Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Empire of the Sun is a american film of genre Drama directed by Steven Spielberg released in USA on 25 december 1987 with Christian Bale

Empire of the Sun (1987)

Empire of the Sun
If you like this film, let us know!
Released in USA 25 december 1987
Length 2h34
Directed by
OriginUSA
Genres Drama,    War,    Historical
Rating76% 3.8485453.8485453.8485453.8485453.848545

Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers. The film tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham, a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp, during World War II.

Harold Becker and David Lean were originally to direct before Spielberg came on board, initially as a producer for Lean. Spielberg was attracted to directing the film because of a personal connection to Lean's films and World War II topics. He considers it to be his most profound work on "the loss of innocence". The film received critical acclaim but was not initially a box office success, earning only $22,238,696 at the US box office, but it eventually more than recouped its budget through revenues in other markets.

Synopsis

Japan had been at war with China since 1937 before declaring war on the United States and the United Kingdom. Amidst the war, Jamie Graham, a British upper middle class schoolboy fascinated with Japanese planes and pilots, is enjoying a privileged and spoiled life in the Shanghai International Settlement. At a costume party he attends with his parents, he wanders off and encounters a Japanese airplane that had been shot down. Nearby he finds a camp full of Japanese troops in a trench and is taken aback. Jamie's father finds him and forces him to leave, Jamie not realizing the impending danger. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese begin to occupy the Shanghai International Settlement and in the ensuing chaos to escape the city and catch the next ferry out of Shanghai, Jamie is separated from his parents in the crowds of panicking people. Over the crowds of people Jamie's mother shouts at him to wait for them back at their house and promises that they will come back for him. He spends some time living in his deserted house, occupying his time by waiting and eating remnants of food but eventually he ventures out into the city and finds it bustling with Japanese troops.

Actors

Trailer of Empire of the Sun

Bluray, DVD

Streaming / VOD

Source : Wikidata

Comments


Leave comment :

Suggestions of similar film to Empire of the Sun

There are 241 films with the same actors, 41 films with the same director, 62354 with the same cinematographic genres (including 976 with exactly the same 3 genres than Empire of the Sun), 15860 films with the same themes (including 0 films with the same 6 themes than Empire of the Sun), to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.

If you liked Empire of the Sun, you will probably like those similar films :
Lincoln
Lincoln (2012)
, 2h30
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Biography, Historical
Themes Films about slavery, Politique, Films about racism, Political films, Children's films, White House in fiction
Actors Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson
Rating72% 3.6470853.6470853.6470853.6470853.647085
In January 1865, President Abraham Lincoln expects the Civil War to end within a month. However, he is concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts once the war has concluded and that the Thirteenth Amendment be defeated by the returning slave states. Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment by the end of the month, thus removing any possibility that slaves who have already been freed may be re-enslaved. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will be defeated by some who merely wish to delay its passage; the support of the amendment by Republicans in the border states is not yet assured either, since they prioritize the issue of ending the war. Even if all of them are ultimately brought on board, the amendment will still require the support of several Democratic congressmen if it is to pass. With dozens of Democrats having just become lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisors believe that he should wait until the new Republican-heavy Congress is seated, presumably giving the amendment an easier road to passage. Lincoln, however, remains adamant about having the amendment in place and the issue of slavery settled before the war is concluded and the southern states readmitted into the Union.
Saving Private Ryan, 2h43
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes Political films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi
Rating82% 4.122394.122394.122394.122394.12239
On the morning of June 6, 1944, the beginning of the Normandy Invasion, American soldiers prepare to land on Omaha Beach. They suffer heavily from their struggle against German infantry, machine gun nests, and artillery fire. Captain John H. Miller, a company commander of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, survives the initial landing and assembles a group of his Rangers to penetrate the German defenses, leading to a breakout from the beach. In Washington, D.C, at the U.S. War Department, General George Marshall is informed that three of the four brothers of the Ryan family were killed in action and that their mother is to receive all three telegrams in the same day. He learns that the fourth son, Private First Class James Francis Ryan, is a paratrooper and is missing in action somewhere in Normandy. Marshall, after reading Abraham Lincoln's Bixby letter, orders that Ryan must be found and sent home immediately.
Bridge of Spies, 2h17
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Spy
Themes Spy films, Politique, Transport films, Aviation films, Political films, Disaster films, Films about aviation accidents or incidents
Actors Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Eve Hewson, Billy Magnussen, Kevin Spacey
Rating75% 3.7962853.7962853.7962853.7962853.796285
In 1957 Brooklyn, New York, Rudolf Abel retrieves a secret message from a park bench and reads it just before FBI agents burst into his rented room. He prevents discovery of the message, but other evidence in the room leads to his arrest and prosecution as a Soviet spy.
Amistad
Amistad (1997)
, 2h28
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Historical
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about slavery, Seafaring films, Films about racism, Transport films, Political films
Actors Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, Stellan Skarsgård
Rating72% 3.6477453.6477453.6477453.6477453.647745
Amistad is the name of a slave ship traveling from Cuba to the U.S. in 1839. It is carrying a cargo of Africans captured in Sierra Leone who have been sold into slavery in Cuba, taken on board, and chained in the cargo hold of the ship. As the ship is crossing from Cuba to the U.S., Cinqué, a leader of the Africans, leads a mutiny and takes over the ship. The mutineers spare the lives of two Spanish navigators to help them sail the ship back to Africa. Instead, the navigators deceive the Africans and sail north to the east coast of the United States, where the ship is stopped by the American navy and the 44 living Africans imprisoned as runaway slaves. In an unfamiliar country and not speaking a word of English, it seems like they are doomed to die for killing their captors. A lawyer named Baldwin, hired by the abolitionist Tappan and his black associate Joadson (a fictional character) decides to take their case, arguing that the Africans had been captured in Africa to be sold in the Americas illegally, and therefore were free citizens of another country and not slaves at all. With help from James Covey, who speaks both Mende and English, Baldwin is able to start communicating with Cinque. The judge rules in favor of the Africans, but the case is eventually appealed to the Supreme Court. At this point, former U.S. President John Quincy Adams makes an impassioned and eloquent plea for their release, and is successful.
War Horse
War Horse (2011)
, 2h26
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Films about animals, Théâtre, Films about horses, Political films, Films based on plays, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, Benedict Cumberbatch
Rating72% 3.60093.60093.60093.60093.6009
In 1912, a teenage boy named Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) from Devon, England, witnesses the birth of a Bay Thoroughbred foal and subsequently watches with admiration the growth of the young horse. Much to the dismay of his mother Rose (Emily Watson), his father Ted (Peter Mullan) buys the colt at auction, despite their needing a more suitable plough horse for the farm work. Albert's best friend, Andrew Easton (Matt Milne), watches as Albert teaches his colt many things, such as to come when he imitates the call of an owl by blowing through his cupped hands.
Schindler's List, 3h17
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Biography, Historical
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about religion, Films about psychiatry, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz
Rating86% 4.315684.315684.315684.315684.31568
In Kraków during World War II, the Germans had forced local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Kraków Ghetto. Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German, arrives in the city hoping to make his fortune. A member of the Nazi Party, Schindler lavishes bribes on Wehrmacht (German armed forces) and SS officials and acquires a factory to produce enamelware. To help him run the business, Schindler enlists the aid of Itzhak Stern, a local Jewish official who has contacts with black marketeers and the Jewish business community. Stern helps Schindler arrange loans to finance the factory. Schindler maintains friendly relations with the Nazis and enjoys wealth and status as "Herr Direktor", and Stern handles administration. Schindler hires Jewish workers because they cost less, while Stern ensures that as many people as possible are deemed essential to the German war effort, which saves them from being transported to concentration camps or killed.
The Color Purple, 2h34
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Historical, Crime
Themes Films about children, Feminist films, Films about racism, Films about sexuality, Bisexuality-related films, LGBT-related films, Films about domestic violence, Political films, Films about child abuse, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong
Rating77% 3.850273.850273.850273.850273.85027
Taking place in the Southern United States between Winter 1909 and Autumn 1937, the movie tells the life of a poor African American woman named Celie Harris (Whoopi Goldberg) whose abuse begins when she is young. By the time she is 14, she has already had two children by her father Alphonso "James" Harris (Leonard Jackson). He takes them away from her at childbirth and forces the young Celie (Desreta Jackson) to marry a wealthy young local widower Albert Johnson, known to her only as "Mister" (Danny Glover), who treats her like a slave. Albert makes her clean up his disorderly household and take care of his unruly children. Albert beats and rapes her often, intimidating Celie into submission and near silence. Celie's sister Nettie (Akosua Busia) comes to live with them, and there is a brief period of happiness as the sisters spend time together and Nettie begins to teach Celie how to read. This is short-lived; after Nettie refuses Albert's predatory affections once too often, he kicks her out. Before being run off by Albert, Nettie promises to write to Celie saying, "Nothing but death can keep me from it!".
1941
1941 (1979)
, 1h58
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres War, Comedy, Action
Themes Military humor in film, Seafaring films, Christmas films, Transport films, Political films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Christopher Lee
Rating58% 2.9000752.9000752.9000752.9000752.900075
On Saturday, December 13, 1941 at 7:01 a.m., a woman goes swimming somewhere on the California coast, only to find a Japanese submarine surfacing beneath her. The submarine crew believes they have arrived in Hollywood, and the vessel submerges while the woman swims to safety.
Munich
Munich (2005)
, 2h44
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Spy, Historical, Politic
Themes Films set in Africa, Spy films, Films about religion, Sports films, Films about terrorism, Films about the Olympic Games, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Omar Metwally
Rating74% 3.748163.748163.748163.748163.74816
Munich begins with a depiction of the events of the 1972 Munich Olympics and then cuts to the home of Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir, where Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana), a Mossad agent of German-Jewish descent, is chosen to lead an assassination mission against 11 Palestinians allegedly involved in the massacre. To give the Israeli government plausible deniability and at the direction of his handler Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), Avner resigns from Mossad and operates with no official ties to Israel. His team includes four Jewish volunteers from around the world: South African driver Steve (Daniel Craig), Belgian toy-maker and explosives expert Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), former Israeli soldier and "cleaner" Carl (Ciarán Hinds), and a Danish document forger named Hans (Hanns Zischler). They are given information by a shadowy French informant, Louis (Mathieu Amalric).
The Terminal, 2h1
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Films about alcoholism, Films about immigration, Transport films, La précarité, Aviation films, Films about language and translation
Actors Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Barry Shabaka Henley, Kumar Pallana, Diego Luna
Rating73% 3.699513.699513.699513.699513.69951
Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a traveler from the nation of Krakozhia, arrives at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, only to find that his passport is suddenly no longer valid due to the outbreak of a civil war in his homeland. As a result, the United States no longer recognizes Krakozhia as a sovereign nation, and he is not permitted to either enter the country or return home as he is now stateless. Due to his inability to communicate in proper English, US Customs and Border Protection seizes his passport and airline ticket.