The German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer was born in March 1945 and his work, highly rhetorical and mostly on a large scale, has been about the cultural deformations wrought by the Third Reich and the instructive, exemplary horrors of the 20th century. Sophie Fiennes's beautiful, contemplative documentary is about the enormous environmental installations he has been creating since he moved from Germany in 1993 to the grounds of an abandoned silk factory at Barjac, in the south of France.
Fiennes's camera tracks slowly around its bunkers and underground passages with their pools of water, shattered urns, piles of broken glass, puzzling numbers on the walls that evoke the tattoos of concentration camp inmates and so on. Her visual style brings to mind the lengthy contemplative shots in Tarkovsky's Stalker, Nostalgia and The Sacrifice, and we think of blitzed cities, battlefields, the death camps, the post-industrial world and the impermanence of civilisation.
Fiennes's camera tracks slowly around its bunkers and underground passages with their pools of water, shattered urns, piles of broken glass, puzzling numbers on the walls that evoke the tattoos of concentration camp inmates and so on. Her visual style brings to mind the lengthy contemplative shots in Tarkovsky's Stalker, Nostalgia and The Sacrifice, and we think of blitzed cities, battlefields, the death camps, the post-industrial world and the impermanence of civilisation.
- 10/16/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
1. Bruce: another amazing episode of one of the best things I've ever watched in any media - I hope you and the entire team are really proud of the show and the reception so far. I'm sure the appreciation will grow over time just like it did for Band of Brothers; hopefully the Blu-Rays will outsell that little Avatar movie as well. Was there a conscious decision to return to the States and feature 35 minutes or so of relatively quiet action after the terror of Peleliu? I've read differing opinions on how Basilone actually died - mortar or bullets. Did you try to find the definitive truth or use what worked best for the scene? -PBandJ, MakingOf Forums
Pbj -- Thanks. It's pretty damn good, ain't it? Yes, we intentionally spent some time away from Hell so that the audience could breath. Otherwise people would just turn off their tvs.
Pbj -- Thanks. It's pretty damn good, ain't it? Yes, we intentionally spent some time away from Hell so that the audience could breath. Otherwise people would just turn off their tvs.
- 5/9/2010
- Makingof.com
1. Hello Bruce, There has already been some discussion on deleted scenes resulting in shortened episodes and a somewhat fractured storyline. Will we get these deleted scenes on the DVD?
What other goodies can we expect on the DVD?
With thanks :) -SimpleSimon, MakingOf Forums
Hey Simon -- There have been some scenes cut from episodes, but not for any other reasons than they didn't work in the context of the entire episode. I'm not sure you will see them in the DVD. You will see tons of new stuff in the DVDs, however. Lots of historical context. Interviews with many of the veterans or comrades of the vets. And the blu ray makes it fantastic.
2. Can you explain to us why you used Stella as opposed to Leckie's real experiences? I know that a lot needs to get condensed to fit into a single hour but I was curious about...
What other goodies can we expect on the DVD?
With thanks :) -SimpleSimon, MakingOf Forums
Hey Simon -- There have been some scenes cut from episodes, but not for any other reasons than they didn't work in the context of the entire episode. I'm not sure you will see them in the DVD. You will see tons of new stuff in the DVDs, however. Lots of historical context. Interviews with many of the veterans or comrades of the vets. And the blu ray makes it fantastic.
2. Can you explain to us why you used Stella as opposed to Leckie's real experiences? I know that a lot needs to get condensed to fit into a single hour but I was curious about...
- 4/4/2010
- Makingof.com
1. Hello Bruce, when writing for The Pacific, you have great source material in the books and well documented life stories to work from. But much of the actual day to day words and thoughts of the characters come directly from your pen. How much influence does casting play in the writing of the characters? Do you rewrite scenes which seemed to work on paper but you realise wouldn't work so well with the actor playing the role? Does the particular character or physical traits of the actor influence your writing as the series is shot? Thanks :) -SimpleSimon, MakingOf Forums
Hey SimpleSimon. Yeah, the actors really influence the writing, once they have absorbed the characters. Not so much at the beginning of the show, but as we progressed, they had a lot of input into dialogue. You have to trust that they understand the men they are portraying. Quite often...
Hey SimpleSimon. Yeah, the actors really influence the writing, once they have absorbed the characters. Not so much at the beginning of the show, but as we progressed, they had a lot of input into dialogue. You have to trust that they understand the men they are portraying. Quite often...
- 3/25/2010
- Makingof.com
Answers are posted below and in the Forum section. I look forward to talking with you each week!
1. Bruce - Fantastic first episode and a great start to the series. I was wondering who served as the military and historical advisers on the set and how did they interact within the writing, production and editing processes. The attention to detail was impressive and with so few WWII veterans to serve as primary sources it must have made getting the exacting details you've achieved a challenge.
- Drew, MakingOf Forums
Thanks! If you think Episode One was fantastic, wait 'til Two! Our military advisor was Dale Dye, a retired Marine Corps Captain who served in Vietnam and has worked on a lot of Hollywood productions, including Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Our Historical Consultant was Hugh Ambrose, Steven Ambrose's son, who helped me find the three main characters and...
1. Bruce - Fantastic first episode and a great start to the series. I was wondering who served as the military and historical advisers on the set and how did they interact within the writing, production and editing processes. The attention to detail was impressive and with so few WWII veterans to serve as primary sources it must have made getting the exacting details you've achieved a challenge.
- Drew, MakingOf Forums
Thanks! If you think Episode One was fantastic, wait 'til Two! Our military advisor was Dale Dye, a retired Marine Corps Captain who served in Vietnam and has worked on a lot of Hollywood productions, including Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Our Historical Consultant was Hugh Ambrose, Steven Ambrose's son, who helped me find the three main characters and...
- 3/19/2010
- Makingof.com
MakingOf is continuing our coverage of the epic HBO miniseries "The Pacific" by launching a new weekly question and answer forum with Bruce C. McKenna, Co-executive Producer and Writer. Beginning today, and throughout the miniseries' ten-week run, MakingOf community members are invited to have their questions answered by McKenna in a dedicated Forum within the Community Section. After each Sunday episode, McKenna will review and post answers to fans questions within a 48-hour time frame.
To leave a question for Bruce C. McKenna visit the "Talk with Bruce C McKenna" topic in our forum section and post a reply that includes a question you would like answered. Make sure and check back to read his response to your question and other fans inquiries after each episode airs.
Below are the first set of questions, submitted by MakingOf Community Members and "The Pacific" fans.
1. Bruce - Fantastic first episode and a great start to the series.
To leave a question for Bruce C. McKenna visit the "Talk with Bruce C McKenna" topic in our forum section and post a reply that includes a question you would like answered. Make sure and check back to read his response to your question and other fans inquiries after each episode airs.
Below are the first set of questions, submitted by MakingOf Community Members and "The Pacific" fans.
1. Bruce - Fantastic first episode and a great start to the series.
- 3/18/2010
- Makingof.com
James Badge Dale, Joe Mazzello and Val Lauren have been tapped to lead the ensemble cast of HBO Films' big-budget miniseries The Pacific, from executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
The 10-hour mini, a companion piece to Hanks and Spielberg's Emmy-winning 2001 World War II saga Band of Brothers, tracks the intertwined odysseys of three U.S. Marines -- Robert Leckie (Dale), John Basilone (Lauren) and Eugene Sledge (Mazzello) -- across the vast canvas of the Pacific, from the first clash with the Japanese in the jungles of Guadalcanal to the triumphant return home after V-J Day.
Pacific, which HBO Films is producing in association with Playtone and DreamWorks Television, starts shooting in August in Port Douglas, Australia. It will shoot there through year's end and then move to Melbourne. No airdate has yet been set for the mini, which also will air in Australia on Channel 7.
Pacific is based on the books With the Old Breed by Sledge and Helmet for My Pillow by Leckie, as well as original interviews conducted by the filmmakers and Hugh Ambrose, son of Brothers author Stephen E. Ambrose.
The 10-hour mini, a companion piece to Hanks and Spielberg's Emmy-winning 2001 World War II saga Band of Brothers, tracks the intertwined odysseys of three U.S. Marines -- Robert Leckie (Dale), John Basilone (Lauren) and Eugene Sledge (Mazzello) -- across the vast canvas of the Pacific, from the first clash with the Japanese in the jungles of Guadalcanal to the triumphant return home after V-J Day.
Pacific, which HBO Films is producing in association with Playtone and DreamWorks Television, starts shooting in August in Port Douglas, Australia. It will shoot there through year's end and then move to Melbourne. No airdate has yet been set for the mini, which also will air in Australia on Channel 7.
Pacific is based on the books With the Old Breed by Sledge and Helmet for My Pillow by Leckie, as well as original interviews conducted by the filmmakers and Hugh Ambrose, son of Brothers author Stephen E. Ambrose.
- 6/11/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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