching personal demons he had to fight to stay alive and survive his ordeal. I read both his books and thought that of all the books I've read about WWII his was the most personal story and that is what attracted me. After reading all that stuff it's just a rehash of the historical record and frankly gets a little boring. John Basilone was also another compelling story for me. Chesty Puller is another larger than life figure that amazes me as to what kind of a man he was as well. I now look for more books that tell the little personal stories and not the big picture type books. I have never been in the service but am most grateful and love those that put everything on the line for us and for that I am most appreciative. I am most amazed by the courage of conviction that most of these people have and we should all be grateful.

[Mr Hanky]

I just meet sidney phillips, a truely great man and Marine. He was full of sea stories to tell us jr Marines. I got a few photos and his autograph. Did yall know he also wrote a book titled "youll be sooorreee!". Im going to be looking for it

[squires]

i watched the, pacific twice, i own one of the,cookie tins, with the statue of liberty, they used,as a pacific war buff, i write and research it, i lost a uncle and a brother on guam, 1944,ive read,with the old breed, and islands of the dammed,helmet for my pillow,one of the issues i have with this movie was,as guamsst stated and my brothers notebooks, they didnt shoot as much as the movie portrays and they didnt seem to use auto fires as much as the movie uses,plus what i found bothersome was, snafu' in the movie they portray him and gripeing, gold bricking tooth robber diging teeth out of japs still living bodies, how ever pvt sledge talks about that but not one time does he say, snafu did that and the scenes that showed snafu,dropping coral rock,s into the dead japs head cavity,wel thats not the way he portrays it as well,in, with the old breed,he states a marine' did that,never did he state snafu did,i feel thats wrong,why portray a hero of these battles as such,just for a movie,iam sure lots of things went on that ive no clue about,they were not my battles,however ive had my time in the sun in other places,as far as i feel any one who went thru the hell of that war was a hero to me and i try and honor each and every one of them,ive a few good freinds now who were on those islands and now long in the tooth,there time is getting short, i suggest that every one find and meet one of these men before there all gone, just say thank you,''

[squires]

i have to agree with you,as in my brothers notes,its pretty much as you say, and in truth, most people now days could not even remember what pearl harbor was about,seems the youth of today cares little about any thing,except vidio games and texting,lazy and uncaring,they leeach off there familys and expect every thing handed to them,

[squires]

just got done with,islands of the dammed' by rv burgin, sgt usmc. while its a ok book and i would never bad mouth a marine,i didnt find i liked it much,eugene sledge,pvt usmc wrote, with the old breed' very well done, very blunt and out spoken,good details,while he stated good things about sgt burgin,burgin didnt repay him the same,my issue is with the movie' lots of it are just plain made up,like the last, the train ride home,it shows, burgin,sledge and snafu all on a train going cross country to return home, however, that was never the case,burgin states he was going to fly but took a bus,and sledge went his own way' after going to china. seems kind of a dishonor to do,make up facts as you go along,true its hollyweird'

[Dan Shapiro]

Take into account that Tom Hanks didn't consider the Pacific an "honorable" war...........so he got to edit it any way he wanted.

[6thMARDIV]

just got done with,islands of the dammed' by rv burgin, sgt usmc. while its a ok book and i would never bad mouth a marine,i didnt find i liked it much,eugene sledge,pvt usmc wrote, with the old breed' very well done, very blunt and out spoken,good details,while he stated good things about sgt burgin,burgin didnt repay him the same,my issue is with the movie' lots of it are just plain made up,like the last, the train ride home,it shows, burgin,sledge and snafu all on a train going cross country to return home, however, that was never the case,burgin states he was going to fly but took a bus,and sledge went his own way' after going to china. seems kind of a dishonor to do,make up facts as you go along,true its hollyweird'

I thought that I was the only person who caught on to the train ride. Additionally, there was no mention of the Greek girl in Leckie's memoir's, No mention of the girl with the protective Grandfather in Phillip's memoir's and Sledge's family met him at the train station if I remember correctly.

[Guamsst]

I thought that I was the only person who caught on to the train ride. Additionally, there was no mention of the Greek girl in Leckie's memoir's, No mention of the girl with the protective Grandfather in Phillip's memoir's and Sledge's family met him at the train station if I remember correctly.

The thing to remember, is also the problem. They combined stories and events and attributed them to specific people to keep it simple while trying to tell a broad story. This is great, unless you know the true story.

I loved Enemy At The Gates. Although it included some things that did happen, it misrepresented how or why they happened. The most glaring part is the ending. They simply made it all HOLLYWOOD. They misrepresented how and why the political officer was shot. Then, everything after he was shot was pure fiction. Zaitsev killed the German sniper by guessing his location based on the shot that killed the political officer. He simply shot into the hole where he thought the German was. Not as "Dramatic" but more impressive when you figure how confident he had to be of his own skills as a sniper.

I respect allot of the WW2 movies that are out there now just because they are so much better than what has been out before. But, they really can't break away from the Hollywood mindset. Thank goodness it wasn't as bad as the movie Pearl Harbor.

[El Paso Mark]

HBO was re-running The Pacific the last few days. I gotta say, I liked it better the second time around. The initial "Anticipation" wasn't there, and I didn't compare it to BOB this time, just let it stand on it's own. Much better.

Cheers,

Mark

[dave]

I found Pacific very dis-jointed and confusing. While I do have a hearing problem I did not know who any of the characters were--until they mention Basalone selling war bonds. The other two I never did figure out. And I never did hear Basalone say his famous 'what'a wana do, live for ever?'. Maybe another war and place? The actors who played the other two looked alike to me, what with dirty faces, hemets, uniforms, etc. I rented it, while I have BoB, will not buy Pacific, for sure! Pearl Harbor I thought was good----it was not meant to be an accurate war movie---rather a love story with P.H. and the war as a backdrop (yes, I have a sentimental streak). Compare it to the Titanic in this way. Speaking of which I had a guy send an e-mail of "pictures never before seen" and the movie picture of Titanic was included, the one of the full wreck from some distance, like it was daylite, it was so clear! It even looked like the drawing it was. Another e-mail myth is born!

[kragluver]

The mini series was pretty good IMO, but I found Sledge's book With the Old Breed (one of the books upon which the mini-series was based) fantastic. It is one of the best 1st person combat accounts I've ever read. He sucks you into the utter depression and depravity that those men faced day after day. I rank it as one of my all time favorite books about the war.

[Guamsst]

And I never did hear Basalone say his famous 'what'a wana do, live for ever?'. Maybe another war and place?

Try Daniel Daly, USMC WW1.

[Griff Murphey]

Neither B of B or THE PACIFIC are good general entertainment for the mass of the American public. I think to appreciate THE PACIFIC it would be best to have read the book and/or at least have read some history about the Pacific War.

I was slightly disappointed that they left out the other main character, a Navy dive bomber pilot who was in every big battle from Midway on. But it would have been twice as long if they had done that. The pilot was a real hero... Pressed an attack while his SB2C was on FIRE dropped his bomb then DOVE and put the fire out. I knew a pilot who survived the event of flying that piece of junk (it was called "the BEAST") and that in itself was an act of heroism. It was a very unreliable plane and a terrible ditched.