The Pacific - Complete HBO DVD Box Set

RRP: £39.99

Best Price: £21.69

With HBO now at the forefront of delivering excellent, intelligent, hard-hitting event TV, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago they were a cable channel like any other, struggling to find their voice in a mass of broadcast drama. That was until Band of Brothers, the World War II drama following US troops deployed to the European battle - a deeply moving, epic account of the horror and heroism of war.

The Pacific, as pitched, is a sister show to Band of Brothers - we return to World War II, but this time the focus is on the battle with Japan. Stories are told from the perspective of three key US Marines - Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello), Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) and John Basilone (Jon Seda) - all of whom are put face-to-face with the brutalities of warfare and all of whom are instrumental in the unfolding of victory. The show is based upon memoirs of Marines posted to the Pacific for duty and, as a result, the word that best sums the action up is authentic. Nothing is glamorised, nothing seems cursory - instead, every detail has been carefully researched in terms of both script and production.

In a ten-part series that looks at massive world-changing events, it’s important that these characters give us entry into a world foreign to most of us now, and their unbearable predicaments certainly tug at the heartstrings. Contrasting with this very personal drama, though, is the action - and set-pieces here genuinely feel claustrophobic, frightening, unflinching. Nobody said war would be easy, but it is presented here with stark, unnerving brutality - exactly the treatment that it deserves.

Of particular note is the treatment of Iwo Jima in the story, generally perceived to be more authentic than the recent movie adaptation. It is, like all of The Pacific, a slower, more pensive take on conflict, which gives proceedings a sense of gravitas that’s hard to squeeze in to ten hours of TV. The show never lets you forget how important these events are and, ultimately, it’s that approach that keeps you watching.

The Pacific is the perfect companion piece to Band of Brothers but, more importantly, it’s remarkably well made television drama in its own right. It’s a show that is at times difficult to watch, and at times loses pace, but what it lacks in twists and turns it more than makes up for in depth.

This box set features the entire HBO production across ten episodes.