Today is February 04, 2000. My how time flies bye. Today, I am finally putting together all the notes I took from watching the film "Empire of the Sun", and putting them all down on paper (or is that digital data). Anyway, a few months back, I promised Jawad a review of the film, and I never really got around to it. December was a bad month for me, as I caught the flu and was out of it for a week. Then I began work scanning video edits for S teven Spielberg & Dreamworks SKG fan site, and Cinemenium.com, as well as creating music videos for some of my favorite movies. Hmmmthat gives me an idea! Perhaps one day I'll edit together a music video for "Empire", utilizing some of the music from the CD Soundtrack. Anyway, you might have seen some of my work on this website, including my music video edit for the "Gladiator" trailer. I hope to do another video edit for Dreamworks' next big film. But anyway, back to Empire of the Sun. I guess I should take the reader back in time a bit. Steven Spielberg had just finished directing "The Color Purple", his first real "serious" film. The critics hated it, but the public loved it. Spielberg was quite happy with the film and wanted to direct another "serious" film (actually, he was in discussions to direct a re-make of "Peter Pan", but that fizzled when he decided to devote more time to his newborn son, Max). So there Spielberg sat, wondering what his next film would be. Then he picked up the book, "Empire of the Sun", by JG Ballard (who also wrote the story "Crash", which David Cronenberg turned into a moviebut I'm not going to go there) Spielberg loved the book and desperately wanted to make it into a film. There was only one problem. Another famous director at that time, David Lean, also wanted to turn it into a film.

David Lean is probably most famous for the films "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Lawrence of Arabia", and "Doctor Zhivago". After a long hiatus, David Lean returned to the directing chair to direct the film, "A Passage to India". After that film, Lean began to work on "Empire". But the film studio, Warner Brothers, heard that Spielberg wanted to direct the film. So after about a year of getting nowhere, and the industry suits pressuring him to deliver or else, Lean reluctantly handed over the film to Spielberg. Lean left and began work on another project, called "Nostromo", based off of the novel by Joseph Conrad. Spielberg was originally supposed to produce the film, but the two had a falling out, (probably from what happened over "Empire"). With the directing rights securely in place, Spielberg began work on this epic film.

"Empire of the Sun" was to be filmed at Elstree Studios in London, as well as Spain and China. Warner Brothers was able to secure 3 weeks of location shooting in Shanghai, thus making them the first major Hollywood studio to film in China. The film was to be photographed by Allen Daviau, screenplay written by Tom Stoppard, and produced by Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, and Robert Shapiro. Spielberg liked Stoppard's script so much, that he signed the man to a development deal to write more scripts for Amblin. I'm still waiting to see Stoppard turn in a script. Filming lasted from most of 1986-1987 and the film was released on December 2, 1987. The film received lukewarm reviews and was ultimately Spielberg's biggest box office disappointment, grossing only $67 million dollars (this record would be shattered later on by the film "Amistad", which only grossed $44 million dollars).

"Empire of the Sun" opens in the year 1941, in Shanghai, China. Jim, the hero of the film, is a young boy and son of a wealthy British family in the diplomatic corp. Limos take them to parties and the mass of Chinese around them are only part of the lands cape. They live in a privileged world. The Japanese army gets ready to take Shanghai. There is panic in the streets. the invisible Chinese hordes now become a reality. In their efforts to flee the country, the family becomes separated and Jim must fend for himself, a stranger in a strange land. He flees the city and lives a hounded life in the empty, formerly rich homes of the foreign ambassadors. Eventually he is caught and sent to prison. There, along with other foreign prisoners, he becomes the King Rat of the prison camp and learns how to survive.

I had heard of the film "Empire of the Sun" for a while, but had never really gotten around to seeing it. Finally, in 1997, I was able to acquire a copy of the tape and finally watch the entire film. What hit me the most when I first saw the film was how much the film was a pretense to "Schindler's List". "Empire" was the film that helped him prepare for what would become his greatest film ever. You can notice this during the concentration camp scenes in "Empire". Sure, you don't see gas chambers or cattle cars, but the film did help him. Both Schindler and Jim, the main character of the film, learn how to exploit the enemy, and use it to their advantage in order to survive. One thing that I liked about this film was that it showed how the Japanese treated their prisoners during the war. From the scenes where the soldiers steal food from the prisoner's own garden, to the forced death march to Nantao Stadium, you can tell these people had it very rough. One scene I liked in the film was when Jim found his family's automobile in the stadium. The Japanese rounded up whatever valuables they could find, and hid them in the stadium. To me, when you see Jim looking at the car, it is as if he is looking at a former version of himself. In the beginning of the film, Jim is a pampered child who goes as far as to tell his parents his wants to be an atheist! But by the end of the film, you see that Jim has changed, into a kid who has lost his childhood, and forced to suddenly "grow up" in order to survive the war. You can see this very well when he just stands there, looking at the automobile. Another scene I liked was when Jim tries to bring a Japanese soldier that he befriended back to life, through CPR. For a few seconds, you see him not trying to bring the solder to life, but himself. This is pretty much saying that Jim is trying to take back something he has lost foreverhis childhood. So, did I like the film Yes, I loved it. I don't consider the movie bad, and Christian Bale(who can be seen in the upcoming "American Psycho"), gave a fine performance in his first motion picture role. I also liked Nigel Havers, who played Dr. Rawlins in the film. I especially liked the scene the two characters had after Jim watches P-51's, his "Cadillac's of the Skies", bomb the Japanese internment camp and the airfield nearby. Dr. Rawlings attempts to calm down Jim, who suddenly breaks down and cries, telling him he doesn't remember what his parents look like. This shows that even through everything, Jim is still a child inside, and longs to regain the life that he lost so long ago.

Empire of the Sun was shunned at the Academy Awards that year. Spielberg moved on to new projects, including the film "Rain Man". That film had to be given up and turned over to Barry Lev inson. Spielberg's next film would be the big budget blockbuster "Indiana Jones, and the Last Crusade. "Empire" would be the final Spielberg film that Allen Davaiu would work on. His latest film was "The Astronaut's Wife". Tom Stoppard has gone on to write many other screenplays, including one for a film called "Shakespeare In Love".

Will we ever see "Empire" on DVD That's really up to Spielberg and Warner Brothers. I'd love to see the film on DVD, in it's full, letterbox format, along with the making-of-documentary that aired way back in 1987, on CBS-TV. So far, many of Spielberg's films are getting prepped for release on DVD between this year and next year. Perhaps soon, "Empire of the Sun" will get the treatment it will deserve, and will finally be released in letterbox format, on DVD.