MovieChat Forums > Empire of the Sun (1987) Discussion > Most underrated/unwatched Spielberg movi...

Most underrated/unwatched Spielberg movie?

posted 5 years ago by Redsfan001 (6213)
12 replies | jump to latest

This is my vote.

I guess a similar type of movie came out in the same week in Dec 1987 (The Last Emperor) and the movie going populace got confused between the two.

Sounds hard to do..I mean how do you confused a SPIELBERG film, but this was one of his first 'serious' historical works, which also might have hurt box office take.

I highly recommend this movie if you still haven't seen it...oh by the way that is Christian Bale as the boy lead.

[–] NRC123 (2145) 4 years ago

Agreed. It deserves more credit than it gets.

[–] Querelle (1603) 4 years ago

Probably. It's the one I watch the most, but most people aren't aware of it.

[–] elcamino (15540) 4 years ago

I have the dvd and watch it like once a year. Its a good movie.

[–] Roguemail (1627) 4 years ago

Its a very good movie and does often get overlooked.

But The Sugerland Express is criminally overlooked. It often gets left out of retrospectives of his career, for some reason. Like he went straight from Duel to Jaws.

[–] HarveyManFredSin (4877) 2 years ago

I so need to see Sugarland Express. It's the one Spielberg feature, apart from the recent West Side Story and The Fabelmans, I've never seen.

[–] Obifuntoknowme (1149) 4 years ago

Yes agreed, it’s a really good film and highly underrated. It deserves more credit.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (18395) 2 years ago

I can't imagine that many people remember ALWAYS though.

[–] HarveyManFredSin (4877) 2 years ago

Yes, but is Always *underrated*?

I mean, it's a middling (but not *bad*) film that received a middling (but not *bad*) reception. There are a few sweet scenes between Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss, but overall it's just 'okay'.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 2 years ago

It’s good and Bale gives a great performance but to be honest it is a bit slow.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Yes. It has too many "mood shots" for my taste which slows it down considerably. Still a great film and not a problem in a streaming world where we can jump a few seconds at a time to speed it up.

[–] pjl69 (2647) 2 years ago

Its a frustrating movie to watch. There are so many good visual ideas in there and Spielberg's talent shows in details, but its basicly a kid adventure film.

[–] HarveyManFredSin (4877) 2 years ago

Totally agreed.

E.T. and Schindler's List are better movies, overall, but Empire of the Sun is arguably still in Spielberg's top five greatest movies (and definitely a top 10 entry), and it's the one that doesn't get nearly enough of the praise it deserves.

Interestingly enough, there was *another* film with a vaguely similar theme to Empire of the Sun, that came out around the same time as it and The Last Empire. The brilliant, but, unfortunately, mostly neglected (these days) John Boorman WWII childhood autobiography, Hope and Glory, was also a late 1987 release, and one that was nominated for several Academy Awards.

I'd say these films would make for a great 'early 20th century childhood biopic' triple-bill.