Empire of the Sun1987
Empire of the Sun (1987)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: One of Steven Spielberg's most ambitious efforts of the 1980s, Empire of the Sun remains an underrated gem in the director's distinguished filmography.
Empire of the Sun Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Jim "Jamie" Graham
as Basie
as Mrs. Victor
as Rawlins
as Frank
as Maxton
as Sgt. Nagata
as Jim's Mother
as Jim's Father
as Mr. Victor
as Kamikaze Boy Pilot
as Dainty
as Tiptree
as Cohen
as Mr. Lockwood
as Yang
as Sgt. Uchida
as Amy Matthews
as Mr. Radik
as Singing Prisoner
as Mrs. Gilmour
as Mrs. Phillips
as Mrs. Lockwood
as Mr. Partridge
as Mrs. Hug
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as British Prisoner
as American Prisoner
as American Prisoner
as American Prisoner
as American Prisoner
as Mr. Chen
as Col. Marshall
as Chinese Youth
as American Prisoner
as Japanese Truck Driver
as Japanese Sergeant/Airfield
as Lt. Price
as Frenchman
as Amah
as Paul
as Paul's Sister
as Chinese Cook At Detention Center
as Mr. Pym
as Mrs. Pym
as Mrs. Partridge
as Mrs. Hug's Father
as Mr. Chen's Aide
as Shopkeeper
as Shopkeeper
as Merchant
as Merchant
as Merchant
as Guest at Costume Party
News & Interviews for Empire of the Sun
Critic Reviews for Empire of the Sun
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (14) | DVD (3)
What is most remarkable about Empire of the Sun then, is the almost seamless fashion in which a faithful adaptation... has nevertheless contrived to become a proto-Spielbergian affirmation of faith and optimism in the universe.
Empire of the Sun is a great, overwrought movie that leaves one wordless and worn out.
John Williams' resonant and triumphant score superbly augments this simple and complex narrative
The pseudomystical vagueness that seems to be Spielberg's stock-in-trade stifles most of the particularity of the source.
The film's grave problem is a lack of central heating: We don't have a single character to warm up to.
This is derivative melodrama with Spielberg hedging his bets by ripping off his previous adventure films to lighten a story that cries out not to be turned into a comic book.
Audience Reviews for Empire of the Sun
Perhaps the best Spielberg film ever, this war drama has a large cast but focuses on mainly one character, a boy out of his familiars. Malkevich plays an American, capitalism uncaged, for whom the war is primarily an opportunity for gain. Richardson is a British socialite, forced against her will to look at real life and none too happy about it. And Bale, the star, is a Brit of privilege too, but barely manages to make do. This piece had two things against it as I went in, Spielberg and Bale, but both rise above their comfort zones to deliver an exceptional story.
Super Reviewer
Good story.
Super Reviewer
Empire of the Sun is anything if not an admirable effort. It's Spielberg's first serious take on war and what it can do to those it affects, so not really anything historic or even remotely about the war itself. The war is the background to the story, but the story is a bit uneven. I felt like the film was much longer than it needed to be to tell the story it was trying to tell... if its goal isn't what I think it is. My personal take on the ending of this film, one that I don't see many sharing, is that at the end, Christian Bale's character is so traumitized by the experience of being through a war on his own that he can't even recognize his own parents when they eventually find him again. He's not the same person, and he'll be changed forever. That's my take. Most people's take is that he's a boy who's learned to grow up the hard way. If the former is the case then the length is fine. If it's the latter, then it could have been shorter. Dragging it out with useless side characters and circumstances wouldn't do it justice if that is the case. Either way, as I said, it's an admirable effort, but one that doesn't seem to be achieving a clear goal in the storytelling.
Super Reviewer
Empire of the Sun Quotes
| Jim Graham: | I Learned a new word today Atom bomb. It was like a white light in the sky, like God taking a photograph. |
| Jim Graham: | I Learned a new word today: atom bomb. It was like a white light in the sky, like God taking a photograph. |
| Jim Graham: | (About Japanese boy) He was my friend! |
| Jim Graham: | He was my friend! |
| Basie: | He's a jap! |
| Jim's Father: | We're luckier than most and he's luckier than some. |
| Jim Graham: | P-52 cadillac of the sky |
| Jim Graham: | P-52, Cadillac of the sky. |