| Genre: | War drama |
| Based On: | |
| Director: | Tim Van Patten David Nutter Jeremy Podeswa Graham Yost Carl Franklin Tony To[1] |
| Starring: | James Badge Dale Jon Seda Joseph Mazzello Rami Malek |
| Composer: | Hans Zimmer Geoff Zanelli Blake Neely |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Episodes: | 10 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Executive Producer: | Steven Spielberg Tom Hanks Gary Goetzman |
| Producer: | Cherylanne Martin Todd London Steven Shareshian |
| Runtime: | 47–58 minutes |
| Company: | HBO Entertainment DreamWorks Television Playtone |
| Budget: | $217 million[2] |
| Network: | HBO |
| First Aired: | [3] |
The Pacific is a 2010 American war drama miniseries produced by HBO, Playtone, and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010.
The series is a companion piece to the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers and focuses on the United States Marine Corps's actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations within the wider Pacific War. Whereas Band of Brothers followed the men of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment through the European Theater, The Pacific centers on the experiences of three Marines (Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone) who were in different regiments (1st, 5th, and 7th, respectively) of the 1st Marine Division.
The Pacific was spearheaded by Bruce C. McKenna (co-executive producer), one of the main writers on Band of Brothers. Hugh Ambrose, the son of Band of Brothers author Stephen Ambrose, was a project consultant.
The Pacific miniseries features the 1st Marine Division's battles in the Pacific, such as Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Peleliu, and Okinawa, as well as Basilone's involvement in the Battle of Iwo Jima. It is based primarily on the memoirs of two US Marines: With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge and Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie.[4] It also draws on Sledge's memoir China Marine[5] and Red Blood, Black Sand, the memoir of Chuck Tatum, a Marine who fought alongside Basilone at Iwo Jima.[6] [7]
The following actors played starring roles in multiple episodes and are split by the principal character they appear with. Characters from the different plot strands do occasionally interact, while Sidney Phillips serves with Leckie and is the best friend of Sledge.
The Pacific was produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman in association with HBO Miniseries, Playtone, DreamWorks, Seven Network and Sky Movies.[8] [9] Seven and Sky both invested in the project for the right to broadcast it in Australia and the United Kingdom respectively.[10] Nine Network has previously broadcast the HBO productions of Band of Brothers. Nine had a broadcast deal with HBO's parent Warner Bros., but then HBO started to distribute its productions separately.[11] In April 2007, the producers set up a production office in Melbourne and began casting.[12]
Originally the project was estimated at $100 million to produce, but ended up costing over $200 million, making The Pacific the most expensive television miniseries ever created at the time.[13] [14] [15] According to the Sydney Morning Herald an estimated A$134 million was spent in Australia.[16] The Australian newspaper Herald Sun estimates that it brought 4,000 jobs and generated A$180 million for the Australian economy.[17] Filming of the miniseries in Australia started on August 10, 2007,[18] and finished in late May 2008.[19] From August until November 2007[20] filming took place at locations in and around Port Douglas, Queensland including Mossman, Queensland;[21] Drumsara Plantation, Mowbray National Park and beaches at Rocky Point, Queensland. Production then moved to rural Victoria,[22] [23] in the You Yangs near Lara (from November–December 2007),[24] then at a sand quarry on Sandy Creek Road near Geelong until February 2008.[25] Melbourne city locations were used in late 2007 and through 2008 including Central City Studios at Melbourne Docklands (March 2008);[26] [27] Flinders Street (between Swanston and Elizabeth streets, February 1–4, 2008);[28] [29] the intersection of Swanston and Flinders streets (February 2008);[30] Flinders Street station (February 2–3, 2008).[31] Other suburban locations included Mornington Railway, Bundoora,[32] specifically the Ernest Jones Hall at the La Trobe University campus, Bundoora (late May 2008); the Railway Hotel, South Melbourne (December 2007);[33] Scotch College, Melbourne (December 2007); Melbourne High School (December 2007).[34]
The trains in the series, including K class and S class locomotives, and Club Car Moorabool, were chartered from Steamrail and the Mornington Railway Preservation Society, and were filmed with on the Mornington Railway.
The series's score was written by Hans Zimmer, Geoff Zanelli and Blake Neely and was released on March 9, 2010.[35]
Historian Hugh Ambrose, son of Band of Brothers author Stephen E. Ambrose, wrote the official tie-in book to the miniseries,[36] The Pacific: Hell was an Ocean Away (2011), which follows the stories of two of the featured men from the miniseries, Basilone and Sledge, as well as stories of Sledge's close friend Sidney Phillips and two men not featured in the series, marine officer Austin Shofner and US Navy pilot Vernon Micheel. The different cast provides a wider view of the Pacific theatre, allowing the book to include the fall of the Philippines, Midway, Philippine Sea and Luzon and expand the narrative to include depictions of life as experienced by prisoners of war, senior officers and the development of naval aviation. It was published in the UK and the US in March 2010 and Ambrose gave a webcast interview about the book at the Pritzker Military Library on April 15, 2010.[37] [38]
The series premiered in the US and Canada on March 14, 2010, on HBO.[39] HBO Asia premiered The Pacific at 9 pm on April 3, 2010, with the first two episodes being consecutively broadcast in the first week. Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia had dual languages available. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines broadcasts were available in high-definition on the HBO Asia HD Channel.[40] The Pacific began broadcast on April 5, 2010, on Sky Movies in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[41] In Portugal, the series was broadcast on April 5, 2010, on AXN and in HD on AXN HD two days after the original broadcast in the US. The series broadcast commenced in Australia on Channel 7 on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, at 8:30 pm.[42] In Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden, the series began broadcasting on Canal+; in Turkey, CNBC-e on April 18, 2010; in the Netherlands, on April 7, 2010, on Veronica; and in Greece, on Nova Cinema on April 10, 2010. In New Zealand, the series began broadcasting on April 12, 2010, on TV One. In Italy, the miniseries began broadcast on May 9, 2010, on Sky Cinema 1; in Germany, on July 15, 2010, on Kabel eins. In Japan, the miniseries started July 18, 2010, on WOWOW.[43] In South Africa, the miniseries started broadcasting on May 5, 2010, on the Mnet channel. In the US, the rights to the series were picked up by Ovation and it started airing sometime in 2019.
The first official US trailer for The Pacific aired on HBO before the season 2 premiere of True Blood on June 14, 2009. It showed footage of the three main characters, including a conversation between Leckie and Sledge, Basilone's marriage, and numerous combat scenes. The trailer concluded with "2010" displayed on-screen -alluding to and confirming the series release date. A second trailer was released on the HBO website after which the date "March 2010" is displayed, giving a more specific series release date. On January 14, 2010, Comcast added on-demand content from the series, including a scene from The Pacific, interviews with the producers, and character profiles.[44] Another trailer was shown in February 2010 during Super Bowl XLIV, depicting several combat scenes. An extended trailer (3:47) of the miniseries can be viewed on the series' official website.
The Pacific received widespread critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 89% with an average rating of 8.5 out of 10, based on 46 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "An honest, albeit horrifying, exploration of World War II, The Pacific is a visually stunning miniseries not for the faint of heart."[45] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[46]
Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 TV Series of 2010.[47] IGN reviewer Ramsey Isler gave the entire miniseries an 8.5 out of 10, saying, "Although I don't think The Pacific overtakes Band of Brothers in terms of technical execution and overall entertainment value, many of the comparisons will be moot as The Pacific is a different kind of series with different goals. This series sought to look beyond the combat and it paints a full, vivid picture of the war and the people that fought in it through focused, individual stories. That's a tall order for any series to fulfill, and although The Pacific doesn't always come through with shining colors, it does make an admirable effort."[48] IGN also reviewed each episode, with Episode 9 receiving a perfect 10 out of 10 score.[49]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artios Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Movie/Mini Series | Meg Liberman, Cami Patton, Christine King, and Jennifer Euston | [50] | |||
| Hollywood Post Alliance Awards | Outstanding Color Grading – Television | Steve Porter | [51] | |||
| IGN Summer Movie Awards | Best TV DVD or Blu-Ray | [52] | ||||
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Best DVD | [53] | ||||
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Motion Picture or Miniseries | [54] | ||||
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | James Badge Dale | |||||
| Joseph Mazzello | ||||||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Ashton Holmes | |||||
| Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | ||||||
| Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | ||||||
| Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | ||||||
| Best Cinematography in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Costume Design in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Editing in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Music in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Production Design in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Sound in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best Visual Effects in a Non-Series | ||||||
| Best New Titles Sequence | ||||||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Miniseries | Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Gary Goetzman, Tony To, Graham Yost, Eugene Kelly, Bruce C. McKenna, Cherylanne Martin, Todd London, Steven Shareshian, and Tim Van Patten | [55] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | ||||||
| Tim Van Patten | ||||||
| Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Robert Schenkkan and Michelle Ashford | |||||
| Bruce C. McKenna and Robert Schenkkan | ||||||
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie | Anthony Pratt, Dominic Hyman, Richard Hobbs, Scott Bird, Jim Millett, Rolland Pike, and Lisa Thompson | ||||
| Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Meg Liberman, Cami Patton, Christine King, Jennifer Euston, and Suzanne Smith | |||||
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie | ||||||
| Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Penny Rose and Ken Crouch | |||||
| Outstanding Main Title Design | Steve Fuller, Ahmet Ahmet, Peter Frankfurt, and Lauren Hartstone | |||||
| Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic) | Chiara Tripodi and Toni French | |||||
| Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Jason Baird, Sean Genders, Jac Charlton, Chad Atkinson, Ben Rittenhouse, Steve Katz, Robert Charlton, and Greg Nicotero | |||||
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score) | Blake Neely, Geoff Zanelli, and Hans Zimmer | |||||
| Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie | Edward A. Warschilka | |||||
| Alan Cody | ||||||
| Alan Cody and Marta Evry | ||||||
| Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Tom Bellfort, Benjamin L. Cook, Daniel S. Irwin, Hector C. Gika, Charles Maynes, Paul Aulicino, John C. Stuver, David Williams, Michelle Pazer, John Finklea, Jody Thomas, and Katie Rose | |||||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie | Andrew Ramage, Michael Minkler, and Daniel J. Leahy | |||||
| Andrew Ramage, Michael Minkler, Daniel J. Leahy, and Craig Mann | ||||||
| Gary Wilkins, Michael Minkler, Daniel J. Leahy, and Marc Fishman | ||||||
| Gary Wilkins, Michael Minkler, and Daniel J. Leahy | ||||||
| Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | John E. Sullivan, Joss Williams, David Taritero, Peter Webb, Dion Hatch, John P. Mesa, Jerry Pooler, and Paul Graff | |||||
| John E. Sullivan, Joss Williams, David Taritero, David Goldberg, Angelo Sahin, Marco Recuay, William Mesa, Chris Bremble, and Jerry Pooler | ||||||
| Satellite Awards | Best Miniseries | [56] | ||||
| Television Critics Association Awards | [57] | |||||
| American Cinema Editors Awards | Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television | Marta Evry and Alan Cody | [58] | |||
| American Film Institute Awards | Top 10 Television Programs | [59] | ||||
| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries | Stephen F. Windon | [60] | ||||
| Australian Cinematographers Society Awards | Drama or Comedy Series & Telefeatures | Stephen F. Windon | [61] | |||
| Cinema Audio Society Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Mini-Series | Andrew Ramage, Michael Minkler, and Daniel J. Leahy | [62] | |||
| Andrew Ramage, Michael Minkler, Daniel J. Leahy, and Craig Mann | ||||||
| Gary Wilkins, Michael Minkler, Daniel J. Leahy, and Marc Fishman | ||||||
| Gary Wilkins, Michael Minkler, and Daniel J. Leahy | ||||||
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries | Penny Rose | [63] | |||
| Critics' Choice Awards | Best Picture Made for Television | [64] | ||||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries | David Nutter and Jeremy Podeswa | [65] | |||
| Jeremy Podeswa | ||||||
| Tim Van Patten | ||||||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | [66] | ||||
| Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Long Form Dialogue and ADR in Television | Tom Bellfort, Daniel S. Irwin, John C. Stuver, Michael Hertlein, Michelle Pazer, and David Williams | [67] | |||
| Best Sound Editing - Long Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television | Tom Bellfort, Hector C. Gika, Paul Aulicino, Benjamin L. Cook, Charles Maynes, Katherine Rose, and Jody Thomas | |||||
| Guild of Music Supervisors Awards | Best Music Supervision for Movie of the Week | Deva Anderson and Evyen Klean | ||||
| Evyen Klean | ||||||
| Humanitas Prize | 60 Minute Network or Syndicated Television | Bruce C. McKenna and Robert Schenkkan | [68] | |||
| Imagen Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Television | Jon Seda | [69] | |||
| Best Actor – Television | [70] | |||||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | [71] | ||||
| Peabody Awards | A Playtone and DreamWorks Productions in association with HBO Miniseries | [72] | ||||
| Prism Awards | Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries | James Badge Dale | [73] | |||
| Producers Guild of America Awards | David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Eugene Kelly, Todd London, Cherylanne Martin, Bruce C. McKenna, Steven Shareshian, Steven Spielberg, Tony To, Tim Van Patten, and Graham Yost | [74] | |||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special | John Sullivan, David Taritero, William Mesa, and Marco Requay | [75] | |||
| Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Program | Marco Recuay, Morgan McDermott, and Nicholas Lund-Ulrich | |||||
| Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial | Jeremy Nelson, John P. Mesa, Dan Novy, and Tyler Cote | |||||
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Television Programs | [76] | ||||
In 2011, HBO aired a documentary entitled He Has Seen War with Tom Hanks as executive producer and Mark Herzog as a director about the postwar stories of and lasting effects of the war, including post-traumatic stress disorder, on not only 1st Marine Division members but also the members of E ("Easy") Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, who were the subjects of Band of Brothers after fighting in Operation Overlord in Normandy (including Brécourt Manor on D-Day and Carentan), in Operation Market Garden and Operation Pegasus in the Netherlands and in the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.
Eugene Sledge's and Robert Leckie's families both appear, as does the family of Easy Company 1st Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton. Staff Sergeant William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey, both of Easy Company, also appear alongside their families.[77] [78] [79]
Further reading