Empire of the Sun (1987)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

J.G. Ballard (novel)
Tom Stoppard (writer)

Release Date:

9 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

To survive in a world at war, he must find a strength greater than all the events that surround him.

Plot:

A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | Food | Japanese Army | Chinese | Shanghai

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Christian Bale	...	Jim 'Jamie' Graham
John Malkovich	...	Basie
Miranda Richardson	...	Mrs. Victor
Nigel Havers	...	Dr. Rawlins
Joe Pantoliano	...	Frank Demarest
Leslie Phillips	...	Maxton
Masatô Ibu	...	Sgt. Nagata
Emily Richard	...	Mary Graham, Jim's mother
Rupert Frazer	...	John Graham, Jim's father
Peter Gale	...	Mr. Victor
Takatoro Kataoka	...	Kamikaze Boy Pilot
Ben Stiller	...	Dainty
David Neidorf	...	Tiptree
Ralph Seymour	...	Cohen
Robert Stephens	...	Mr. Lockwood

Also Known As:

Solens rike (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
A nap birodalma (Hungary) [hu]
Auringon valtakunta (Finland) [fi]
Das Reich der Sonne (West Germany) [de]
El imperio del Sol (Spain) [es]
El imperio del sol (International: Spanish title) [es]
Empire du soleil (France) [fr]
Günes imparatorlugu (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
I aftokratoria tou iliou (Greece) [el]
Império do Sol (Brazil) [pt]
Imperija sunca (Serbia) [sr]
Imperium slonca (Poland) [pl]
Imperyat Ha-Shemesh (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
L'empire du soleil (Canada: French title) [fr]
L'imperi del sol (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
L'impero del sole (Italy) [it]
O Império do Sol (Portugal) [pt]
Solens rige (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

153 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | Mandarin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Spain:T | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | New Zealand:PG | Norway:11 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (cinema release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | Japan:U | Mexico:A | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:11 | Taiwan:GP | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

Eric Flynn, who plays a British POW, was actually a POW as a child in a Japanese camp.

Goofs:

Continuity: In an early scene where Jamie's mother is sitting on the foot of his bed, she lights a cigarette. When she stands to exit the room, the cigarette has disappeared.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: [title card] In 1941 China and Japan had been in a state of undeclared war for four years. A Japanese army of occupation was in control of much of the countryside and many towns and cities. In Shanghai thousands of Westerners, protected by the diplomatic security of the International Settlement, continued to live as they had lived since the British came here in the 19th century and built in the image of their own country...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Taare Zameen Par (2007)

Soundtrack:

Chopin Mazurka Opus 17 No. 4

This movie was a visual, character driven movie of superior quality,

This movie was a visual, character driven movie of superior quality, even for Steven Speilberg. Some say that Speilberg has too much the eye of a child, but I tend to disagree. Too many filmmakers today are producing slick, throw away action flicks that at first seem promising but eventually fall into predictable, fluff and special effects laden, thinly plotted, dialogue-poor, characterless movies that are gone before the popcorn. Yes, this film has a lot of great Special Effects (So did Schindler's List.) Moreover, a lot of great action to keep the story pace from dragging. The idea of a movie is for the actors and directors to show their stuff (Hopefully around some good writing.) This movie did it for me. I have to agree with all those who praised Christian Bale for his performance in this movie. He was brilliant. In addition, I got to see Ben Stiller in an unusual role for him. I thought that John Malcovitch acted perfectly for this film and yes he was a Han Solo/Indiana Jones character, but with even less depth. His role was pivotal only in so far as it affected the boy. We were not as concerned with his character in so much as his shadow was cast on Jim through out the movie. The war was bigger than this little boy was and it was exquisitely done. Steven Speilberg gives us wonder, mystery, action, adventure and history in everything he does. He's the consummate filmmaker.