I didn't know if I would like "The Pacific" or not, but I knew
that it was supposed to be good. I also know that was very popular because when
it was airing, it was everywhere on TV. I mean, we went to bars or restaurants,
and there it was, and everyone was talking about it. I did not see "Band of
Brothers". I don't have HBO. However, I do have the DVD of The Pacific now, so I
watched it. It is long, at 10 hours, but it does not drag. The 10 hours went
pretty quickly.
The miniseries is about servicemen fighting in the Pacific against the Japanese
during World War II. It is about their struggles more than about the actual war.
Of course, there are many battle scenes, but the more interesting parts are
before, between, and after the battles. It focuses mostly on three main
characters: Robert (James Badge Dale), a newspaper writer in the army; Eugene
(Joseph Mazzello), a young guy whose doctor father does not want him to join the
army, but he eventually does; and John (Jon Seda), a career marine. These were
real people that fought in the war. Two of them wrote books and the other one
was famous, so they had lots of material to use.
John is a hero during the battle of Guadalcanal, so they give him a medal and
then make him come home and do films, radio, and personal appearances in order
to sell more war bonds. He is not comfortable being at home while others are
fighting, nor does he like his sudden fame (although he gets lots of women
because of it). Eventually, he falls for a nurse, and they get married, but he
goes off to fight the war again. Eugene starts out eager to "kill some Japs" but
the war quickly disgusts him and eventually hardens him. Robert writes about the
war and then goes a little crazy for a while as he has to deal with hardships
and horrors. He falls for an Australian woman, but she breaks it off with him
because she's afraid he'll die and break her (and her parents') heart. I won't
tell you more and ruin the plot, but suffice it to say that it is a very
engaging story.
If you don't like to watch depressing stories, or ones with blood and gore, you
will not like this too much. It's about war, so it does not shy away from
showing the horrors of war. Even though this was one of our more "noble" wars,
it is still war, and terrible, especially for the people who fought in it. At
the end of the movie, they show the real soldiers and what happened to them
after the war (most of them are dead now). It was very interesting to see that
the actors they chose looked a lot like the original soldiers. And by the way,
the acting is top notch in the movie. They all do an exceptional job.
My only complaint about the movie is that they did not show any non-white
soldiers or other people (at least that I saw). African-Americans did
participate in the war in the Pacific, and they should have shown them in the
movie. It's kind of a slap in the face to them, not to mention Latinos and
others who fought. The only ethnicity they showed were Italians.
Where have all the black soldiers gone?
The DVD set is very nice. It comes in a metal box, made to look like something
that's been carried around or sat around for a long time. It has a very nice
fold-out cardboard set inside for the DVD's. The extras are very good. You can
choose to watch the movie with a historical perspective, and that is very
worthwhile and education. There are three features. One goes through each of the
characters and has many veterans, as well as the actors and other crew, talking
about them. "Making the Pacific" talks about how they made the movie. Tom Hanks
and Steven Spielberg were behind this, so they speak about it, as well as the
other producer, Gary Goetzman, and the other crew and actors. For "Anatomy of
the Pacific War", the last feature, they also bring out experts on the war and
on the Japanese. I would say, take it with a grain of salt and do your own
research on the war, especially with regards to what happened before the war and
the attack on Pearl Harbor. That is just a small caveat. They did do a great job
with the features, and they even have closed-captioning (which is not always the
case on DVD sets).
Anyway, though, this is a great set and would make a wonderful gift for anyone,
but especially people in the military or their families, or people who like
military stuff, or the elderly that were around during World War II.
Buy it on
Blu-ray
Official
Site
HBO's The Pacific Comes to DVD and Blu-ray on November 2
Fresh off the conclusion of the critically acclaimed 10-part
miniseries,
The Pacific will make its way to DVD/Blu-ray just in time for the
holidays
on November 2, 2010.
From the creative minds of Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary
Goetzman, this six-disc set from HBO Home Entertainment will give
fans a
chance to relive this historic series in addition to viewing
never-before-seen bonus features!
"Mesmerizing...never less than spellbinding...haunting" - New York
Times
"Stunning...a perfect trinity of action, emotion and intellect" - The
Wall
Street Journal
"One of the stellar TV events of the year" (Newsday)
Becomes the Home Entertainment Event of the Year When
THE PACIFIC
The Epic 10-Part, Critically-Acclaimed HBO(r) Miniseries, Releases on
DVD and Blu-rayTM November 2, 2010
Exclusive Bonus Content Includes Extensive Historical Backgrounds, a
'Making Of,' Profiles
of the Real Marines of The Pacific, Enhanced Viewing, Field Guides
and
Much More!
New York, N.Y., June 4, 2010 - One of the most anticipated home
entertainment releases of the year - The Pacific - premieres day and
date on DVD and Blu-ray on November 2, 2010, perfectly timed for the
holidays. Exclusively from HBO Home Entertainment(r), the six-disc
DVD
and Blu-ray sets include all 10 parts of the acclaimed miniseries,
along
with a wealth of exciting bonus materials for the suggested retail
price
of $79.99 and $99.98 respectively.
Hailed by critics nationwide as "brilliant" (Entertainment Weekly),
"universally excellent" (Los Angeles Times), and "magnificent...a
bloody
masterpiece" (TV Guide), The Pacific is a Playtone and DreamWorks
production executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary
Goetzman, the team behind the Emmy(r) Award-winning and Golden
Globe(r)-winning 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers(r), the best
selling
TV on DVD of all time. Hanks and Goetzman also executive produced
the HBO
miniseries John Adams, which won a record-breaking 13 Emmys(r) in
2008.
The Pacific tracks the real-life journeys of three U.S. Marines -
Robert
Leckie (James Badge Dale, The Departed), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello,
The
Sensation of Sight) and John Basilone (Jon Seda, Close to Home) -
across
the vast canvas of the Pacific theater during World War II. The
miniseries follows these men and their fellow Marines from their
first
battle with the Japanese on Guadalcanal, through the rain forests of
Cape
Gloucester and the strongholds of Peleliu, across the bloody sands of
Iwo
Jima, through the horror of Okinawa, and finally to their triumphant
but
uneasy return home after V-J Day.
The Pacific on DVD is overflowing with exclusive and informative
content
that will further enrich the audience's understanding of the war.
The
viewer will learn more about the events of the Pacific theater and
the
real Marines depicted in the miniseries, and will have access to a
more
in-depth look at the making of this epic event. Features include:
* "Historical Backgrounds" - the five-minute prologues that set
the
stage for each episode and additional historical footage narrated by
Tom
Hanks.
* "Making The Pacific" - go behind the scenes and take an
inside
look at the making of this epic, 10-part miniseries.
* "Profiles of The Pacific" - delve into the lives of the real
Marines featured in The Pacific. Get a personal perspective on their
families, their war experience and their lives after the war in these
intimate portraits.
* "Anatomy of The Pacific War" - explore the historical
influences
and cultural perceptions that led to the merciless brutality in the
Pacific theater of World War II.
Presented in HD 1080p video and DTS-HD master audio, The Pacific on
Blu-ray elevates the viewing experience to the ultimate level. It
contains all the bonus materials found on the DVD version, along with
two
interactive companion features that maximize the use of Blu-ray
technology
and provide a superior viewing experience to the miniseries or DVD
alone.
These engaging and extensive features will captivate audiences and
allow
fans to delve deeper into the historical details behind the war and
provide enhanced insight into the lives and experiences of the
Marines
through exclusive, first-hand accounts. Features include:
* "The Pacific Enhanced Viewing" - the ultimate viewing
companion
to The Pacific. Learn more about the Marines and gain a deeper
historical
understanding of the battles while watching the miniseries with
Enhanced
Viewing, a 10-part, 10-hour, picture-in-picture experience.
Exclusive
content includes interviews with historians and veterans, archival
footage, maps and more.
* "The Pacific Field Guide" - allows viewers to navigate
through the
major events featured in The Pacific in this standalone, interactive
Field
Guide. Search within for categories to view exclusive content
including
animated maps, extensive interviews with historians and veterans,
historical footage, photographs and more.
The miniseries is based in part on the books Helmet for My Pillow by
Robert Leckie and With the Old Breed by Eugene B. Sledge, with
additional material from Red Blood, Black Sand by Chuck Tatum and
China
Marine by Eugene B. Sledge, as well as original interviews conducted
by
the filmmakers.
Marketing Campaign
The Pacific will be supported a multi-million dollar, multi-media
advertising and promotional campaign.
The Pacific
DVD & Blu-ray Disc Street Date: November 2, 2010
Order Date: September 28, 2010
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Approx. 530 minutes (excluding bonus features)
Price: $79.99 SD SRP
Price: $99.98 BD SRP
About HBO Home Entertainment(r)
In its 25 years in operation, HBO Home Entertainment has earned a
worldwide reputation as a pioneer in the DVD industry as well as the
digital technology and Internet frontiers. The first company to
successfully release full-length TV series in the DVD format, HBO
Home
Entertainment created a new category for consumers with titles like
Sex
and the City(r), The Sopranos(r), Band of Brothers(r) (which remains
the
#1 selling TV-on-DVD since its release in 2002), and the most recent
hit
True Blood(r). In addition, HBO Home Entertainment's catalog contains
theatrical features such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, one of the top
10
selling DVDs of all time. The company was also the first in the
world to
release television programming in the new Blu-ray high-definition
format
in 2006. It was also one of the first in the video industry to use
the
Internet to expand its marketing beyond traditional vehicles and to
revolutionize DVD packaging with the creation of releases that have
won
multiple awards including a recent DVD Critics Award for The
Sopranos(r):
The Complete Series - a first for television. In addition, the
division
utilizes innovative manufacturing-on-demand technology to broaden its
number of releases and sells digital versions of its titles via the
Internet. Today, HBO Home Entertainment's reach has grown to over 70
countries around the world, bringing HBO branded entertainment to a
global
audience.
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