Empire of the Sun (film)
Empire of the Sun | |
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Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
Screenplay by | Tom Stoppard |
Based on | Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Allen Daviau |
Edited by | Michael Kahn |
Music by | John Williams |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 154 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages |
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Budget | $25 million[1] |
Box office | $66.7 million[2] |
Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American
Harold Becker and David Lean were originally to direct before Spielberg came on board, initially as a producer for Lean.[3] Spielberg was attracted to directing the film because of a personal connection to Lean's films and World War II topics. He considers it to be his most profound work on "the loss of innocence".[1] The film received positive reviews, with praise towards Bale's performance, the cinematography, the visuals, Williams's score and Spielberg's direction. However, the film was not initially a commercial success, earning only $22 million at the US box office, although it eventually more than recouped its budget through revenues in foreign markets, home video, and television.[4]
Plot
Amid Japan's invasion of China during World War II, Jamie "Jim" Graham is a British upper middle class schoolboy enjoying a privileged life in the Shanghai International Settlement. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan begins occupying the settlement. As the Graham family evacuate the city, Jamie is separated from his parents in the ensuing chaos. Jamie makes his way back to their house, assuming they will return. After a length of time alone and having eaten the little remaining food, he ventures back into the city.
Hungry, Jamie tries surrendering to Japanese soldiers, who ignore him. After being chased by a street
It is now 1945, nearing the end of the Pacific War and World War II. Despite the terror and poor living conditions of the camp, Jim survives by establishing a successful trading network—which even involves the camp's commander, Sergeant Nagata. Dr Rawlins, the camp's British doctor, becomes a father figure and teacher to Jim. Jim also visits Basie in the American POW barracks, where he idolises the Americans and their culture. One night after a bombing raid, Nagata orders the destruction of the prisoners' infirmary as a reprisal, but stops when Jim eloquently begs forgiveness. Through the barbed wire fencing Jim befriends a Japanese teenager who is a trainee pilot.
One morning, at dawn, the base is suddenly attacked by a group of American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft. Jim is overjoyed and climbs the ruins of a nearby pagoda to better watch the action.
Dr Rawlins chases Jim up the pagoda to save him, whereupon the boy breaks down in tears—saying he cannot remember what his parents look like. Dr. Rawlins comforts Jim and carries him down from the pagoda. As a result of the attack the Japanese decide to evacuate the camp. Basie escapes during the confusion. As they leave, Jim's trainee pilot friend goes through the ritual kamikaze preparation and attempts to take off in a Japanese attack plane. The trainee is devastated when the engine sputters and dies.
The camp prisoners march through the wilderness, where many die from fatigue, starvation and disease. Arriving at a football stadium near Nantao, where many of the Shanghai inhabitants' possessions have been stored by the Japanese, Jim recognises his parents' Packard car. He spends the night there with Mrs. Victor, a fellow prisoner who dies shortly thereafter, and later witnesses flashes from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki hundreds of miles away.
Jim wanders back to the Suzhou camp. Along the way he hears news of
Jim is eventually found by American soldiers and placed in an orphanage, where he is reunited with his mother and father, though he does not recognise them at first.
Cast
- Christian Bale as James "Jim" Graham also known as Jamie
- John Malkovich as Basie
- Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Victor
- Nigel Havers as Dr Rawlins
- Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest
- Leslie Phillips as Maxton
- Japanese: 永田軍曹, Nagata Gunsō)
- Emily Richard as Mary Graham, Jim's Mother
- Rupert Frazer as John Graham, Jim's Father
- Peter Gale as Mr. Victor
- Takatarō Kataoka as Kamikaze Boy Pilot
- Ben Stiller as Dainty
- Robert Stephens as Mr. Lockwood
- Japanese: 内田軍曹, Uchida Gunsō)
- Burt Kwouk as Mr. Chen
- Paul McGann as Lieutenant Price
- Marc de Jonge as Mathieu
- Eric Flynn as British Prisoner #1
- James Greene as British Prisoner #2
- Paula Hamilton as British Prisoner #3
- Tony Boncza as British Prisoner #4
- Peter Copley as British Prisoner #5
Author J. G. Ballard makes a cameo appearance as a house party guest.
Production
Development
Casting
J.G. Ballard felt Bale had a physical resemblance to himself at the same age.
Filming
Empire of the Sun was filmed at
Spielberg attempted to portray the era accurately, using period vehicles and aircraft. Four
Spielberg had wanted to film in Super Panavision 70 but did not want to work with the old camera equipment that was only available at the time.[15]
Special effects
Reception
Empire of the Sun was given a
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 78% based on reviews from 63 critics, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "One of Steven Spielberg's most ambitious efforts of the 1980s, Empire of the Sun remains an under-rated gem in the director's distinguished filmography."[17] Metacritic calculated an average score of 62 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
Awards
The film won awards from the
Themes
Jim's growing alienation from his pre-war self and society is reflected in his hero-worship of the Japanese aviators based at the airfield adjoining the camp. "I think it's true that the Japanese were pretty brutal with the Chinese, so I don't have any particularly sentimental view of them," Ballard recalled. "But small boys tend to find their heroes where they can. One thing there was no doubt about, and that was that the Japanese were extremely brave. One had very complicated views about patriotism [and] loyalty to one's own nation. Jim is constantly identifying himself, first with the Japanese; then, when the Americans start flying over in their Mustangs and B-29s, he's very drawn to the American."[5]
The apocalyptic wartime setting and the climactic moment when Jim sees the distant white flash of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki gave Spielberg powerful visual metaphors "to draw a parallel story between the death of this boy's innocence and the death of the innocence of the entire world".[33] Spielberg reflected he "was attracted to the idea that this was a death of innocence, not an attenuation of childhood, which by my own admission and everybody's impression of me is what my life has been. This was the opposite of Peter Pan. This was a boy who had grown up too quickly."[1] Other topics that Spielberg previously dealt with, and are presented in Empire of the Sun, include a child being separated from his parents (The Sugarland Express, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Color Purple, and Poltergeist)[N 2] and World War II (1941, and Raiders of the Lost Ark).[34] Spielberg explained "My parents got a divorce when I was 14, 15. The whole thing about separation is something that runs very deep in anyone exposed to divorce."[1]
In popular culture
The dramatic attack on the Japanese prisoner of war camp carried out by P-51 Mustangs is accompanied by Jim's whoops of "...the Cadillac of the skies!", a phrase believed to be first used in Ballard's text as "Cadillac of air combat".[35] Steven Bull quotes the catchwords in the Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation (2004) as originating in 1941.[36] John Williams's soundtrack includes "Cadillac of the Skies" as an individual score cue.
Ben Stiller conceived the idea for Tropic Thunder while performing in Empire of the Sun.[37]
See also
Notes
- ^ In 1989, Spielberg was quoted as saying: "...Empire of the Sun wasn't a very commercial project, it wasn't going to have a broad audience appeal... I've earned the right to fail commercially."[16]
- ^ Film historian and author Kowalski collectively links these films as Spielberg's "family" or conversely, as his "displaced father" films.[34]
References
- ^ a b c d Forsberg, Myra. "Spielberg at 40: The Man and the Child" Archived February 24, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times, October 1, 2008. Retrieved: September 17, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g McBride 1997, pp. 394–398.
- ^ McBride 1997, p. 391.
- ^ Amazon.com). Retrieved: September 16, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g McBride 1997, p. 392.
- ^ a b c d Sheen, Martin (narrator), Steven Spielberg, J.G. Ballard, and Christian Bale. The China Odyssey: Empire of the Sun American Broadcasting Company, 1987.
- Tiscali. Retrieved: September 16, 2008.
- ^ Bullock, Paul. "Spielberg Questions #4: Did Christian Bale sing in Empire of the Sun?" Archived March 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. From Director Steven Spielberg. Retrieved: March 5th 2016.
- ^ "Empire of the Sun - Miscellaneous Notes". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Yarrow, Andrew (December 16, 1987). "Boy in 'Empire' calls acting 'really good fun'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Walker 1988, p. 49.
- ^ ProQuest 235492832.
- OCLC 637419754.[pages needed]
- ^ a b Walker 1988, pp. 63–65.
- Daily Variety. p. 17.
- ^ Friedman and Notbohn 2000, p. 137.
- ^ "Empire of the Sun (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
- CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (December 7, 1987). "Cinema: The Man-Child Who Fell to Earth EMPIRE OF THE SUN". Time. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Maislin, Janet. "Empire of the Sun" Archived March 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times, December 9, 1987. Retrieved: September 16, 2008.
- ^ Salmon, Julie. "Empire of the Sun" Archived October 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Wall Street Journal, December 9, 1987. Retrieved: January 31, 2011.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Empire of the Sun". Chicago Sun-Times, December 11, 1987. Retrieved: September 16, 2008. Archived September 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Empire of the Sun". Siskel & Ebert. Disney-ABC Domestic Television. December 12, 1987. Television.
- ^ "National Board of Review 1987 Award Winners" Archived January 9, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. National Board of Review. Retrieved: October 21, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees & Winners for the 60th Academy Awards" Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved: January 31, 2011.
- ^ "42nd British Academy Awards" Archived December 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. IMDb. Retrieved: September 17, 2008.
- ^ "DGA Awards: 1988" Archived January 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. IMDb. Retrieved: September 17, 2008.
- ^ "ASC Awards: 1988" Archived February 25, 2004, at the Wayback Machine. IMDb. Retrieved: September 17, 2008.
- Golden Globes. Retrieved: January 31, 2011.
- ^ "Grammy Awards: 1988" Archived August 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. IMDb. Retrieved: September 17, 2008.
- ^ McBride 1997, p. 393.
- ^ a b Kowalski 2008, pp. 35, 67.
- ^ Ballard 1984, p. 151.
- ^ Bull 2004, p. 184.
- ^ Vary, Adam B. "First Look: Tropic Thunder" Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Entertainment Weekly, March 5, 2008. Retrieved: May 27, 2008.
Sources
- Ballard, J.G. (2002). Empire of the Sun, first edition. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 0-575-03483-1.
- Bull, Steven (2004). Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood. ISBN 978-1-57356-557-8.
- Dolan, Edward F. (1985). Hollywood Goes to War. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
- Evans, Alun (2000). Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-263-5.
- Friedman, Lester D; Notbohm, Brent (2000). Steven Spielberg: Interviews. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-113-6.
- Gordon, Andrew; Gormile, Frank (2002). The Films of Steven Spielberg. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 109–123, 127–137. ISBN 0-8108-4182-7.
- Hardwick, Jack; Schnepf, Ed (1989). "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films (General Aviation Series, vol. 2).
- Kowalski, Dean A. (2008). Steven Spielberg and Philosophy: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Book. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2527-5.
- McBride, Joseph (1987). Steven Spielberg: A Biography. New York: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-19177-0.
- Walker, Jeff (January 1988). "Empire of the Sun". Air Classics. 24.
External links
- Official Website
- Empire of the Sun at IMDb
- Empire of the Sun at the TCM Movie Database
- Empire of the Sun at AllMovie
- Empire of the Sun at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Empire of the Sun at Rotten Tomatoes
- Empire of the Sun at Box Office Mojo
- Empire of the Sun at Metacritic