New York, N.Y., June 4, 2010 – One of the most anticipated home entertainment releases of the year–“The Pacific”–premieres day and date on DVD and Blu-ray on November 2, 2010, perfectly timed for the holidays. Exclusively from HBO Home Entertainment, the six-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets include all 10 parts of the acclaimed miniseries, along with a wealth of exciting bonus materials for the suggested retail price of $79.99 and $99.98 respectively.
Hailed by critics nationwide as “brilliant” (Entertainment Weekly), “universally excellent” (Los Angeles Times), and “magnificent…a bloody masterpiece” (TV Guide), “The Pacific” is a Playtone and DreamWorks production executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman, the team behind the Emmy® Award-winning and Golden Globe®-winning 2001 HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” the best-selling TV on DVD of all time. Hanks and Goetzman also executive produced the HBO miniseries “John Adams,” which won a record-breaking 13 Emmys in 2008.
“The Pacific” tracks the real-life journeys of three U.S. Marines–Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale, “The Departed”), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello, “The Sensation of Sight”) and John Basilone (Jon Seda, “Close to Home”)–across the vast canvas of the Pacific theater during World War II. The miniseries follows these men and their fellow Marines from their first battle with the Japanese on Guadalcanal, through the rain forests of Cape Gloucester and the strongholds of Peleliu, across the bloody sands of Iwo Jima, through the horror of Okinawa, and finally to their triumphant but uneasy return home after V-J Day.
“The Pacific” on DVD is overflowing with exclusive and informative content that will further enrich the audience´s understanding of the war. The viewer will learn more about the events of the Pacific theater and the real Marines depicted in the miniseries, and will have access to a more in-depth look at the making of this epic event.
Features include:
–“Historical Backgrounds” – the five-minute prologues that set the stage for each episode and additional historical footage narrated by Tom Hanks.
–“Making The Pacific” – go behind the scenes and take an inside look at the making of this epic, 10-part miniseries.
–“Profiles of The Pacific” – delve into the lives of the real Marines featured in The Pacific. Get a personal perspective on their families, their war experience and their lives after the war in these intimate portraits.
–“Anatomy of The Pacific War” – explore the historical influences and cultural perceptions that led to the merciless brutality in the Pacific theater of World War II.
Presented in HD 1080p video and DTS-HD master audio, “The Pacific” on Blu-ray elevates the viewing experience to the ultimate level. It contains all the bonus materials found on the DVD version, along with two interactive companion features that maximize the use of Blu-ray technology and provide a superior viewing experience to the miniseries or DVD alone. These engaging and extensive features will captivate audiences and allow fans to delve deeper into the historical details behind the war and provide enhanced insight into the lives and experiences of the Marines through exclusive, first-hand accounts.
Blu-ray features include:
–“The Pacific Enhanced Viewing” – the ultimate viewing companion to The Pacific. Learn more about the Marines and gain a deeper historical understanding of the battles while watching the miniseries with Enhanced Viewing, a 10-part, 10-hour, picture-in-picture experience. Exclusive content includes interviews with historians and veterans, archival footage, maps and more.
–“The Pacific Field Guide” – allows viewers to navigate through the major events featured in The Pacific in this standalone, interactive Field Guide. Search within for categories to view exclusive content including animated maps, extensive interviews with historians and veterans, historical footage, photographs and more.
The miniseries is based in part on the books Helmet for My Pillow, by Robert Leckie and With the Old Breed, by Eugene B. Sledge, with additional material from Red Blood, Black Sand, by Chuck Tatum and China Marine, by Eugene B. Sledge, as well as original interviews conducted by the filmmakers.
