Is The Pacific based on a book?
MaxBand of Brothers follow-up The Pacific is now streaming on Netflix in the US, but is the WWII drama based on a book?
Buoyed by the success of Saving Private Ryan, Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks decided to tell a WWII story on the small-screen, and the result was the critical and commercial smash Band of Brothers in 2001.
The powerhouse pair then decided to produce a follow-up, and the result was The Pacific. Though where its predecessor focussed on a battalion, this new show revolved around three individual marines.
The Pacific aired on HBO on 2010, and now has made the move to streaming. But what inspired the series?
Is The Pacific based on a book?
Yes, The Pacific is based on a book. Multiple books, in fact, with the show drawing from memoirs written by some of the marines in question, as well as other non-fiction books about WWII.
The following are The Pacific’s four major sources:
- ‘With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa’ by Eugene Sledge
- ‘China Marine’ by Eugene Sledge
- ‘Helmet for My Pillow’ by Robert Leckie
- ‘Red Blood, Black Sand’ by Chuck Tatum
Key information also came from another source; one that connects back to Band of Brothers. Hugh Ambrose – whose father Stephen E. Ambrose wrote the book on which Band of Brothers is based – served as a consultant on the project.
He then wrote the tie-in historical novel ‘The Pacific: Hell was an Ocean Away’, which was published in 2010.
What is The Pacific about?
The Pacific tells the story of three men who were part of the 1st Marine Division. Robert Leckie was a member of the 1st regiment. Eugene Sledge was part of the 5th regiment. And John Basilone was in the 7th regiment.
The show kicks off with the attack on Pearl Harbor, and features multiple battles in the Pacific, including those at Guadalcanal, in the jungles of New Britain, and on the island of Peteliu, as well as the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Through the course of the 10 episodes, the story of the three soldiers in question overlap and intertwine, with James Badge Dale playing Robert Leckie, Joseph Mazzello starring as Eugene Sledge, and Jon Seda appearing as John Basilone.
The Pacific premiered on HBO on March 14, 2010, while it’s now streaming on Netflix in the States.
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