Empire Of The Sun [Blu-ray] [1987] [Region Free]

This is without doubt Steven Spielberg's finest work - and possibly one of the best movies ever.Based on the semi-autbiographical story of J. G. Ballard's book of the same name, it follows Jim, a young 12 year old boy, who is separated from his parents in British Shanghai after the Japanese invasion of December 1941, following their attack on Pearl Harbour.This is war seen through the eyes of a child: one who is obsessed with planes and flying and for whom internment in a bleak Japanese internment camp for over 4 years is an adventure rather than a trial. It's a story of survival; a story of loss of innocence; a story of loss of Empire; a story of class divisions; a story of the differences between the British, Americans and the Japanese.There are many things that make this a work of art beyond the story that it tells. The cinematography is outstanding, from the use of colour (contrast the journey to the party scene in the lead British characters in outlandish colourful costumes, making their way through the dingy, almost monochrome streets of Shanghai); to the wonderful sunsets; and the film benefits greatly from being made in the pre-CGI era so that events had to be shot in camera, from a cast of thousands as extras to the low flying B-52 bombers over the camp. The music is haunting: the Welsh lullaby (Suo Gan) will ring through your head days after you have seen the movie. The themes of the lullaby - mother love, fearing nothing , nothing can harm you is ironically just what Jim does in the movie - he adopts a surrogate mother in Miranda Richardson in the camp; he fears nothing (he crawls under the camps' barbed wire under the watch of the Japanese guards) and in the end he proves to be a survivor.I cannot understand the criticisms of the movie. Jim's behaviour is odd but then his reverence towards his Japanese captors is partly based on his desire to survive, and partly on hero-worshipping of their pilots, given his love of flying. The coldness of his parents towards him, especially in the final reunion scene is more an accurate commentary on repressed emotions of the English upper classes, so typical of that era. His love of all- things American is more a pithy commentary that Britains' position as the world's pre-eminent economy was already in decline prior to the start of World War 2: with US dominance in the movies (Jim framed against the Gone With the Wind poster in Shanghai is not only a great piece of cinema, but also a great piece of social commentary); beverages (Coca-Cola) and popular culture (comics) .I can understand the criticism about the criticism of the depiction of the Japanese captors, especially towards Jim. Having had a neighbour for many years whose friends were interned in such camps, Jim's treatment did not add up. However, this was based on an autobiography and whilst many were brutal, it is analogous to the few Nazis who allowed Jews to escape in the European context. Yes, the behaviour of most internment camps was horrendous, but equally there were few occasions where humanity prevailed. Perhaps Jim was lucky and this was one such case.As others have said, the standout feature of this film is the performance of Christian Bale, who at only 12 years of age, and in practically every scene in this movie, carries it on his shoulders. His performance is nothing short of amazing, even more so when you consider this was his first major acting role. He is supported by a stellar cast including John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers. The Blu-Ray transfer is crisp and clean and blacks are deep black. The movie benefits greatly from a DD 5.1 surround track, with much use of the rear channels and sub woofer. The extras are sparse, but good, the movie's trailer and a documentary from the late 1980s about the making of the movie in 4:3 format are included.A movie where everything works on multiple levels. A movie about humanity as much as history. It will leave you moved and transformed.

one of the best "Empire Of The Sun", so i give it 10 Gold Stars.

Bathed in nostalgia, and filled with sadness for the irrevocability of the past, for "a strange, inconceivable England" as Ballard says in his novel  Empire of the Sun (New Windmills)  (ch. 2) - albeit an England surreally transposed to the far east - Spielberg perfectly captures the spirit of the book with his gorgeous cinematography and a superb soundtrack courtesy of John Williams, including the hauntingly beautiful  Suo Gan  - a song which I don't think has ever been sung more beautifully (the soloist in this performance was James Rainbird). Complemented by a stellar cast, Christian Bale deserves a great deal of credit for his outstanding performance as Jim.Blu-ray releases are often a case of hit-and-miss, but I'm glad to say that this blu-ray is excellent. Fans of the film will find that the cinematography is *enormously* enhanced by its being presented in glorious HD - the pin-sharp picture is just a complete joy to watch from beginning to end.Extras:Making-of documentary, 'The China Odyssey'Theatrical trailer(Both these were formerly available on DVD. Neither are in HD.)The film can be listened to in its original (English language) soundtrack, or dubbed into French, German, Italian, Spanish (both Castilian and Latin), and Portuguese.Optional subtitles:English, French, German, Italian, Spanish (again, both kinds), Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Chinese.Comparison with US release:The US release of this movie:  Empire of the Sun [Blu-ray] [1987] [US Import ] - which is multi-region, so can be viewed on any UK blu-ray player - is a special digibook version with a second disc. The second disc is a documentary about Warner Bros' WWII propaganda department, entitled "Warner at War". This 2008 documentary (which is narrated by Spielberg, and lasts about three-quarters of an hour) has really nothing to do with the movie (the Intro to the documentary can be viewed on YouTube). But the digibook itself is very nice. It has some well chosen photos from the movie and is quite a handsome product. However, at the time of writing, it does cost considerably more than the UK release. So if you're not much bothered with the packaging and are only interested in the disc content, then I'd probably go with the UK release since it is significantly cheaper, and the bonus feature on the second disc of the US release is not really an "extra" related to this movie.

This is Oliver Twist transplanted to Shanghai during the Japanese expansion into China and the Far East which culminated in Nagasaki and Hiroshima via Pearl Harbour. A boy is separated from his parents during the stampede to escape Japanese imperial forces and is taken up by two Americans in search of loot. The hypothesis is that once hungry, survival dictates that people discard loyalty to their socio- economic group, in this case very well to do colonials living in palatial houses served by local people. The break between the boy and his parents takes place following a fancy dress party, emphasising the make believe nature of the privileged existence of the Europeans in China. Christian Bale as the enterprising young man points out the assets to be acquired by his American handlers in the millionaire's row he has recently left for the open road, but his partners in crime find the Japanese in residence instead. The next stop is an internment camp where Bale salutes Japanese airmen, saves the camp doctor (Nigel Havers) by making abasement to a Japanese guard who attacks Havers with a bamboo rod and sings in salute of kamikaze pilots as the tide of conflict turns against Japan. When the Americans fly into the camp on board their Mustangs, he cheers them. His emotions are torn by admiration for aviators on both sides and his friendship for a Japanese boy killed tragically by the American wheeler dealers in search of further loot. It is a tale of courage and survival which would be understood best by those who have experienced such events. As a visual page turner with some surreal moments, like the sudden discovery of a deserted enclosure full of fabulous antiques, it represents excellent value.