Naman Shrestha
A spiritual successor to ‘Band of Brothers,’ HBO’s ‘The Pacific’ is a war drama miniseries that narrates the harrowing tale of three US Marines as they put their lives on the line by enlisting in the fight against the Japanese forces at the Pacific theater during World War II. With Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg serving as the executive producers, the WWII-themed series is primarily based on the memoirs of two US Marines — Eugene Sledge’s ‘With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa’ and Robert Leckie’s ‘Helmet for My Pillow.’
Over the years, the show has garnered universal acclaim owing to its gripping and fast-paced narrative, terrific performances by a stellar cast comprising Rami Malek, James Badge Dale, Ashton Holmes, Caroline Dhavernas, and Joseph Mazzello, as well as the gritty and visceral battle scenes that complement the overall tone of the story and offer a realistic depiction of war. If the stunning and powerful visuals make you wonder where exactly the series was filmed, we have gathered all the necessary details about the same.
The Pacific Filming Locations
‘The Pacific’ was filmed primarily in Australia, especially in Queensland and Victoria, while additional portions were reportedly shot in Los Angeles, California. As per reports, production for the 10-episode mini-series got underway in August 2007 and continued for the next nine months or so, before finally wrapping up in late May 2008. Now, without wasting any time, allow us to take you through all the specific locations that double as the battlefield in the HBO show.
Queensland, Australia
To kick off the production for ‘The Pacific,’ the production team traveled to Queensland, Australia, and made the most of the state’s diverse terrains. For instance, the Shire of Douglas served as one of the prominent filming sites with the filming unit setting up camp in the coastal town of Port Douglas, the rural town of Mossman, and Mowbray National Park on Kennedy Highway in MacAlister Range. In addition, they recreated the narrow pass on Guadalcanal, where Sgt. John Basilone and his team prevent the Japanese from advancing, in Drumsara.
Some pivotal beach sequences were lensed on two beaches in Rocky Point, which is situated in the Shire of Douglas as well. As a matter of fact, the production team built an entire creek from scratch on a beachfront property in order to bring the night battle scene to life. Most of the sets constructed throughout the shooting process of the miniseries took the filming unit about 12 to 13 weeks, with the end goal being to destroy them in the course of the shooting.
Victoria, Australia
After wrapping up production in Queensland, the cast and crew members of ‘The Pacific’ moved to the Australian state of Victoria. In November and December 2007, they were spotted shooting the battlefield scenes of Iwo Jima and Okinawa at Hillview Quarry in Victoria’s You Yangs district near Lara. Moreover, Flinders Street and surrounding areas became film sets for a while as the production team set up camp in Flinders Street Station as well as Swanston and Elizabeth Streets.
Shooting for some important scenes for the war drama miniseries also took place in a few educational facilities, including Scotch College at 1 Morrison Street in Hawthorn, Melbourne High School on Forrest Hill in South Yarra, and Ernest Jones Hall at the La Trobe University on Plenty Road and Kingsbury Drive in Bundoora. The makers also utilized the facilities of Docklands Studios Melbourne, formerly known as Central City Studios, for shooting key portions.
Situated at 476 Docklands Drive in Docklands, the film studio complex was established in 2004 and is home to six sound stages, each of which consists of production offices, storage, dressing, and make-up rooms. All these amenities make the complex one of the most sought-after filming sites in all of Australia. There are a few other production locations where the cast and crew members were spotted during the production process. They are Railway Hotel South Melbourne at 280 Ferrars Street in South Melbourne, a sand quarry on Sandy Creek Road near Geelong, and seemingly the Mornington Tourist Railway at 460 Moorooduc Highway in Moorooduc.
Los Angeles, California
Additional portions for ‘The Pacific’ were seemingly recorded in the world’s entertainment capital — Los Angeles. The vastness and versatility of the City of Angels are possibly captured in quite a few scenes of the show as the filming unit sets up camp in different streets and neighborhoods of the city. Other than the Rami Malek starrer, its locales have been featured in ‘Dunkirk,’ Tropic Thunder,’ and ‘Gone with the Wind.’
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