MovieChat Forums > Empire of the Sun (1987) Discussion > Excellent film

Excellent film

posted 2 years ago by PersistentViewer (2381)
8 replies | jump to latest

War films are nowhere near my cup of tea, but I wanted to see this, since back in the day, I only saw snippets of this.

Amazing performance by Christian Bale, at times he was a bit too much (annoying), but overall incredible.

The film is beautifully shot, the cinematography is incredible. The performances were great. The scale of this film is immense. How they got to navigate and organize all those people is something else.

This film is a great depiction of how common people suffer in war situations. Humans are great at adapting, but still, it doesn't go without a great deal of suffering.

Incredible effort all around.

[–] jekporkins (1972) 2 years ago

It's one of my favorite movies of all time. It's just so powerful and hits you with emotions.

It's got some of Spielberg's best visual moments ever. Bale blew me away in this, and it was his first movie! The set design, lighting, cinematography, music were all A+... damn it, now I'm going to go watch it again.

[–] PersistentViewer (2381) 2 years ago

Good for you :)

[–] thingmakersback (1373) 2 years ago

Fan of the novel by J. G. Ballard. I had been reading his science fiction and surreal fiction since the '60s and the novel was very autobiographical; shedding considerable light on the authors obsessions. The film is a stunningly good version of the novel; maintaining much of the grit and realism while not losing any of the surreal elements. All this and an excellent John Williams score!

[–] ShogunofYonkers (77426) 2 years ago

I never read the book, I should.
It was an amazing movie!

[–] PersistentViewer (2381) 2 years ago

Never knew it was a book. Thank you.

[–] thingmakersback (1373) 2 years ago

Ballard also wrote a bit of autobiography late in his life which explains how reality differed from the novel (Miracles of Life). And there is a sequel to Empire of the Sun - The Kindness of Women, which is the life of Jim in England after being liberated.

[–] LetoAtreides (559) 2 years ago

I think this is better than both Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List.

Spielberg's most underappreciated movie.

[–] elcamino (15540) 2 years ago

I watch the movie a couple times a year. It never gets old.