Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Magnificent
Review: Steven Speilberg has made so many films to be proud of, but this has to be my very favorite. If an essential element of a great film is it's ability to completely transport you to a different place and time, then this is a great film. The story, the music, the cinematography, the characters, and the recreations of pre WWII China are simply phenomenal; it is an incredible piece of cinematic art that hasn't been accorded the respect it is due.Great movies have a lasting effect on you. I watch this film about once a year, and it never fails to touch me, amaze me, and leave me felling like I have spent time in a far distant place. You can't ask a movie to do much more. I live in Oregon, so it's pretty doubtful I will ever see Steven Spielberg hanging out at the local Starbucks.....but if I ever do meet him, I would thank him for making this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Empire of the Sun portrays World War II excellently! It shows what basic Japenese camps were like and gives us all a simple taste of what type of things happened. This movie was touching and worth the money!
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing Epic
Review: What a masterpiece by Stephen Spielberg!
"Empire of the Sun," like so many other Spielberg films, tells a coming of age story of a young boy. Ah, but his setting is not Southern California in the 70's or 80's this time.
Instead the story takes place in the Shanghai of WWII. Right before the war, English and Americans lived in luxurious and guarded enclaves of the city.
The hero of the story, Jamie (later Jim), is a spoiled young boy. He reprimands his servants, he questions the existence of God, he drives his loving parents crazy. All changes with the Japanese attack of Shanghai, which separates Jamie from his paretns. At first, it's a bit of a child's dream. He goes back to their mansion, he rides his bike around the house, he does what he pleases. Eventually he returns to the city and tries to surrender to the Japanese. But they don't want him.
He takes up, Oliver Twist like, with two American shady characters (a young John Malkovich and Joe Pantolino). Together they become imprisoned by the Japanese and are eventually sent off to an interment camp.
You see the camp through the eyes of a child. Yes he detests certain aspects-lack of food, grime-but he also takes to other parts. He's free from school. He becomes the child about the camp and spends most days bartering and exchanging goods. He befriends a Japanese or two. (He had admired them prior to the War.) He also shows the isolation of the ex-pat. Though he's called English, he has never been there. He's been put through all this for a country that he has never been to in his life.
I strongly recommend this film to history buffs, particularly those who enjoy WW II films. If you like John Malkovich, you'll love him here.
Yes the movie moves a bit slow at times. But overall, I found it to be a wonderful experience. (The DVD Making Of is also an excellent add-on.)
Rating: 
Summary: A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR STEVEN SPIELBERG.
Review: With "Empire Of The Sun", Steven Spielberg built the foundations for his best movie to date "Schindler's List". In fact, he corrected most of the mistakes that he did in "Empire Of The Sun". Some of the mistakes in "Empire Of The Sun" are: overlong sequences that lead to nowhere, excessive use of sentimentalism in some scenes, and characters without significance. However, Spielberg also took the strong points in "Empire Of The Sun" in order of making "Schindler's List" the great movie it is. The strong points in "Empire Of The Sun" are: excellent music, outstanding cinematography, great set designs, remarkable performances (Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson). "Empire Of The Sun" is recommendable if you are a huge fan of Steven Spielberg, or if you want to see the movie that built the foundations for "Schindler's List". However, "Empire Of The Sun" is not an essential film, "Schindler's List" is infinitely superior.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies of all time!
Review: I'm an absolute movie junkie and have probably seen over 5,000 of them in my 30 year life. Whenever I'm asked "what my favorite movie is", I'll almost always put this in the top 5. This is a riveting and heartwrenching story of a spoiled and naive English boy caught in one of the most explosive and confusing frontlines in WWII (Shangai, China). It chronicles his "lightspeed" maturation as he's seperated by his parents and forced to be survive on sheer wit and will. I won't give more of the story away than that. I will say however that the cinematography, music, acting, and set design are some of the best I've ever seen. I just can't imagine someone not adoring this movie. Hope my opinion helps. Enjoy...
Rating:
Summary: Good!
Review: Empire of the Sun is a good movie and has a lot of fine actors including a young Christian Bale who really was quite good and John Malkovich who was terrific! I also like the movie soundtrack and I bought the soundtrack on cassette tape and it's pretty good and has some great music from the movie but missing some of my favorites. I recommend the movie and and also the soundtrack album. BTW: I actually came on here to review the soundtrack and I noticed that Amazon has combined the reviews for the movie and the soundtrack album when they usually keep them seperate.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Hey, P51, Cadillac of the skies!'
Review: Need I say more? I had no idea till today this was Spielberg movie, so this didnt influence me to waste my money on an overnight hire of it.I dont know how that happned. 'P51-Cadillac of the skies'?
Sheesh. This kid has been in a Japanese concentration-camp( and lets not break PC-code presenting Japanese internment-camps as harsh uncomfortable places, or next-door Airbase Japanese fighter-pilots as not being inclined to befriend and help father young English boys in WW2)anyway, hes been in this friendly Japanese prisoner -camp since the Fall of Hongkong in 1941, and yet knows all about the P51 Mustang fighter, obviously from the well-equiped extensive Japanese internment-camp library, with all the necessary data and tales of derring-do about state of the art American enemy fighter aircraft in 1944 or so. How Spielberg went on to Private Ryan from 'Empire of the Sun' might make a startling movie in itself.
Rating:
Summary: really good
Review: It is my personal opinion that Empire of the Sun is one of the greatest movies ever created, and does not recieve enough credit for its stunning story, gripping plot, and amazing acting.
Rating:
Summary: Not His Best Stuff
Review: Okay, so it's a Steven Spielburg movie, which means it's a given there was talent involved. That said, I found this movie to be nothing more than okay. In a way, the entire thing was sureal, which though maybe intentional, made it hard for me to attach myself to the film or its characters. The last 20 minutes was good, but it took a while to get there.
Rating:
Summary: Emotional, heart-warming masterpiece
Review: "Empire of the Sun" is an inspiring, emotional, and action-packed epic of a small boy in a great war. Jim Grahm ( Christian Bale) is a young boy that is raised in a wealthy British communtiy in Japan during WWII. When a revolt breaks out in the streets, Jim is ripped away from his parents and forced off on his own. He heads back to his house to find it empty and looted by Japanese soldiers. Jim runs away from home hoping to find his parents only to run into Basey ( John Malkovich) and Frank Demarest ( Joe Pantoliano). They are soldiers that take an interest in Jim's hard luck story. Unfortunately the three are captured and put into a Japanese internment camp. Jim's love for planes and unconquerable spirit soars high and free above the harsh confines of the camp. Through his eyes we see both the fascination and horror of war. But as his struggle for survival grows, his hold on his childhood weakens. Empire of the Sun in my eyes is one of Spielberg's best films ever. It is based on the real life experiences of J.G. Ballard and really illustrates what he had to go through. The script follows his book so closely, that Ballard himself complimented Spielberg on how accurate the film was. The set designs and shot locations are incredibly realistic to the time period that the film took place in. You feel like you are witnessing a P.O.W. camp first hand as well as WWII itself. "Empire of the Sun" was also the first major Hollywood studio production ever to shoot in the People's Republic of China. The friendship that builds between Jim and the rest of the Americans is great. Christian Bale was just flat out amazing as Jim Grahm. It was the first role of his career and in my opinion it was his best performance. The most incredible thing about it, was the fact that he was just a boy. The role was very demanding, and he did a great job with it. Christian Bale also does a nice job singing along with the musical score in this film. John Malkovich turns in a solid performance as Basie. Basie is the leader of the American soldiers within the camp, and befriends Jim taking him under his wing. Other great performances are given by Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest, Miranda Richardson as Mrs Victor, and Nigel Havers as Dr. Rawlins. The DVD is definately worth the money because it offers an incredible 47 minute documentary on the making of the film entitled "The China Odyssey : Empire of the Sun". You hear facts about the war, and comments on the making of the film from Spielberg, the different actors, and the man who the film was based on - J.G. Ballard.
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