Spielberg's Best Film?

I think that's an excellent analysis. One reason the movie is my favorite out all of Spielberg's films is because it is so un-Spielberg in its complexity and unwavering commitment to the harsh realities of life. These aren't cartoonish good guy/bad guy caricatures and outlandishly lavish sets; there is depth and truth of character and setting throughout the film. He also tends to forgo the emphasis on the themes he traditionally explores, like father abandonment and the incorruptible innocence of children.

The acting is superb and the movie also benefits from an amazing John Williams score. I was just looking recently and hadn't realized this film got 6 Academy Award nominations: Art Direction/Set Decoration, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Edition, Original Music Score, and Sound. It's really a shame it wasn't awarded at least one of these.

This is my third favorite Speilberg film after the obvious #1 and #2:

1. Schindler's List
2. Saving Private Ryan

But this was great

This is my personal reason why this film is severely underrated:

I thought it's more relevant for post-911 than WW2.

The main thing to watch out for is how little external factors and the environment impact human interaction in wartime.

First thing that strikes me is that the kamikaze pilots are no different from islamic terrorists. Though the POWs and the Japanese soldiers may live together in a bit of uneasy harmony, the soldiers live under a false sense of belief as embodied by the passionate and committed pilots.

Second, in Chinese cultural lingo, there are 2 types of people that cross your life: the benefactor (gui ren, 贵人) and the troublemaker (xiao ren, 小人).

Basie is such a tricky character that I can't decide which category of person he falls under. Certainly by the end of the film, Jamie was already living in the age of mistrust because of this one adult.

This is my best theory. I cried buckets because of my realization of what Spielberg has portrayed. *thumbs up*

It certainly is! Beautiful, very powerful story, excellent acting and cinematography. An underrated masterpiece.

to alj Turin:

Reading your post I'd say you took the words right out of my mouth.

I too never really remembered it when I first saw it (i think i was 9) before finally falling in love with it at about 13.

I also struggled between which movie was better in my eyes, Empire of the Sun or Schindler's List). I honestly still can't decide; it may be that I find one to be the technically better-made movie (Schindler's List) and the one I actually prefer (Empire of the Sun).

You've got to get even with Jerry Hathaway;it's a moral imperative!-REAL GENIUS

This is my favourite Spielberg film. There's a Spielberg film for everyone and this one is for me. I first saw it when I was 15 and have been fascinated with it ever since. I tend not to like his commercial successes as much . 'Saving private Ryan' really disturbed me(probably because of it's excellent realistic execution). I also never cared much for 'E.T' as I never saw it as a child, only as a teenager.

I love the film score and the way in which Jim grows from a snobby little rich kid into a considerate young man. There are definitely some very poignant scenes in the movie. One just has to be patient though most Speilberg movies are longer than others. i love the end scene when he is reunited with his mother.

I would consider Catch me if you can , Amistad and Schindler's List to be my other favorite Spielberg films.

Seymour Skinner: You were right to be suspicious Edna. To the Crime lab!

It is a child's view of the Clash of Colonial Empires.And it is probably because we are looking through his innocent eyes that the Japanese are shown far less stereotypically than most such movies.

This and The Color Purple.