Filming the HBO DVD, "The Pacific"
If you are old enough to remember back to the 1940's in wartime America, you probably remember the short war €trailers€ that played before the main feature at the movie theater. These were used mainly as recruiting films, or to raise money for war bonds to help the war effort. War films have evolved greatly over the years to become forms of entertainment or to accurately document an historical event. The HBO DVD The Pacific was envisioned to be primarily an accurate portrayal of the battle against Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Its main goal is to give the audience the real feeling of what it was like to fight in the jungles and on the beaches of the South Pacific, and this it does quite well.
Looking back at some of the war films that have been made over the years, whether they were intended to be historically accurate or not, one can't help but cringe at the misrepresentation of the events and their locations. It has been quite refreshing however, to take note that more recent war movies have been given a treatment of being more carefully written and produced. The Pacific DVD set is certainly no exception. The creators of this film went to great lengths to ensure that locations, equipment, and battle scenes were presented to the viewer as true to history as possible. HBO went to Australia to do most of the filming of this series, and it turned out to be the perfect location to re-create the battles of the South Pacific. Many of the R&R scenes were filmed in urban areas of Melbourne, and some were done on local film sets. The city of Melbourne turned out to be a €character€ on its own in The Pacific.
As good as the non-battle scenes in Melbourne were, the real meat of the film is its battle and invasion scenes. For these locales, producers scouted out lots of different locations in the far-north of the country, mainly in Queensland, a tropical region. These locales turned out to be the perfect spots to re-create the harsh jungle and beach locations of the Pacific islands on which the battles were fought. Port Douglas, Queensland became a South Pacific jungle battlefield, standing in as Guadalcanal, where a fierce battle against the Japanese was fought.
There is more to making a good war epic than just finding a great location to do the filming. History buffs are a tough crowd and if weapons, aircraft, uniforms, and equipment aren't true to the period, the film will lose a lot of its credibility. Hundreds of man-hours of research are required to obtain the right props for a film of this magnitude. Fortunately for fans, the creators of HBO's The Pacific got this part right too. Although no war film can be 100% perfect, most historians will agree that Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg did a fantastic job in ensuring the accuracy of this film.
From the chosen locations for filming in Australia, to getting the right uniforms, guns, and grenades, The Pacific DVD set ultimately lives up to expectations. Tom Hanks set a high standard for himself in his previous WWII movies, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, but the good news is that the HBO DVD The Pacific continues to uphold this standard. If you're like me, after seeing The Pacific, you will be anxiously awaiting the next historical mini-series from HBO.
Looking back at some of the war films that have been made over the years, whether they were intended to be historically accurate or not, one can't help but cringe at the misrepresentation of the events and their locations. It has been quite refreshing however, to take note that more recent war movies have been given a treatment of being more carefully written and produced. The Pacific DVD set is certainly no exception. The creators of this film went to great lengths to ensure that locations, equipment, and battle scenes were presented to the viewer as true to history as possible. HBO went to Australia to do most of the filming of this series, and it turned out to be the perfect location to re-create the battles of the South Pacific. Many of the R&R scenes were filmed in urban areas of Melbourne, and some were done on local film sets. The city of Melbourne turned out to be a €character€ on its own in The Pacific.
As good as the non-battle scenes in Melbourne were, the real meat of the film is its battle and invasion scenes. For these locales, producers scouted out lots of different locations in the far-north of the country, mainly in Queensland, a tropical region. These locales turned out to be the perfect spots to re-create the harsh jungle and beach locations of the Pacific islands on which the battles were fought. Port Douglas, Queensland became a South Pacific jungle battlefield, standing in as Guadalcanal, where a fierce battle against the Japanese was fought.
There is more to making a good war epic than just finding a great location to do the filming. History buffs are a tough crowd and if weapons, aircraft, uniforms, and equipment aren't true to the period, the film will lose a lot of its credibility. Hundreds of man-hours of research are required to obtain the right props for a film of this magnitude. Fortunately for fans, the creators of HBO's The Pacific got this part right too. Although no war film can be 100% perfect, most historians will agree that Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg did a fantastic job in ensuring the accuracy of this film.
From the chosen locations for filming in Australia, to getting the right uniforms, guns, and grenades, The Pacific DVD set ultimately lives up to expectations. Tom Hanks set a high standard for himself in his previous WWII movies, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, but the good news is that the HBO DVD The Pacific continues to uphold this standard. If you're like me, after seeing The Pacific, you will be anxiously awaiting the next historical mini-series from HBO.
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