MovieChat Forums > Empire of the Sun (1987) Discussion > Spielberg's Best Film?

Spielberg's Best Film?

posted 16 years ago by alj_Turin
25 replies | jump to latest

I saw this film as a child and I can't really remember what I thought of it, I don't even think I watched it right to the end. Then more recently I watched it again, and then several times over.... I did this because I was trying to draw comparisons between what this film is (a sublime piece of work in my opinion) and basically every other film that Steven Spielberg has done. Well I've got his filmography open as I write and although I can't claim to have seen every film he has directed and produced, I have seen the 'best' (i.e. most marketed) ones.

To be honest, this film has appealed to be more than all the others, precisely because it is so unorthodox, so dramatic and so epic. The only other Speilberg film that nags me when I say Empire of The Sun is the best is of course Schindler's List. How can I put this non-offensively...he could expect certain pre-existing sympathies as regards the emotional aspects of his holocaust portrayals and the eventual victory of the persecuted Jews.

With Empire of The Sun, its not that easy to take sides (nor is it expected of the audience). It's just such a rich, in-depth portrayal of war, through the naive eyes of a child, with good and bad in every character, as there is in life.

Certainly I have to admit such titanic character portrayals such as Amon Goeth definitely have not been superseeded in Empire of the Sun, nevertheless I'm prepared to defend the overall experience as being better.

I am curious to see 1.) how much of a bollocking I might get from you guys reading this post and 2.) whether you might possibly in some way come to see where I am coming from?

[–] peter-ruggles 10 years ago

I like everything (well, just about) Spielberg has done. I like to tell about 'Goonies' as my kids can watch it weekly forever, and never get tired of it. Empire of the Sun lost best picture to the easily forgotten 'The Last Emperor' which was a scandal. There are pictures which transcend the 'Movies' like Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Godfather, Zhivago, Patton. This is one of those, easily Spielberg's best and IMHO the best film of all time.

[–] Dark_Sithlord 10 years ago

Not Spielberg's best, but for me, this movie is the most personal. It gives me a brief glimpse into what life might have been like for my father. My father grew up in an area of China occupied by the Japanese during WWII and he told me stories of how he would scrounge for food to provide for his family (he was the oldest son of 6 children). He told me of the day the Japanese rolled in, and the panic in the streets, and how he ran, ducking into buildings as the bombs exploded around him. Those were dark times for my father and his family, but it helped mold him into a dutiful person with a relentless work ethic.

I loaned him my copy of Empire of the Sun on DVD and he really liked it, which is, if you know my father, extremely high praise because he usually hates Hollywood movies.

[–] Captain_Wesker 9 years ago

"Empire of the Sun" is in my "Top 5 Spielberg films" list...that I just invented on the spot .

---
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .

[–] aidankost 8 years ago

1. Schindler's List
2. The Color Purple
3. Catch Me if You Can
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
I've not seen The Empire of the Sun, but I really want to. Along with Lincoln.