With the success of “Band of Brothers”, HBO turned to the Pacific Theater for a new WWII miniseries. Instead of following one unit, like BoB, this series concentrates on three Marines. Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello), and John Basilone (Jon Seda). They served in the 1st, 5th, and 7th Marine Regiments in the 1st Marine Division. The screenplay was partly based on Leckie’s “Helmet for My Pillow” and Sledge’s “With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa”. The miniseries covers the Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Peleliu, and Okinawa campaigns. It was budgeted at $100 million, but ended up costing more than $200 million, making it the most expensive miniseries up to then. It was filmed in Australia. The series was critically acclaimed and won the Emmy for Best Miniseries and seven others.
EPISODE 1 (Guadalcanal/Leckie) - The series opens with narration by Tom Hanks outlining the situation in December, 1941. Pearl Harbor had been attacked and the Japanese were building a strategically threatening air field on Guadalcanal. We are introduced to the three main characters. Robert Leckie is a middle-class intellectual who goes to war because it’s the thing to do. John Basilone is a career Marine. Eugene Sledge desperately wants to get into the fight, but a heart murmur prevents his enlistment. The episode quickly has Leckie and his buddies landing on Guadalcanal. There is no immediate contact, in fact the first death is friendly fire on a pissing Marine. The opening battle is a night banzai charge which sets the stage for the visceral combat common in the series. The aftermath of the battle also establishes the theme of racism and the dehumanization created by war. Leckie is established as one of the few Marines who is not corrupted by the racism. The series gets the camaraderie and soldier talk right. At the end of the episode, Basilone arrives on the island with “Chesty” Puller.
Grade = A
EPISODE 2 (Basilone) - This
episode continues on Guadalcanal with Leckie and Basilone. An intense naval bombardment is featured. The Army arrives and to contrast how the two
branches were treated, Leckie and others steal from an Army supply depot. The scene points out that the soldiers were
given better weapons than the Marines.
The episode is dominated by the incident where Basilone earns his Medal
of Honor, but loses one of his best friends.
Later, he speaks of the randomness of death. He gets third degree wounds from carrying his
sizzling machine gun barrel. It is part
of an amazing night battle that is among the best combat scenes ever shot. Admirably, the film does not copy the “Saving
Private Ryan” style, but has its own look and feel. Themes include the mental and physical
exhaustion of battle. Another is that
the Japanese make suicidal frontal attacks.
This foreshadows future combat.
Meanwhile back in the States, Sledge is finally going to get to enlist.
The episode ends with the conclusion of the battle. Although the episode features Chesty Puller,
it does not give the big picture of the battle.
The episode is great for showing the nature of the combat in the early
stages, but is not interested in the big picture. One problem with the episode is it does not
show some of the hardships the men endured -
rain, mud, critters, etc. Grade = A
EPISODE 3 (Melbourne) - The series moves to Australia as both Leckie’s and Basilone’s units recuperate and then retrain. There is lots of fraternization and drinking. Leckie hooks up with a beautiful lass and becomes part of her family. The relationship develops rapidly because this being HBO there has to be a sex scene. The girl is all in until she shocks Leckie with a jilting that hits him hard. This may be a true story, but it does avoid the cliches of a wartime romance. And highlights how painful it was to get a letter telling you that a loved one died or seeing the name of someone you knew in the newspaper list of casualties. Meanwhile, Basilone is awarded his Medal of Honor and told he will be going stateside for a bond tour. The episode ends with Basilone saying goodbye to his best friend. This nicely taps into the bromances that occur with men who have gone through combat together. Themes include the temporariness of wartime romances and the disconnect between the frontlines and the rear areas. Combat junkies can skip this episode. It should keep females viewing. Grade = B-
EPISODE 4 (Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika) - This episode concentrates on Leckie. It highlights the excellent performance of James Badge Dale. He is off to Cape Gloucester on New Britain. The campaign is extremely hard on morale mainly due to the almost constant rain. There is one awesome night engagement which is in a different style than the Guadalcanal combat. Mostly quick cuts. The episode continues to develop the racist attitude of the two sides. When one of Leckies friends says “They must be either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid”, Leckie responds: “Or they really hate us.” Ironically, the episode shows Marines killing wounded Japanese, so the hatred goes both ways. Leckie gets in trouble with his commanding officer when the Lt. steals a chest from “Lucky”. Rank has its privileges. To make matters worse, Leckie develops a urination problem which causes him to wet his bed. He is transferred to a hospital which is mostly for PTSD patients. At the hospital, he encounters a buddy named Gibson who is there because he cracked. It’s not a fun place, but he’s released back to his unit after a couple of weeks because he insists on returning to his unit. Bros before hos, burgers, cokes, and clean sheets. Themes in this one are the effects of weather on soldiers and the results of combat stress. Grade = B
EPISODE 5 (Peleliu Landing) - We get a brief look at Basilone as he begins his bond tour accompanied by a celebrity blond. In a funny scene, some guys ask for Basilone’s autograph, ignoring the beautiful movie star. Sledge arrives as a green mortarman and is greeted with disdain by his new mates. One of the mortar crewmen is destined to play the role of company jerk (nicknamed “Snafu”). Leckie returns and implausibly meets Sledge. It’s the naïve, intellectual meeting his future cynical self. They discuss God with Sledge being a believer and Leckie wondering why God is such a sadist. The big set piece is the invasion of Peleliu. It is a tour de force that is one of the best combat scenes ever. We follow Sledge in on his amphtrac and then inland. The scene is obviously influenced by “Saving Private Ryan”, but differs in that it focuses on one individual (Sledge) and uses a lot of hand-held and closeups. Kudos to the cameramen who went into “combat” with the actors. Since this is Sledge’s first time in combat, we get the perspective of what it would be like for us to be in combat for the first time. Leckie arrives a little later and the scene shifts back and forth between them. This scene tops any of the combat scenes in “Band of Brothers”. Snafu gets the honor of being the Marine that collects gold teeth from Japanese corpses. The episode closes with the night of the first day. It’s a night full of fireworks. The set with light from the fires is very impressive. Grade = A+
EPISODE 6 (Peleliu Airfield) - Picks up where Ep 5 left off with both Sledge and Leckie on the perimeter of the air field. The next day the Marines launch a typical frontal assault to take the field and its main Japanese-infested building. The cinematography carries over from Ep 6, but is even more graphic with several dismemberments. Most females will have only fond memories of Leckie’s romance at this point. There is lots of artillery fire. The men run a gauntlet of fire and steel. Leckie has to run the gauntlet back to seek a medic and is wounded in the process. He ends up on a hospital ship. Sledge rescues Snafu and begins to get some cred (and the new nickname “Sledgehammer”). After capturing the air field, Sledge’s unit moves on to the next obstacle – a heavily fortified ridge-line. Themes include the randomness of death and the pressures that make men crack in combat. The episode includes a scene where one of Sledge’s mates shares his half-full canteen. Although the men are desperate for water, they each only take one gulp, despite their bodies begging for more. The lack of water was a serious issue on Peleliu in the early days of the battle. Exhaustion was also a problem. In one scene, the men are offered dexadrine (a type of amphetamine) to keep them artificially alert. Speaking of sleep, the series often shows Marines using their helmets as pillows. Leckie entitled his book “Helmet for a Pillow”. The episode is excellent in showing that hardship, but stays micro in its coverage of the battle. It is nice that this forgotten battle gets its due in “The Pacific”, but the screenwriters decided to leave the audience unaware of what a fiasco the invasion was. As you watch the carnage on your tv, you do not get the added heartbreak of being told the invasion of the island was not necessary and thus the deaths of all those Marines were a waste. Grade = A
EPISODE 7 (Peleliu Hills) - Still on Peliliu, Sledge gets deeper into the Hell of the miserable island. The Japanese are holed up in caves in a Hellish environment. Flamethrowers make their first appearance. Days pass in a montage using Sledge’s journal to mark the passing weeks. Turns out being on a mortar crew is not that safe, especially when you “volunteer” for stretcher duty. At one point, Sledge is helping carry a wounded friend when the friend is killed on the stretcher. The big set piece is the taking of a bunker. The use of a flamethrower results in the line “let the bastards burn” (where have I heard that before?). The hardships are incredible and the men look totally exhausted. How bad is it? The Gunnery Sergeant cracks! The men are developing a tight bond with and adulation of their leader (the “Skipper”). Premonition alert. We get the famous “pebbles in the Jap skull” incident from Sledge’s book. That is just one of numerous gruesome dead bodies. The smell must have been horrendous, but the men seem to be used to it. In spite of all this, they still can laugh at a mate who is attacked when he is trying to take a shit. Themes include the dehumanization of civilized men by combat and the strong bonds that develop in war. Also, war corrupts even the most moral soldiers. To show this, Sledge starts smoking and briefly contemplates taking gold teeth. Grade = A+
Note: The three episodes on Peliliu are unmatched for sustained combat. But it Is not combat porn and the narrative is just as strong as the combat. They were an incredible filmmaking achievement with the most amazing sets ever seen in a war movie or miniseries. I just shook my head throughout wondering why they were even on that accursed island!
EPISODE 8 (Iwo Jima) - Sledge’s unit is taken out of combat. This episode will be Basilone-centric. He is chafing on his bond tour and itching to get back into combat. The Marines reluctantly grant his request and he begins to train a new machine gun crew. In the meantime, he falls in love with a feisty, hard-to-get field cook. They are married and deserve to live happily ever after. Suddenly we are in the thick of the landing on Iwo Jima. Basilone is doing his Rambo imitation in cinematography reminiscent of “Band of Brother”’ this time. The action frenetic, violent, and graphic. The scene on Iwo Jima is in the top 5 combat scenes in war movie history. Once again we have combat that makes you wonder how could men go through that without quiting. And it makes me wonder if our current Army and Marines could do that. Basilone’s death is heart-breaking. Especially because he selfishly put himself ahead of his marriage. There was absolutely no reason for him to be there. War movies sometimes make heroes of men who were in fact selfish towards the ones they loved. Themes include even the greatest warriors sometimes run up against the odds and warriors will be warriors. Not to mention that true love can be ephemeral. Grade = B
EPISODE 9 (Okinawa) - Sledge is sent to Okinawa with his unit replacing an Army unit. This episode concentrates on the difference between replacements and veterans. Sledge and Snafu have to deal with a naïve private named Hamm who gradually earns their respect by trying to do what’s right and standing up to their hazing. Hamm represents the green Sledge and his unrusted humanity is contrasted to Sledge’s descent into wanting to kill all Japs. The episode has a dominoes falling subplot involving Snafu’s “trading” his old, hole-filled pancho for a newbie’s brand new one. This will have tragic results. This episode also focuses a lot on the effect of war on civilians. The combat has a no man’s land feel to it with the Japanese civilians caught in the middle. There is an incident where Japanese use civilians as human shields. Some of the grittiest battle scenes occur in this episode plus the added affronts to humanity. The set is amazing - full of mud and dead bodies. Sledge goes to the edge of barbarism, but pulls back from the brink in a heartbreaking scene involving a dying woman in a hut Sledge had hit with a mortar round. This is the best episode of the series and the acting by Joseph Mazello and Raimi Malek is outstanding. Grade = A+
EPISODE 10 (Home) - The war is over and Leckie is convalescing in a hospital. Sledge is still on Okinawa, but has been out of combat for weeks. He and Snafu celebrate the wars end. Leckie returns home and starts dating the girl next door and renews his career as a journalist. Lena visits Basilone’s family and they have some bitter sweet moments. Sledge returns to his caring parents, but is suffering from PTSD and has trouble adjusting to civilian life. This episode is a lackluster post script to the series. Grade = C
