Okinawa 

The 1st Marine Division fight a determined Japanese force on Okinawa who prefer death to surrender and are indifferent to the lives of Okinawan civilians.

Director:

Timothy Van Patten (as Tim Van Patten)

Writers:

Bruce C. McKenna (as Bruce McKenna), Robert Leckie (based in part on the book "Helmet for My Pillow")

Stars:

James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Badge Dale	...	PFC Robert Leckie (credit only)
Joseph Mazzello	...	PFC Eugene Sledge (as Joe Mazzello)
Jon Seda	...	Sgt. John Basilone (credit only)
Noel Fisher	...	Pvt. Hamm
Brendan Fletcher	...	PFC Bill Leyden
Rami Malek	...	PFC Merriell 'Snafu' Shelton
Martin McCann	...	Sgt. R.V. Burgin
Nicholas Cooper	...	Army Officer
Freddie Joe Farnsworth	...	1st Lt. Thomas Stanley
Chris Foy	...	Pvt. 'Kathy' Peck (as Christopher Foy)
Sam North	...	Replacement Marine
Tiger Saito	...	8-Year-Old Okinawan Boy
Kaoru Sato	...	Old Dying Woman
Geordie Taylor	...	Army Lieutenant
Shingo Usami	...	Defiant Japanese Prisoner

Storyline

The 1st Marine division is now on Okinawa and coming ever closer to defeating the enemy. The weather and the heat are still proving to be difficult but the physical conditions reflect their own mental state. Constant stress from never-ending fighting results in a variety of reactions from the men. For the first time, the men also have to deal with the presence of Japanese civilians, who are being given safe passage through the US lines to safety in the rear. They arrived on Okinawa on April 1, 1945 and in early August they hear that a special type of bomb has been dropped on Japan.

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Plot Keywords:

falling downhill | stress | child in danger | death of pet | child murder | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Goofs

When Lena and John Basilone are on the beach, Lena loses her hat in the ocean and says " my hat" In the Marines and Navy, it would have been called a "cover" and not refereed to as a hat.

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Quotes

[Eugene and the others have been firing on an approaching group of enemies soldiers; he guns down a lone man after being told to cease fire]
2nd Lt. Mac: I told you to cease fire, what are you doing?
Eugene B. Sledge: [coldly] Killing Japs.
2nd Lt. Mac: You just gave away our goddamn position!
Eugene B. Sledge: I think they got a pretty good idea of where we are.
2nd Lt. Mac: I told you to cease fire, you're supposed to be observing - I see you with a goddamn sidearm!
Eugene B. Sledge: [yelling furiously] We're all sent here to kill Japs, weren't we? So what the hell difference does it make ...
[...]

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Soundtracks

With The Old Breed - End Title Theme From The Pacific
(uncredited)
Composed by Blake Neely, Geoff Zanelli, Hans Zimmer

User Reviews

a brutal but reflective piece

This episode enters even deeper into the horrors of war and man's inhumanity to man. the battle is not just without but within the troops and zooms in within Sledge himself. little cruelties have unforeseen consequences and are reflected back upon oneself. indeed who is the real enemy?

Details

Release Date:

9 May 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, HBO Films, Playtone

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1