After the Japanese surrender, Leckie, healed from his wounds, leaves the hospital and returns home, while Sledge heads back to Alabama to be reunited with his family and Sid Phillips. Lena visits Basilone’s home and has an emotional meeting with his family. Leckie adjusts to post-war life by resuming his old job and starting a new relationship, but for Sledge, unsure why he survived the war seemingly unscathed, adjustment will require more time.
After battling across the island of Okinawa for over a month, Sledge and the rest of the 1st Marine Division are ordered to relieve an Army division that has been in combat against the most strongly defended Japanese position on the island. The primordial conditions and the moral dilemma posed by the presence of civilians put tremendous strain on the physical and psychological endurance of Sledge and the other Marines.
Coming up on Episode Eight of The Pacific: Increasingly frustrated by his role campaigning for war bonds, Basilone convinces the Marines to allow him to train troops headed for combat. Transferred to Camp Pendleton, he enjoys a whirlwind romance with an initially reluctant female Marine, Lena Riggi. But the couple know they are living on borrowed time, as Basilone is soon to take part in the Marine landing on Iwo Jima.
Post your thoughts on the show by joining us in The Pacific messageboard here.
Coming up on Episode Six of The Pacific: Despite the suffocating 115-degree heat and a lack of clean drinking water, Sledge, Leckie and the other Marines confront the highly-fortified enemy as they attempt to capture the Peleliu airfield. After seeing his comrades badly injured, Leckie himself is wounded and evacuated from the island. Sledge witnesses the shocking truth about what is sometimes required to survive and fight another day.
Post your thoughts on the show by joining us in The Pacific messageboard here.
Sky.com has posted 6 minutes of the Peleliu landing sequence that will be shown in Episode Five. This is an intense sequence and one that is surely going to push your home theater system to the limit. This is the one you’ve been waiting for. Check it out and then post your comments in our forum!
HBO has uploaded the trailer for Episode Five of The Pacific. Also available is the historical background video that will be shown before the Episode airs.
Basilone’s celebrity grows as he travels across the country on the war bonds tour. On Pavuvu, Sledge, assigned to the 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, is briefly reunited with Phillips and Leckie rejoins his company. Sledge then gets his first taste of combat as he, Leckie, and the rest of the 1st Marine Division meet fierce Japanese resistance while landing on the intricately and heavily defended coral island of Peleliu.
Unlike the HBO mini-series which follows three Marines into war, the official series companion book follows the actions of five men as they fought in many of the major battles of the Pacific (two of these 5 men were subsequently dropped from the series due to budget constraints).
‘Manila John’ Basilone, Marine… some may say ‘the Marine’.
Vernon ‘Mike’ Micheel, a Navy pilot
Sidney C Philips, Marine
Austin C ‘Shifty’ Shofner, Marine… captured in the Philippines, he later escapes.
Eugene B Sledge, Marine
Ambrose lets the men tell their story without adding his own commentary or interpretation of the facts, allowing for a precise narration. The book seamlessly melds from one Marine to another while keeping the narrative in perfect chronological order. It is easy to follow the action without losing track of who is who, not always an easy task when you are reading the lives of five diverse men. The story flows smoothly and can easily be followed by even the most fledgling of war buffs with no getting bogged down in the minutia of equipment or battle lines.
We hope you’ve been enjoying the first two episodes of The Pacific on HBO. If you’re in a different country, chances are you local station will be carrying it shortly. View our FAQ page to see when it will be playing in your area. Don’t forget to discuss the episodes in our friendly forum. Lots of cool folks hang in there! (Hint: We also often give away free Pacific prizes for those that participate in our forum!)
Like the theme music to Pacific? You can now download that music and any other track for only 99 cents by going to Amazon and purchasing individual tracks on their website. Go to this link for more information.
So, how is Pacific doing thus far with the critics? Maybe this video clip will give you an idea…
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MakingOf.com has an exclusive interview up with Bruce C. McKenna, Co-Executive Producer and writer of HBO’s television event, “The Pacific.” McKenna discusses the advantages of making a mini-series vs a feature length film, keeping the characters as real as possible, and what it was like working alongside Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. View the video here.
The 10-part miniseries about U.S. Marines fighting the Japanese in the Pacific in World War II begins in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and follows the 1st Marine Division landing on Guadalcanal in August 1942. Episode One is directed by Tim Van Patten. Tell us what you thought about the first episide by joining us in The Pacific forum here.
HBO has posted the full video of Episode One on their website for your viewing pleasure! We dont’ expect them to post all of the episodes online. This just serves as a taste of what is to come in case you’re interested in watching the rest of the Episodes in the coming weeks. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to HBO and watch the remainder of the Episodes? To watch Episode One now for free online, go to this link and subscribe for a free HBO website account. You will be sent a confirmation email, so be sure to type in your email correctly. Once confirmed, you can then go back to the website and watch Episode One. If you have any questions, or need assistance, please post a message in our forum here and we’ll try and help!
Watch a short clip about one of the characters portrayed in The Pacific, Sid Phillips. You can expect to see these little clips on the film’s DVD release as extra material. Watch the clip here.
A look at heroic WWII Marine John Basilone with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and the team behind the HBO miniseries “The Pacific.” Watch the video clip here.
