list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Empire of the Sun on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Empire_of_the_Sun/10464/default.aspx Title: Empire of the Sun
Year: 1987
Director: Steven Spielberg
Plot: Based on J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun stars Christian Bale as a spoiled young British boy, living with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai. During the Japanese invasion, Bale is separated from his parents. With the help of soldier-of-fortune John Malkovich, Bale learns to survive without a retinue of servants at his beck and call. By the time Malkovich and Bale are tossed into a Japanese prison camp, the boy has picked up enough street-smarts and developed enough intestinal fortitude to regard his imprisonment as an exciting adventure. The story ends during the 1945 liberation: on the verge of manhood, the 13-year-old Bale will never again be the pampered, privileged brat whom we met in the early scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 57
Number of Lists: 37
Number of blog posts: 2
Number of discussion threads: 3
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:42:24 GMTEmpire of the Sun1987Steven SpielbergBased on J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun stars <a href="/players/P_____3538/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Christian Bale</a> as a spoiled young British boy, living with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai. During the Japanese invasion, Bale is separated from his parents. With the help of soldier-of-fortune <a href="/players/P____44846/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Malkovich</a>, Bale learns to survive without a retinue of servants at his beck and call. By the time Malkovich and Bale are tossed into a Japanese prison camp, the boy has picked up enough street-smarts and developed enough intestinal fortitude to regard his imprisonment as an exciting adventure. The story ends during the 1945 liberation: on the verge of manhood, the 13-year-old Bale will never again be the pampered, privileged brat whom we met in the early scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide57Tag Target (>10)37233http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t12765cgz9s.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Empire_of_the_Sun/10464/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_June_1_Through_A_Child_s_Eyes/625/42484/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 6/1/2009 2:42:24 PM
Body: As each of us ages and experiences the chaos of everyday life, most of us can agree that at one time or another we have uttered the phrase, "I wish I were young again" or pondered what ours lives would be like if we knew what we know now back when we were younger. But until that fateful day when time travel becomes reality and we all screw up the space time continuum trying to give our childhood selves unwarranted advice about the future, we'll just have to rely on reminiscing and watching films that take us on an adventure through a child's point of view. A filmmaker who has made many a film trying to capture the wonder, curiosity and imagination of youth is Terry Gilliam. In Time Bandits we follow a boy that falls into a time traveling odyssey after a traumatic event shocks him to his core. In The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a young girl whose life doesn't afford her the opportunity to have an imagination is tested when a man whose sole existence is that of defying reality and embracing the fantastical. And of course Tideland, a similar example of a young girl exposed to the harsh realities of life at an early age whose damaged psyche catapults her into a twisted world of fantasy to protect her from the disturbing real world around her. When discussing films played out through a child's perspective, one cannot avoid mentioning The Wizard of Oz and it's (less than stellar but interesting nonetheless) sequel Return To Oz. The former being all lollipops and poppies, the latter being electro-shock therapy and a secret chamber full of young girls heads. Stepping away from fantasy and staying firmly planted in reality, films like Empire of the Sun and Lord of the Flies remind us of the fragility of youth and how easily that youthful curiosity can be brutally ripped out of us. Personally, I'm a huge fan of these films and love getting that feeling while watching them: imagining how my childhood could have been different and how fun and exhilarating that naivete about everything was. Yes? No? Join the Discussion and Let Us Know!
]]>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:42:24 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme6/1/2009 2:42:24 PMAs each of us ages and experiences the chaos of everyday life, most of us can agree that at one time or another we have uttered the phrase, "I wish I were young again" or pondered what ours lives would be like if we knew what we know now back when we were younger. But until that fateful day when time travel becomes reality and we all screw up the space time continuum trying to give our childhood selves unwarranted advice about the future, we'll just have to rely on reminiscing and watching films that take us on an adventure through a child's point of view. A filmmaker who has made many a film trying to capture the wonder, curiosity and imagination of youth is Terry Gilliam. In Time Bandits we follow a boy that falls into a time traveling odyssey after a traumatic event shocks him to his core. In The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a young girl whose life doesn't afford her the opportunity to have an imagination is tested when a man whose sole existence is that of defying reality and embracing the fantastical. And of course Tideland, a similar example of a young girl exposed to the harsh realities of life at an early age whose damaged psyche catapults her into a twisted world of fantasy to protect her from the disturbing real world around her. When discussing films played out through a child's perspective, one cannot avoid mentioning The Wizard of Oz and it's (less than stellar but interesting nonetheless) sequel Return To Oz. The former being all lollipops and poppies, the latter being electro-shock therapy and a secret chamber full of young girls heads. Stepping away from fantasy and staying firmly planted in reality, films like Empire of the Sun and Lord of the Flies remind us of the fragility of youth and how easily that youthful curiosity can be brutally ripped out of us. Personally, I'm a huge fan of these films and love getting that feeling while watching them: imagining how my childhood could have been different and how fun and exhilarating that naivete about everything was. Yes? No? Join the Discussion and Let Us Know! http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_July_29_Locked_Up/625/33225/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/29/2008 1:12:34 PM
Body: [quote user="indieabby88"] I remember in middle and early high school I was really into "Girl, Interrupted." My weird pseudo-feminist friends at the time thought it was the best movie around. Then, several years later, I watched "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and realized I'd been sorely mistaken. [/quote] I hadn't even thought about mental institution movies. With that being said, you can't leave out Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor. Also, I think we can't forget about POW and concentration camps movies. I've always thought that Empire of the Sun was Speilberg's most underrated film.
]]>Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:12:34 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme7/29/2008 1:12:34 PM[quote user="indieabby88"] I remember in middle and early high school I was really into "Girl, Interrupted." My weird pseudo-feminist friends at the time thought it was the best movie around. Then, several years later, I watched "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and realized I'd been sorely mistaken. [/quote] I hadn't even thought about mental institution movies. With that being said, you can't leave out Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor. Also, I think we can't forget about POW and concentration camps movies. I've always thought that Empire of the Sun was Speilberg's most underrated film. http://www.spout.com/blogs/magrebi/archive/2008/6/12/31185.aspx Post By: magrebi
Post To: magrebi Blog
Post Date: 6/12/2008 4:09:48 PM
Body: How can you not love this movie? Especially you Paul...
]]>Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:09:48 GMTmagrebimagrebi Blog6/12/2008 4:09:48 PMHow can you not love this movie? Especially you Paul... http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2007/7/30/16841.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 7/30/2007 1:28:00 AM
Body: With that much talent, that much money, that many resources, what have Spielberg and his team said with Empire of the Sun? War is tough on families? Coming of age in a prisoner of war camp is miserable? I don’t know. Maybe the movie is more focused and tries to say something about the main character, Jim. At eleven years of age, he is torn from his parents and winds up in a prison camp near Shanghai. But what is Spielberg saying about the kid? Although I’m not sure, there are tantalizing glimpses. First comes the contrast between Jim’s very privileged life in the British sector of Shanghai and his life on the street with Basie and then in prison camp. The problem here is that in the first part of the movie, we don’t really get to know Jim. Although we see a lot of him, we never look into his eyes to see him as a real person. It’s as if he is playing the role of precocious rich kid instead of being a person who happens to be a kid who happens to be precocious and rich. In this regard, The White Countess, set in Shanghai at the same time, is far superior because the two main characters, played by Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson, seem to come to life organically, be realistically complex, and be people we can empathize with if not like. In the middle section of the movie, we see Jim growing up in the camp, becoming the king street urchin, dashing from one deal to another in high spirits. The problem here is that we mistakenly think Jim is thriving on camp life. In the movie’s pivotal scene, however, we realize that he has been desperate for affection, that dashing around “doing things for people” is in large part a) keeping himself so busy that he can ignore his loneliness, and b) trying to cultivate replacements for his lost parents. He is also using his fierce intellect to distance himself from his emotional loss. So, when the Americans are bombing and Jim is jumping around on the roof enthralled but endangered, his friend, the camp doctor, dashes to rescue him, as buildings are falling all around. Jim spouts some abstract stuff about how the runway they built for the Japanese was sort of the prisoners’ runway, and the doctor says sternly that, no, it’s the Japanese military’s runway, and “don’t think so much!” At this stern and heart-felt admonition, young Jim cracks. He sobs that he can’t remember what his mother and father looked like. And then he babbles some Latin conjugations as the doctor carries him down stairs. In the final portion of this two-and-a-half-hour movie, Jim is a bit deranged. The problem is that we’re not quite sure how or how much he is deranged. Or is he just sort of “shell shocked”? Or has he grown up so fast that he really hasn’t integrated everything he’s learned? No, he is definitely losing touch with reality because when his father and mother show up with hordes of other parents to look for their lost children, he does not recognize his parents even though they look exactly like they did when he was separated from them 3 or 4 years before. He ignores his father, but he has a glimmer about his mother. He examines her nails (we don’t know why), he reaches up and smudges her lip stick (we don’t know why), he takes off her hat and feels her hair (we don’t know why), hugs her, and the movie ends. And Spielberg is saying that . . . ?
]]>Mon, 30 Jul 2007 05:28:00 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog7/30/2007 1:28:00 AMWith that much talent, that much money, that many resources, what have Spielberg and his team said with Empire of the Sun? War is tough on families? Coming of age in a prisoner of war camp is miserable? I don&rsquo;t know. Maybe the movie is more focused and tries to say something about the main character, Jim. At eleven years of age, he is torn from his parents and winds up in a prison camp near Shanghai. But what is Spielberg saying about the kid? Although I&rsquo;m not sure, there are tantalizing glimpses. First comes the contrast between Jim&rsquo;s very privileged life in the British sector of Shanghai and his life on the street with Basie and then in prison camp. The problem here is that in the first part of the movie, we don&rsquo;t really get to know Jim. Although we see a lot of him, we never look into his eyes to see him as a real person. It&rsquo;s as if he is playing the role of precocious rich kid instead of being a person who happens to be a kid who happens to be precocious and rich. In this regard, The White Countess, set in Shanghai at the same time, is far superior because the two main characters, played by Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson, seem to come to life organically, be realistically complex, and be people we can empathize with if not like. In the middle section of the movie, we see Jim growing up in the camp, becoming the king street urchin, dashing from one deal to another in high spirits. The problem here is that we mistakenly think Jim is thriving on camp life. In the movie&rsquo;s pivotal scene, however, we realize that he has been desperate for affection, that dashing around &ldquo;doing things for people&rdquo; is in large part a) keeping himself so busy that he can ignore his loneliness, and b) trying to cultivate replacements for his lost parents. He is also using his fierce intellect to distance himself from his emotional loss. So, when the Americans are bombing and Jim is jumping around on the roof enthralled but endangered, his friend, the camp doctor, dashes to rescue him, as buildings are falling all around. Jim spouts some abstract stuff about how the runway they built for the Japanese was sort of the prisoners&rsquo; runway, and the doctor says sternly that, no, it&rsquo;s the Japanese military&rsquo;s runway, and &ldquo;don&rsquo;t think so much!&rdquo; At this stern and heart-felt admonition, young Jim cracks. He sobs that he can&rsquo;t remember what his mother and father looked like. And then he babbles some Latin conjugations as the doctor carries him down stairs. In the final portion of this two-and-a-half-hour movie, Jim is a bit deranged. The problem is that we&rsquo;re not quite sure how or how much he is deranged. Or is he just sort of &ldquo;shell shocked&rdquo;? Or has he grown up so fast that he really hasn&rsquo;t integrated everything he&rsquo;s learned? No, he is definitely losing touch with reality because when his father and mother show up with hordes of other parents to look for their lost children, he does not recognize his parents even though they look exactly like they did when he was separated from them 3 or 4 years before. He ignores his father, but he has a glimmer about his mother. He examines her nails (we don&rsquo;t know why), he reaches up and smudges her lip stick (we don&rsquo;t know why), he takes off her hat and feels her hair (we don&rsquo;t know why), hugs her, and the movie ends. And Spielberg is saying that . . . ? http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_War_Films/190/6950/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Jymkata
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 4/12/2007 9:29:25 AM
Body: I agree specifically with King Rat and Stalag 17 - Stalag 17 is one of my favorite movies regardless of genre and if anybody doubts that George Segal used to be a very vibrant young actor they should see King Rat (plus it has really good turns by Tom Courtenay and James Fox). I agree they should be included with great war movies even though they could be more specifically be grouped as POW films ( like Empire of the Sun and Bridge on the River Kwai)
]]>Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:29:25 GMTJymkataTop 54/12/2007 9:29:25 AMI agree specifically with King Rat and Stalag 17 - Stalag 17 is one of my favorite movies regardless of genre and if anybody doubts that George Segal used to be a very vibrant young actor they should see King Rat (plus it has really good turns by Tom Courtenay and James Fox). I agree they should be included with great war movies even though they could be more specifically be grouped as POW films ( like Empire of the Sun and Bridge on the River Kwai) http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/war/MemberTagFilms.aspxwar
Number of films tagged: 6175

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