Empire of the Sun
Release Date: December 9, 1987
Runtime: 152 mins
Nominated for Six Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound.
Winner of ZERO Academy Awards
Sean here. J. Link viewed Empire of the Sun on her own and her thoughts on the film can be found below. I just wanted to throw in my quick two cents. To me, this is Spielberg's most underrated film and one of his greatest accomplishments. It is ultimately about the death of childhood and this was definitely the film that gave Spielberg the strength to go on and tackle Schindler's List. Empire of the Sun was Christian Bale's first screen performance and it is still his finest. It's a shame that he has an Oscar for The Fighter instead of his superb work here. The climactic images in the film are haunting as we see Spielberg putting the final nails in the coffin of leaving childhood behind. He would try to return to the childhood realm with Hook, but would fail miserably. If you want to see the turning point in Spielberg's career, for better or for worse, look no further than Empire of the Sun.
J. Link's thoughts after the jump...
