Hanks' and Speilberg's "The Pacific", a 10 part miniseries on HBO, that ran last March on HBO, will be rerun, starting this Thursday, on Veterans Day.
The ratings were not what HBO wanted or expected last March, so I fail to see why they believe running it again for a day set aside to honor veterans, will help.
The following were my initial thoughts on this anti-war propaganda. My opinion has not only not changed, it is reinforced in my mind with the latest slap in the face to all of our troops, not just the WWI heroes.
Touted by Hanks' as a movie that will show the other side of WWII, saying, "'We didn't know our troops did that to Japanese people", did not exactly produce shock and awe.
In the first 20 minutes, we hear WWII soldiers say the dreaded "Jap" word several times. If that is supposed to be the Oh My God moment, it was not. That word appeared in the headlines of newspapers all across America, especially after December 7, 1941.
One scene came toward the end of the movie that I assume is supposed to show American soldiers for the sadistic murdering individuals Hanks and the rest of the anti-war Hollywood ilk, believe about our US troops, features the men taunting a Japanese soldier, shooting but not injuring him, and laughing.
How hard were we laughing when the Japanese tormented, tortured, raped, and killed our soldiers? Was it humorous when the Japanese used Philippines soldiers and Pilipino women, as human shields, all under the nose of the Geneva Convention?
Nothing more than a rehashed version of Oliver Stones' views of veterans, such as in the movie, Platoon, I am sure anti-war types will shout, "See I told you they're no better than baby killers!
Before Hanks starred in the one film that boosted his film career, Philadelphia, while playing a transvestite on a sitcom, no one ever heard Hanks' anti-war political rants. Before Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, fans did not know that Spielberg thought the US's involvement in WWII was unnecessary. Go figure that one out.
HBO runs several documentaries, including Rosie's Gay Cruise, and probably thought running The Pacific was a good opportunity for them to appeal to the liberal lunatic fringe. They are probably correct, but what they may have not seen is how differently people will react now when they watch Saving Private Ryan.
The scene in the beginning of the movie, showing the shot-up bleeding bodies of Americans slaughtered on the beach of Normandy, will now draw a response from many who watch The Pacific, thinking they deserved to die.
I will not watch the rest of the series; the first show was enough for me. I noticed that the biggest star in this film was an actor who guest starred in one season of 24, whose name escapes me.
Funny, but as Hanks and Spielberg are huge supporters of Obama, what do they think of his failure to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, as he promised during his campaign.
It is also weird that Spielberg would make a movie, build a website about the Holocaust, then turn around, and show how barbaric American soldiers were after getting involved in a war where Hitler murdered millions of Jews.
The Pacific will do well for HBO's ratings, I presume. However, it will not spark a renewed interest in Charlie Wilson's War or any of Hanks' movies that have not lived up to the few movies he did with Denzel Washington or Kevin Bacon.
It will also not erase the memory of the day that "Japan deliberately and maliciously attacked" the US at Pearl Harbor.