A friend of mine has a brother who lives in Australia.He got himself a none-speaking part in "The Pacific" which is the follow-up to "Band of Brothers".

This is one of the behind the scenes photos he took:



His brother was a US Marine in the production and enjoyed every minute of it.

Looking at this and the other pictures I think this is going to be every bit as good as the legendary "Band of Brothers".

Yes, more Spielberg/Hanks triumphalism. Eastwood wrote the last word on the late Pacific War with his excellent two films of a year ago. A really interesting series would have concentrated on the "backs to the wall" period, and the now almost forgotten defense of Wake Island and the Philippines through the arduous carrier battles of 1942. But, no, we will get more of the same we received in B OF BROTHERS and RYAN. There was no greater test of the American character than the lost hope defense of the Philippines, and now those soldiers, and the soldiers of the Philippines army are practically forgotten.

quote:

Originally posted by leitmotiv:
Yes, more Spielberg/Hanks triumphalism. Eastwood wrote the last word on the late Pacific War with his excellent two films of a year ago. A really interesting series would have concentrated on the "backs to the wall" period, and the now almost forgotten defense of Wake Island and the Philippines through the arduous carrier battles of 1942. But, no, we will get more of the same we received in B OF BROTHERS and RYAN. There was no greater test of the American character than the lost hope defense of the Philippines, and now those soldiers, and the soldiers of the Philippines army are practically forgotten.

I agree. I'd rather see a series showing the "beginning" of american involvement, the Philippines, Wake and the likes, the med and italy on the other side of the globe.

This stuff here has been done to death.



.....I'll certainly watch it anways.

While I agree with you leitmotiv the tone of your post is a bit...trying to find a word...

I personally would love to see a drama based on the early years of the Flying Tiger's.

I just love when people bash something and watch it over and over at the same time... I bet leitmotiv watched BOB and SPR like 10 times and cant get enough of it... but hey, bashing is fun

I don't think it will be confined to the late Pacific. I have seen other photos showing actors in early marine kit with Springfield '03 rifles and no helmet covers riding in standard landing-craft as well as other pictures showing them with M1 Garands and helmet covers in LVT's.

Besides that, if anyone can name a better TV series covering WW2 US soldiers than BoB I'd like to know.

I`ll certainly be watching it.

But I hope one day that a British experience of the war series will be done and even a Russian perspective of the war from the early years of desperate defensive.

There is so much to find out that`s not only spectacular (even more so than the US stuff), but terrible as well.

We should know of it. After this one, time for a different nationality.

A study should be done on how many Brits between the ages of 65 and 61 are half-American.


J/K oops didn't mean it don't get upset keep your knickers straight bangers and mash bangers and mash wink wink

quote:

Originally posted by leitmotiv:

and the soldiers of the Philippines army are practically forgotten.

There is a very large Filipino American population living in Northern CA. I have met or worked with a good number of WW2 vets that served alongside the U.S. troops during that time. One thing that the Filipinos still resent is that their common enemy Japan, received more help and money to rebuild their country from the U.S. than the Philippines did after the war.

The Filipinos have a very strong sense of extended family that is constantly emphasized. You are expected to support and be supported by this network at all times. This is called "utang na loob" in Tagalog, which roughly translates to "obligation to the family". This is why the Filipinos were such reliable and effective allies during the war because they considered the U.S. to be part of the "family".

Imagine that your friend, with whom you fought alongside with in a hard won fight would move in the aftermath to help the opposing guys first with their wounds before giving you less attention than the opponents received.

If there are any people that can immediately fit in and become "Americans", it is the Filipinos. English is taught from grades 2-12. Add to that a good, effective education, and you have a productive and patriotic potential citizen.

As a side note, if you wish to study the Filipino martial arts, then the Bay Area of N. Ca., and also S. CA. are a good place look because of the long time Filipino American presence.

quote:

Originally posted by SeaFireLIV:
even a Russian perspective of the war from the early years of desperate defensive.

There is the "shtrafbat" mini serie.
although it did'nt take place in the early years of war.

Shtrafbat at IMDB

Yes I too would like to see the times before the war specially when Gen.Mcarthur was in the Philippines prior to Dec 8, 1941 attck when he had 9 hours of warning and did nothing!

Please read 'The Eagle and the Rising Sun'

http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Rising-Sun-Japanese-America...lcanal/dp/0393049248

It shows you everything form how there was enough warning for Pearl Harbor to how McArthur abandoned Gen.Weinwright IV to fend for himself in Bataan as well as how Gen.McArthur didnt let his Air Force take off (through is inaction and indecision) and allowed it to be bombed and straffed on the ground.

is this one gonna have magic grenades like BOB where an American can dive two feet from a grenade and not get injured, and Germans (this one Japanese) fall like preteen girls at a Justin Timberlake concert.

quote:

Originally posted by jadger:
is this one gonna have magic grenades like BOB where an American can dive two feet from a grenade and not get injured, and Germans (this one Japanese) fall like preteen girls at a Justin Timberlake concert.

eh?

How many grenades have you had thrown at you. i actually read one account where a grenade blew up right next to a GI in Somalia (I think it was) black hawk down and didn`t touch him. Sometimes, if you`re lucky (you`re low, the grenade blows in a slight ditch or some such) it can go off right next to you and evrything flies over head.

How are soldiers supoosed to fall when shot. Do German soldiers fall differently to allied?

A rather spiteful little post, I think.

quote:

Originally posted by SeaFireLIV:

quote:

Originally posted by jadger:
is this one gonna have magic grenades like BOB where an American can dive two feet from a grenade and not get injured, and Germans (this one Japanese) fall like preteen girls at a Justin Timberlake concert.

eh?

How many grenades have you had thrown at you. i actually read one account where a grenade blew up right next to a GI in Somalia (I think it was) black hawk down and didn`t touch him. Sometimes, if you`re lucky (you`re low, the grenade blows in a slight ditch or some such) it can go off right next to you and evrything flies over head.

How are soldiers supoosed to fall when shot. Do German soldiers fall differently to allied?

A rather spiteful little post, I think.

by falling like girls at a Justin Timberlake concert, I meant they all fall in rather quick succession, whereas the Americans rarely fall on-screen. Indeed the biggest character kill-off in BoB is when they did the whole uniform cleaner thing. It all comes down to an American viewership not willing to see their own boys killed on screen as much as some anonymous and faceless enemy.

and I was referring to one scene where the yankee GI is on his knees in a trench and a grenade lands right beside him, he dives away 2 feet away and isn't injured.

If you want a real war movie, watch der Untergang, now that shows more realistic combat than anything that can come out of hollywood.

In Band Of Brothers you could see quite enough American soldiers dying, and not in a pretty or hollywodd-style way.
Der Untergang was an excellent movie, but I don't recall there were that many combat scenes, at least I don't think they were the real strong point of the movie.

quote:

Originally posted by roybaty:
While I agree with you leitmotiv the tone of your post is a bit...trying to find a word...

I personally would love to see a drama based on the early years of the Flying Tiger's.

AndyRooneyism....you can't help but like him!

quote:

Originally posted by Breeze147:
A study should be done on how many Brits between the ages of 65 and 61 are half-American.


J/K oops didn't mean it don't get upset keep your knickers straight bangers and mash bangers and mash wink wink

One would be my mum, American airman, who unsuprisingly returned back home, my mum was put up for adoption. I guess that happened a fair amount. The legacy is, that it's a constant effort for me, to try to stop myself eating burgers.... genes eh!

cheers fruitbat

quote:

Originally posted by jadger:

quote:

Originally posted by SeaFireLIV:

quote:

Originally posted by jadger:
is this one gonna have magic grenades like BOB where an American can dive two feet from a grenade and not get injured, and Germans (this one Japanese) fall like preteen girls at a Justin Timberlake concert.

eh?

How many grenades have you had thrown at you. i actually read one account where a grenade blew up right next to a GI in Somalia (I think it was) black hawk down and didn`t touch him. Sometimes, if you`re lucky (you`re low, the grenade blows in a slight ditch or some such) it can go off right next to you and evrything flies over head.

How are soldiers supoosed to fall when shot. Do German soldiers fall differently to allied?

A rather spiteful little post, I think.

by falling like girls at a Justin Timberlake concert, I meant they all fall in rather quick succession, whereas the Americans rarely fall on-screen. Indeed the biggest character kill-off in BoB is when they did the whole uniform cleaner thing. It all comes down to an American viewership not willing to see their own boys killed on screen as much as some anonymous and faceless enemy.

and I was referring to one scene where the yankee GI is on his knees in a trench and a grenade lands right beside him, he dives away 2 feet away and isn't injured.

If you want a real war movie, watch der Untergang, now that shows more realistic combat than anything that can come out of hollywood.

Just curious, Whats your definition of a real war movie? Do people really die? Presumably you have been in real combat, as you seem to know what it is really like, to be able to compare what is really realistic or not.

fruitbat

quote:

Originally posted by thefruitbat:

quote:

Originally posted by Breeze147:
A study should be done on how many Brits between the ages of 65 and 61 are half-American.


J/K oops didn't mean it don't get upset keep your knickers straight bangers and mash bangers and mash wink wink

One would be my mum, American airman, who unsuprisingly returned back home, my mum was put up for adoption. I guess that happened a fair amount. The legacy is, that it's a constant effort for me, to try to stop myself eating burgers.... genes eh!

cheers fruitbat

i tease my dad who was with the 8th af and had several brit girlfriends, that i must have a few half brothers or sisters over there.

quote:

Originally posted by crazyivan1970:
I just love when people bash something and watch it over and over at the same time... I bet leitmotiv watched BOB and SPR like 10 times and cant get enough of it... but hey, bashing is fun

Wrong again. I watched B OF BROTHERS once when it premiered and found it embarrassing and insipid. Anything saturated with the silly ideas of that hack Stephen Ambrose will be dubious, to say the least. As for RYAN, don't get me started. One viewing was appalling. For my money the best American war film is BATAAN from 1943---the pure stuff without sanctimonious b.s. We have lost the ability to do great films about war---except for Eastwood, who did a brilliant job with his two Iwo Jima films.