The Pacific - DVD

Movie: After the huge success of "Soldier James Ryan" Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have turned their attention once again to World War 2 in Europe with the acclaimed mini-series "Band of Brothers". They are now looking to repeat the huge success of that multi-award-winning series with "The Pacific", whose ten episodes highlight the war in the Pacific.

The series centers on three young Marines, Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and John Basilone (Jon Seda). The plot begins a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and covers the following events between 1941 to 1945. "The Pacific" may well be considered a quasi-sequel to "Band of Brothers". But there are some distinct differences. For instance, "The Pacific" is much more intimate than "Band of Brothers" was able to be. The series takes its time introducing its characters at length and saying goodbye to them at equal length. In addition to the sometimes very drastic and almost unbearably brutal war sequences, there are also many quiet moments in which it is shown no less forcefully how the men slowly change as a result of the war.

For example, episode 3 takes place far away from the action of the war in Melbourne, where the men are allowed to recover from the rigors of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Here, the touching love affair between Robert Leckie and Australian Stella (Claire van der Boom) acts as a wonderful counterpoint to the gruesome events of episodes 2 and 4. Also in episode 8, the series returns again and again from the theater of war in Iwo Jima to John Basilone, who has returned home and falls in love with Lt. Lena Riggi (Annie Parisse) - a love that is not granted a true happy ending by John's return to the action of war. Finally, the last episode is very quiet, set after the end of the war, and shows how the young men learn to cope with what they experienced in the Pacific theater, and how events and their own actions have changed them.

The actors are all great. Joe Mazzello, the little boy from Spielberg's "Jurassic Park", is particularly surprising, and here, having matured into a young man, gives a more than convincing performance. That actually goes for all the actors involved in the project, whether it's one of the leads, or just a small supporting role. Even if it is a bit difficult to build up a bond to the characters at the beginning due to the complexity of the stories, the many characters and plot lines, the characters stay in your mind for a long time after the end of the ten episodes.

All actors had to participate in a hard boot camp before the shooting to prepare for their roles as soldiers. In general, a high value was placed on authenticity in all aspects of the filming - which was splendidly realized from the equipment to the uniforms to the vehicles and weapons. But despite all the attention to detail, the characters and their development are not neglected and are not overwhelmed by the visual show value of the series. Here lies the very great strength of this superb production: each individual element supports the others to create a compelling, engaging and impressive whole.

Shot over two years on various locations in Australia, the mini-series based on books by Leckie and Sledge and quite a few original interviews presents itself in an engaging visual style, elevated to the best cinema level by the superb camerawork and perfect insertion of visual effects. "The Pacific" its never lurid despite the sometimes very drastic images, eschews the excessive pathos of so many other war films and always manages to make the events and characters seem authentic. And that's exactly why the series succeeds first-class in triggering real emotions in the viewer, which bind him to the stories and their characters. A great piece of modern TV history that should not be missing in any good home theater collection!

Picture + Sound: Not only in terms of content and craftsmanship, "The Pacificu\0022 can easily compete with major cinema productions. Also in the audiovisual implementation, the TV production can convince in almost every respect. The picture pleases with its coloration and good contrasts. The decent overall sharpness is also on a good level and only occasionally shows small weaknesses. In terms of sound, the good surround effects come into play especially in the fight scenes, but also in the quieter moments, the sound can convince thanks to the nice soundtrack and the coherent dialogue mix.

Extras: Disc 6 has some very watchable bonus features to offer. Starting off are profiles of the Marines portrayed in the series. In just under 50 minutes, the men are introduced by friends, comrades and family members. Especially after watching the series, it's nice to get to know the real-life role models for the TV characters better as well.

Moving on, there's a nearly 22-minute making of worth watching and a 10-minute short documentary about the real-life background of the war in the Pacific.

Furthermore, before each episode a short clip with the historical background to the respective episode can be switched on. Overall, very informative bonus material worth watching, optionally presented with German subtitles.

Conclusion: "The Pacific" is not only one of the most expensive, but also one of the best TV productions of recent years. Ten episodes examine the consequences of senseless horror on the lives of the Marines fighting in it before, during and after the war. Intensely acted, hauntingly directed and superbly filmed, "The Pacific" is a more than worthy successor to "Band of Brothers". First-rate, moving and intelligent television - it doesn't get much better than this. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp