Empire of the Sun

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Summary: An underrated Spielberg film
Review: It's hard to believe that Steven Spielberg's least criticized film is Jaws. His most heavily underrated films are Amistad and this movie, Empire of the Sun. Of his four films (not including Indiana Jones films)in the World War II era, Saving Private Ryan is the greatest (in my opinion SPR is the greatest movie ever), then Schindler's List, and then Empire of the Sun with 1941 being the weakest. Empire of the Sun isn't a war film in the sense of Saving Private Ryan but comes from a civilian's point of view. Empire of the Sun has many emotional and agonizing scenes that only Spielberg could have crafted himself.

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Summary: Poignant tale of another life destroyed from WWII
Review: This is perhaps my favorite Spielberg film. It really can't beat "Schindler's List" but it grabs you in a different way. It definitley deserves much more recognition than it got. My only problem is this: Out of ALL of Spielberg's films this is the only one besides "Goonies" that isn't in Widescreen!! Why? the cinematography is glorious and I haven't been able to see the entire version since I saw it in the theatre back in 1987!! I've been meaning to buy this movie, I'm just waiting for the widescreen version guys!

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Summary: Genuine art, and from Spielberg no less...
Review: By far one of my favorite movies of all time, Empire of the Sun is simply brilliant. I wonder how many more movies like this we would have seen from Spielberg if the critics had paid closer attention to it. Every time I watch this movie I get teary at least twice (Jim singing to the Japanese pilots and "Cadillac of the Sky!"); much as Citizen Kane has shots that will always give me goosebumps, this movie has shots so powerful they will always affect me. Anyone who hasn't seen it and truly appreciates good cinema should see it as soon as possible. We see an innocent (if spoiled) young boy become the ultimate survivalist. Jim sheds his former life, eventually casting the last remains of it into the Yangtze River. Jim's dreams and illusions never cease to be fascinating to me, and I doubt they ever will.

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Summary: I LOVE CHRISTAIN BALE!!
Review: THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORIE MOVIES HGHLY RECOMENDED!

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Summary: Spielberg's most underrated film.
Review: Even though he had made "The Color Purple" not long before "Empire of the Sun" Spielberg was still considered a lightweight whose main talent lay in "escapist" movies. For most of the snobs who review films this one did little to change that label. I've loved this film from the first time I saw it. I read the book which was indeed a better story than the movie, but then most books are. By their very nature they are more complex than films and go into much greater detail (If "The Hunt for Red October" had followed every detail of the book it would have been a 5 or 6 hour movie), yet here Spielberg, in the time allotted, weaves a compelling story of a young boy learning to survive in a very contradictory world. To him, while WWII China is horrifying, he still finds in it a sense of adventure. Being treated brutally by people (the Japanese) whom he holds a puerile admiration for (mainly due to his fascination with fighter planes). The young actor, Christian Bale, who plays the lead turns in a very convincing performance and John Malkovich and Nigel Havers are excellent in supporting roles. The soundtrack is worth picking up also for the Welsh hymn "Suo Gan" and the closing choral music. All in all a superior piece of film-making.

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Summary: Awesome movie depicting the life of a young boy during WW2.
Review: Steven Spielberg did an excellent job of portraying the life of an English family in Shanghai during the time of Pearl Harbor. Very believable! The young boy, Jim, goes through everything-joy, hate, anguish... Highly recommended!!!

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Summary: YOUNG BOY GROWS SPIRITUALLY BECOMING SENSITIVE TO THE POOR.
Review: PLEASE ELIMINATE MY LAST COMMENT WHEREIN I SUGGESTED THAT THE LIKES OF JOSEPH MAZZELLO COULD HAVE PLAYED THE PART OF JIM IN "EMPIRE OF THE SUN." ONE MAJOR PROBLEM... MAZZELLO WAS PROBABLY 4 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF FILMING. THANKS......

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Summary: teehee
Review: I am 14 and I first saw the movie last year in my language class. I thought it was way boring. Then I found out christian bale was in it (i didn't know hewas Jim) so I rented it again. I loved it. really. Its kind of captivating and neat. Christian Bale did a wonderful job as Jim.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed, yet superb film
Review: There is lots to criticize about this movie. It is at least 30 minutes too long. John Williams's score staggers back-and-forth between poignant and overcooked. The rough edges of Ballard's brilliant and harsh novel are sanded away with sentimentality. Some scenes late in the film are so contrived as to be just silly. Nevertheless, this is powerful art that pierces anyone who cares about kids, and that is why its story overcomes its flaws. Everyone, as a child and as a parent, has lived or at least imagined the nightmare of a kid being separated from mom and dad. Here, a boy is lost in the most dangerous of circumstances -- in the midst of a war in a foreign land, where most of the grown-ups care little about him. That he survives, and how he survives, is the essence of the tale, and it compels one to overlook the film's many defects. Fortunately for Spielberg, Christian Bale as the protagonist gives the best performance by a youngster I've ever seen in any movie, foreshadowing the quality of his considerable talent as an adult actor. The critics were lukewarm on the film, but it will come to be seen as a classic, just as Ballard's novel will be seen as one of the emblematic works of the 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: An awesome story of a young boy having to grow up.
Review: Spielberg did an excellent job portraying the life of foreigners living in Japan during WW2. Christian Bale did an inspiring performance as the young boy, Jim.