|
|---|
Part 1 of HBO's The Pacific debuted on 14 March 2010. In this episode, we meet some of the characters and learn a little of their backgrounds. The main characters in this episode are: PFC Robert Leckie (played by James Badge Dale) Co H, 2nd Bn, 1st Marines Timeframe of Part 1 - December 1941 to September 1942 (Guadalcanal)
We are introduced to Eugene Sledge, of Mobile, Alabama, as he learns that he has a heart murmur that prevents him from enlisting with his buddy, Sidney Phillips. And we meet Sgt John Basilone as he and his buddies attend an NCO call just before Christmas 1941with their battalion commander, LtCol Lewis B. Puller. The NCO call functions in the program as an introduction to the war, and the part the Marines will play in it. Chesty Puller was a true legend in the Marine Corps (and still is). I had wondered prior to watching the program who could possibly do him justice on the small screen. Veteran character actor William Sadler, in my opinion, not only resembles Chesty Puller a bit, but also hit a home run in his portrayal of this most well known Marine in history. With a soft Virginia drawl, Sadler voices the military situation, performing a necessary task of the story while he briefs his men on what the future holds for them. I noticed a few inaccuracies in this scene. First, the set looked like a modern building, not the Marine base at New River, North Carolina, where the First Marine Division was based in December 1941. Secondly, at the back of the room, a Marine Corps flag is displayed on the wall. The flag is not the correct type for the World War II Marine Corps, but is instead one from much later. This is most noticeable by the Semper Fidelis scroll above the Marine Corps Emblem. Until the mid-1950s, the scroll was split into two parts (see the emblem at the top of this page as an example). The other thing I noticed was Chesty Puller's ribbons on his dress green blouse. While he was wearing the correct Navy-style 1/2 inch ribbons, he displayed the Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon. This award was not created until February 1942. Therefore, it would've been impossible for the real Chesty Puller to have worn this award during the timeframe of this episode. At about 20 minutes into the program, we see the D-Day landing on Guadalcanal. This portion opens with Leckie, Phillips, and their buddies in H 2/1 on the mess deck of their transport as they eat chow before loading onto their Higgins boats for the run-in to the beach. As the Marines climb down the cargo nets into the boats, we see the panorama of an amphibious assault. Aircraft fly overhead, the battle wagons fire, and the sea is covered with ships and boats. After the boats form into waves during the transit ashore, the shots somewhat resemble the opening shots of Saving Private Ryan. I don't know if this was intentional, or just a coincidence, but it definitely evoked an ominous mood. Close-in face shots of the Marines tell the story of the last few minutes before hitting what they believe to be a defended beach head. Even though I knew beforehand that the landing was unopposed, I still found myself holding my breath in anticipation at one point. As the boats hit ground, Leckie, Phillips and the rest storm ashore. A group of Marines is already on the beach, and they greet the newly arrived troops, saying "Welcome to Guadalcanal." Leckie and his buddies now go through an adaptive period, as they experience their first day in combat. We walk with them on patrol. The hand-held camera technique makes it feel as through we are in the middle of the action. We feel the claustrophobia of the jungle, and the Marine drip with sweat as they swat at mosquitoes. There is no flinching from the atrocities of war. Leckie's patrol moves past the corpses of several Marines tied onto tree trunks. It is plain that the Japanese have butchered them. Each Marine stops for a second to look at the men who died horribly. Leckie's face wears a knowing, yet horrified expression as he says quietly, "Goddamn bastards." During their first night in combat, the Marine are jittery and on-edge. While on watch, Leckie thinks he sees movement to the front. Suddenly, another Marine down the line opens fire, and the entire unit opens up in a "mad minute." An officer restores order and the men cease firing. But we learn that their Corpsman has been accidentally killed after leaving his position to urinate. The next morning, the Corpsman is buried in a shallow grave. During this scene, I wondered why there wasn't an attempt to show a simple field burial service. We have a front-row seat with Leckie to the battle of Savo Island on the night of 8-9 August 1942. From a hill top position, the Marines watch the naval battle unfolding out at sea. One says that he thinks the US Navy is really winning out there. Leckie replies, "I love your optimism." The next morning, we learn that the battle is a total defeat for the US Navy, and that the Marines are alone on the island. The climax of the episode comes with the Battle of the Tenaru (Alligator Creek) on 21 August 1942. Although we don't learn it in the program, this was the night that the elite Japanese Ichiki Detachment tried to force a breach into the eastern flank of the Marine perimeter around Henderson Field. As depicted in episode 1, 2nd Bn, 1st Marines held the critical position at the river mouth. The Marines had received intelligence that the Japanese were planning to launch a major attack. Among the sources were members of the British Solomon Islands Constabulary, who had been scouting far to the east. As the Japanese attempt to force the river line, we witness a stark, confusing night action replete with artillery fire, flares swinging in the dark sky, tracers criss-crossing back and forth. Automatic weapons fire, 37mm antitank guns, and mortars all join in to halt the Japanese advance. Leckie and the other Marines in his heavy machine gun squad shift their position to reinforce the threatened left flank. At the critical moment, we watch as the formerly blustering company commander breaks down under the strain of battle. He jumps down into a foxhole, quivering as his men run by and check to see if he has been wounded. I had hoped to see at least a reference to the famed Cpl Al Schmid, a machine gunner who also served in H 2/1 and took part in this action. He achieved fame for manning his HMG after losing his sight, and was later awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism on the Tenaru. There was no mention of Schmid, or the important role he played. (He was the subject of the 1945 motion picture Pride of the Marines, starring John Garfield.) As morning comes after the battle, the camera pans across a devastating scene of Japanese corpses stacked in front of the Marine positions. (In the real battle, the Japanese force, which was estimated to be about 900 troops, was almost completely destroyed. U. S. losses were 34 killed and 75 wounded.) The Marines peer out at the carnage, Leckie still manning his HMG, wears a look of exhaustion as he says, "What a turkey shoot." A wounded Japanese soldier moans from among a pile of of his dead comrades. As a Hospital Corpsman approaches to render aid, the enemy soldier screams Tenno haiko banzai! and detonates a hand grenade, killing the corpsman and himself. Just a few minutes after this scene, a small group of Japanese survivors breaks from cover on the far bank of the river. The Marines open up on them. A lone Japanese soldier survives the fusillade and is chased back and forth as Marines taunt him with rifle fire and throw coconuts at him. He is wounded several times as he panics and runs into the water. Leckie finally ends the man's misery by carefully taking aim with his .45 pistol, and shooting the soldier in the chest. Another Marine calls out, "Hey, what'd ya' do that for?" Afterward, there is a short time when Leckie, Phillips, and their buddies are in reserve. We catch a glimpse of Leckie's literary skill in a voiceover of one of his letters to Vera. He says, "There are things men do to one another that are searing to the soul." As episode 1 draws to a close, we see the 7th Marines arriving on 18 September 1942. As the healthy newcomers march past the weary Marines of 2/1, who have been on Guadalcanal for over a month, friendly banter gets traded back and forth. This scene marks the appearance of John Basilone and Chesty Puller on the 'canal as 1st Bn, 7th Marines heads up the line. At the end of the program, Leckie's lieutenant orders the Marines to saddle up for a patrol. Phillips has just turned eighteen, and another Marine gives him a hand grenade as a present. The scene fades out as the men sing a very funny and profane rendition of happy birthday while disappearing into the jungle. My overall impressions of this episode were very positive. The actors looked like World War II Marines. They wore the correct 40s haircuts, and their uniforms and equipment appeared to be spot-on. I only noticed a couple of army herringbone twill caps, and one on the ship stood out because it was pressed and starched. (Look for it on the mess deck scene.) Captain Dale Dye (USMC retired) was the technical advisor and he obviously schooled the cast extensively. The Marines carried the correct M1903A3 rifles, and I even saw a Reising submachine gun. The crew drill on the 60mm mortars and M1917A1 HMGs looked to be straight out of the applicable field manuals. In one scene, I saw a mortar gunner leveling his sight, and an ammo bearer setting in an aiming stake, and during the combat scene on Alligator Creek, the mortar crew used correct fire commands. The HMG squad members looked like real Marines putting their gun into action, not like actors playing scripted roles. One of my usual pet peeves in war pictures is the dialogue. Too often, we hear actors mouthing words that real service members would just never say. So, I was paying particular attention to this. I was happily surprised that the actors actually sounded like real Marines. The banter amongst the squad had the ring of reality to it, and they even used some actual Gyrene lingo. The absolute standout of this episode was James Badge Dale. It isn't too far of a stretch to say he stole the show. As Robert Leckie, himself a complicated man who did not fit easily into the military mold, Dale was not only believable, but actually made me feel that he had really experienced what he was acting. This is so refreshing, since we so often see war-themed entertainment where the actors aren't even close in their portrayals. Dale handles the technical parts of being a Marine machine gunner with practiced ease. When he hefts that heavy water-cooled machine gun up on his shoulders, he makes it seem as if he's done it a thousand times. But, he also delivers an effective portrayal of a human being struggling to make sense of war. If you are looking for a Band of Brothers-style experience in the first episode of HBO's The Pacific, this isn't it. This program does not drop you right into the action of training and combat. It has a slower pacing that is much more character-focused. This mini-series has all the promise of a serious look into the world of the World War II Marine. WW2 Gyrene's rating for episode 1 is a servicable A-minus.
|
||
This site is owned & maintained by Mark Flowers, copyright 2004, all rights reserved.
|
Episode 1 opens with a montage of wartime motion picture footage and narration by Tom Hanks that recaps the opening phases of the war. This is supplemented by short interview clips with Marine veterans that set the stage about the Guadalcanal campaign. Then we meet the four main characters as they prepare for war. Robert Leckie says goodbye to his future wife, Vera, and also to his father, as he leaves New York for boot camp. 