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After leaving the treacherous hills of Peleliu, a battle not widely reported or documented, the Marines know that the fight will become tooth and nail as they get closer to the Japanese mainland. A while back I’d mentioned that all of these islands in the pacific are suprisingly absent of civilians, well in part nine there are plenty civilian casualties, as some get caught in the crossfire, get mistaken for the enemy, or are themselves used as weapons. Again Eugene Sledge is in the forefront and like Merrill ‘Snafu’ Shelton, he comes close to the edge but manages to maintain his sanity and show some compassion for a fatally wounded Okinawan woman. I mentioned in last week’s review that the series creators aren’t shy about showing the profane language and camaraderie amongst the men, but it is taken to the extreme under the extreme conditions, new recruits are constantly hastled, but even the hardened veterans start turning on eachother. It’s hard to imagine a more darker epsidoe after the past two but part nine is the full maturity of Sledge and Joe Mazzalo does a great job carrying the episode. At the end we’re informed of the use of nuclear weapons and know the war’s end is not far off, which leaves a curious sense of relief but also questions about the sacrifices already made. The latter theme is dealt with very well in part ten, with all parties returning home after stays in hospital or short occupational posts. Robert Leckie returns from the hospital to his awkward family, and manages to court his neighbour Vera, the one he had been writing letters to, none of which he actually sent though. His return is almost in some kind of emotional vacuum, his parents are distant and he himself only makes a vague attempt at expressing his feelings, acting as if he might say something about the war cause, but instead makes a joke out of it. Sledge’s return on the other hand is much more compelling, you share a lot of sympathy with him because you sense he is bearing on of the heaviest loads of the service men and women returning from the war, and no one around him, aside from his father, has the faintest idea of what he’s going through. Again Mazzalo is fantastic, he’s able to pull the audience in and lay bear the emotional baggage when Sledge breaks down while on a hunt with his father. He also does a good job expressing his survivor’s guilt while at a dance in his hometown. It’s a very well done ending, in other war films and series the hardships on returning home are often left out. At the end we get a synopsis of what happened to all the veterans, but watching it you feel as if you didn’t get to know a lot of the other characters enough, and in retrospect the story wasn’t as fluid as the companion series Band of Brothers. It had to be different, but I would have been happy with twice as many episodes, despite the chronology the filmmaking is absolutely top notch, spectactular and I think, a fitting tribute.
The Pacific: Review of Episodes 9 & 10
The Pacific: Review of Episodes 7 & 8
Part seven of the HBO mini series The Pacific sees Sledge and the Fifth Marines continue the fight for Peleliu after having taken the airfield in part six. Whereas the last episode marked Sledge’s birth by fire, this episode observes as he and his comrades turn into (or back into) a bunch “raggedy-ass Marines.” Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Japanese have built an extensive tunnel network, and fighting in the hills above the airfield is tedious, deadly and demoralizing; the round-the-clock, close quarters combat takes its toll physically and psychologically. For a lot of Marines this is familiar territory but Sledge begins a steep descent from a God-fearing southern boy into a deeply troubled young man. He even makes an attempt at getting a dead soldiers gold teeth, but Snafu, perhaps realizing that he’s in part responsible for his comrades change in behaviour, talks him out of it. The constant loss of life, and eventually the death of Captain Andrew Haldane, who was liked and respected amongst the troops, contributes to low point in morale. Even Sgt. “Gunny” Haney, the most experienced and probably hardest Marine in the whole division, breaks under the extreme pressure. When they are finally relieved and return to Pavuvu they’re greeted by women clad in shining whites distributing lemonade, and the troops, tired and bewildered, take their time (and a good look at the girls). A soldier with the ladies asks Sledge and his pals to move along, he quickly gets death stares from the whole platoon and we watch as his the blood drains from his face. While all war films are gritty and realistic, I think HBO did a great job depicting the temperment and conduct of the soliders, in fact nothing in the whole series is sugar coated or toned down. In part seven Basilone is getting bored on the bond drive and it sets up part eight and the battle for Iwo Jima.
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The Pacific: Review of Episodes 5 & 6
Parts five and six of the series mark the halfway point in the series. Up until this point the fighting has been rather stationary, with the Americans taking positions and holding them, with much success. Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) and some other newly minted Marines arrive on Pavuvu, where he finds his pal Sidney Phillips (Ashton Holmes) from back home who is noticeably more weathered and jaded. The reunion seems a bit strained and one begins to wonder how this spring chicken from Mobile, Alabama is going to fit in with his battle-hardened brothers in arms. Leckie return to his unit as well and he and Sledge even chat about books and God in particular, in what will hopefully not be the last time the paths of the three main characters cross.
The 1st Marine Division leaves the crabs on Pavuvu to fight the Japanese on Peleilu and Sledge gets his first combat experience and shows his worth, managing to earn the respect of the veterans, even the war weary and almost expressionless Merriell “Snafu” Shelton (Rami Malek) offers to trade tuna with Sledge. This reminded me David Webster struggling to be accepted back by his regiment in Band of Brothers, though not to the same extent where the other characters start to become unlikable. While the war rages on,the hero of Guadalcanal John Basilone is back home in the States “selling bonds and dickin’ blondes.” The battle scenes in this part are far more impressive, although the acting seems to suffer, the meetings Sledge has with Leckie and with Phillips feel forced and unnatural. The action however is first rate, the beach landing is a wild a deadly ride which is superbly shot.
In part six the fighting continues, with the troops fighting thirst and exhaustion in addition to the well positioned Japanese who have taken a break from simply throwing themselves on the sword (as in the first few episodes). This time around it is the Americans who are making a difficult advance to try and take control of an airfield and there are a lot of casualties, despite being able to reach their objective. They end up camping out in some blown out buildings and in looking back it occurs to me that with the exception of Australia, virtually all of the Pacific islands visited so far seem to be entirely uninhabited, save for the soldiers themselves. I’m sure most people hit the road as the war broke out but there seems to be little proof that anybody lived on them before they became battlegrounds. In any case one begins to realize the logistical nightmare and the high price of progress in the Pacific theatre. Leckie and comrade Wilbur Conley can count themselves lucky to be in one piece and on a boat headed for home. It was an episode with some pretty intense fighting and there is only more to come, it will be interesting to see how Leckie and Basilone get brought back into the action.
The Pacific: Review of Episodes 3 & 4
Just over a week ago I covered the first two episodes of The Pacific, HBO’s series on the Pacific theatre of World War II. After four months on Guadalcanal the troops finally get some hard earned reprieve and a hero’s welcome in Melbourne. They are treated as the saviours of Australia, but not everybody is thrilled about the presence of the Marines, namely the few lads left down under whose compatriots have been fighting the war for a few years already. One sour soldier decides to mention said frustration just as Basilone and Morgan are toasting a fallen comrade. Blows are exchanged and a round of drinks is ordered for the ‘Cowboy Yanks’ to cool everyone’s tempers. Just as in Band of Brothers, you get beaten over the head with the vernacular of the Australians and British; slow, clear (but heavily accented) pronunciation and the overuse of slang to refer to their American comrades. ‘Hey Allan, another round of drinks for Uncle Sam’s Yankee-Doodle Cowboys.’ That wasn’t in there but you get the idea.
Despite the over-the-top Aussies Melbourne is the equivalent of heaven on earth. They’ve done a great job recreating the city at that time, with old trams and neat townhouses. It really is gorgeous and provides the backdrop for the Marines’ booze fest and tail chase, with all of the main characters having to put in various of degrees of effort trying to get their broads into the sack. Leckie meets the daughter of a first generation family originally from Greece, who take him in with heart and soul, only to be dumped later by his girlfriend out of fear he might never return. Basilone is informed he’ll receive the Medal of Freedom for his bravery on Gaudalcanal. Leckie gets into trouble for the first time (on video he mentioned that he got promoted and demoted so often they should have had a zipper for his chevrons), and Basilone gets sent home to bang the war drum and raise money.
In part four the troops are sent back into the field on the isalnd of New Britain at Cape Gloucester, once again the outnumbered Japanese throw themselves on the sword and the troops end up battling the elements more than the enemy. Some are driven to insanity and Leckie develops enuresis, or bedwetting from the stress. Even out of combat the troops have to deal with rats and crabs. Leckie gets sent to a hospital which is actually more of a looney bin and gets a break, a coke and burger and manages to stay dry and asks to be sent back to his unit. I agree with another reviewer in that I find Leckie to be a likeable guy, somewhat unpolished but genuine. It’s going to be interesting to see how they devleop, and how they cope; we’re not half-way through this thing yet and and the hardships and pressure being faced is already immense.
The Pacific: Review of Episodes 1 & 2
As promised in that other post, I’ve written a review of the first two parts of The Pacific, the HBO mini series following three marines through the Pacific theatre of World War II. Executive producer Tom Hanks narrates the opening of each episode which features original footage and maps. We also get to hear from the veterans themselves, as they describe in their own words what they were thinking or what they knew going into the war. Unlike the companion series Band of Brothers, The Pacific wastes no time jumping into the action. We catch up with the troops just before they’re about to ship off, as they’re taking in Christmas and saying their goodbye’s. In the first two episodes we’re introduced to the three main characters: Robert Leckie, John Basilone and Eugene Sledge, the latter is unable to join up due to a heart murmur. In the first episode Leckie and the 1st Marines land on Guadalcanal, one of the Soloman Islands with an airfield in striking distance of supply lines to Australia.
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The Pacific Update
Although the first two hours have already aired in the United States, viewers in the United Kingdom will have to wait until Monday night to catch The Pacific, a World War II mini-series about three U.S. Marines and their exploits in the Pacific theatre. The series is a companion to the very successful Band of Brothers, also from HBO (I’d like to see them start up Rome again, but I’m not holding my breath). In case you didn’t know, HBO is like a blockbuster grindhouse, see The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, etc., but this is a no-brainer and initial reviews are good. I don’t think I can wait until Easter Monday so a review of the first two episodes will likely come before they air on this side of the pond, but we’ll see. The series runs 10 episodes like it’s companion and is shot in HD, so there will be plenty of jaw-dropping action in the weeks to come.
