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Empire of the Sun (film)
Encyclopedia
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 Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center
, 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 eventually more than recouped its budget through revenues in other markets.
had been at war with China since 1937
before declaring war on the United States and the United Kingdom. During the conflict, Jamie Graham, a British upper middle class schoolboy living in Shanghai
, is separated from his parents. He spends some time living in his deserted house and eating remnants of food; eventually, he ventures out into the city and finds it bustling with Japanese troops. Jamie is captured along with Basie, an American sailor, who nicknames him "Jim". They are taken to Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center
in Shanghai, but are eventually moved to Suzhou Creek
Internment Camp. By 1945, a few months before the end of the Pacific War
, Jim has established a good living, despite the poor conditions of the camp. He has an extensive trading network, even involving the camp's commanding officer, Sergeant Nagata.
Dr. Rawlins, the camp's British director, becomes a father figure to Jim. Through the barbwire fencing, Jim befriends a Japanese teenager, who shares Jim's dream of becoming a pilot. Still idolizing Basie, Jim frequently visits him in the American soldiers' barracks. At one point, Basie charges him to set snare traps outside the wire of the camp and while Jim succeeds, thanks to the help of the Japanese teenager from the other side, the real reason for sending Jim into the marsh was actually to test the area for mines, not to catch game. As a reward, Basie allows him to move into the American barracks with him. Basie then plots to escape.
Nagata visits Basie's barracks and Nagata beats him severely after discovering a stolen bar of Japanese soap hidden under a table. While Basie is in the infirmary, his possessions are stolen by other men in the camp. One morning at dawn, Jim witnesses a kamikaze
ritual of three Japanese pilots at the air base. Overcome with emotion at the solemnity of the ceremony he begins to sing the Welsh
song Suo Gân
. Later, the camp comes under attack by a group of American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft. As a result of the attack, the Japanese decide to evacuate the camp, and Basie escapes during the confusion, leaving Jim behind, although he had promised to let Jim come with him. The camp's population marches through the wilderness, where many die of fatigue, starvation, and disease. During the march Jim witnesses a flash from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
hundreds of miles away, and hears news of Japan's surrender and the end of the war.
Jim sneaks away from the group and goes back to Soochow Creek, nearly dead from starvation. He encounters the Japanese youth he knew earlier, who has since become a pilot and appears distraught at the surrender of his country. The youth remembers Jim and offers him a mango
, cutting it for him with his katana
sword. As Jim is about to eat it, Basie reappears with a group of armed Americans, who have arrived to loot the Red Cross containers that were dropped after the Japanese surrender. One of the Americans, thinking Jim is in danger, shoots and kills the Japanese youth. Jim, furious, beats the American who shot his friend. Basie drags him off and promises to take him back to Shanghai to find his parents, but Jim refuses the offer and stays behind. He is found by American soldiers and put in an orphanage in Shanghai with other children who had lost their parents. When his parents come looking for him, Jim is so scarred from his experiences that he does not recognize them at first.
, Burt Kwouk
, Emily Richard
, Paul McGann
, Joe Pantoliano
, and Ben Stiller
, with Masatō Ibu
and Guts Ishimatsu
as Japanese soldiers. Ballard makes a cameo appearance
at the costume party
scene. Stiller conceived the idea for Tropic Thunder
while performing in Empire of the Sun.
purchased the film rights
, intending Harold Becker
to direct and Robert Shapiro
to produce. Tom Stoppard
wrote the first draft, which J.G. Ballard briefly collaborated on. Becker dropped out, and David Lean
came to direct with Spielberg as producer. Lean explained, "I worked on it for about a year and in the end I gave it up because I thought it was too similar to a diary
. It was well-written and interesting, but I gave it to Steve." Spielberg felt "from the moment I read J.G. Ballard's novel I secretly wanted to direct myself." Spielberg found the project to be very personal. As a child, his favorite film was Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai
, which similarly takes place in a Japanese prisoner of war
camp. Spielberg's obsession with World War II
and the aircraft of that era was stimulated by his father's stories of his experience as a radio operator
on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers in the China-Burma Theater
. Spielberg hired Menno Meyjes
to do an uncredited rewrite before Stoppard was brought back to write the shooting script
.
Empire of the Sun was filmed at Elstree Studios
in the United Kingdom, and on location
in Shanghai
and Spain
. The filmmakers searched across Asia in an attempt to find locations that resembled 1941 Shanghai. They entered negotiations with Shanghai Film Studio
s and China Film Co-Production Corporation
in 1985. After a year of negotiations, permission was granted for a three-week shoot in early-March 1987. It was the first American film shot in Shanghai since the 1940s. The Chinese authorities allowed the crew to alter signs to traditional Chinese character
s, as well as closing down city blocks for filming. Over 5,000 local extra
s were used, some old enough to remember the Japanese occupation of Shanghai
40 years earlier. Members of the People's Liberation Army
played Japanese soldiers. Other locations included Trebujena
, Andalusia
, Knutsford
, Sunningdale
, and Berkshire
. Lean often visited the set during the England shoot.
Spielberg attempted to portray the era accurately, using period vehicles and aircraft including three A6M Zero
full-scale replicas and three North American P-51D Mustang restored warbird
fighter aircraft from the UK. These P-51s were flown by the late Ray Hanna (who was filmed flying past the child star with the canopy back, waving), his son Mark and "Hoof" Proudfoot and took over 10 days of filming to complete due to the complexity of the planned aerial sequences, which included the P-51s actually dropping plaster-filled replica 500 lb bombs at low level (although bomb blasts were simulated). A number of large scale flying models were also used, but as the results were, in some cases, disappointing, Spielberg himself extended the film contract with the full-size examples and pilots on set in Trebujena, Spain.
Industrial Light & Magic designed the visual effects
sequences with some Computer-generated imagery
also used for the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
. Norman Reynolds
was hired as the production designer
while Vic Armstrong
served as the stunt coordinator
.
on December 11, 1987, before being wide released on December 25, 1987. The film earned $22.24 million in North America, and $44.46 million in other countries, accumulating a worldwide total of $66.7 million, earning more than its budget but still considered a box office disappointment by Spielberg.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes
gives the film a score of 81% based on reviews from 36 critics.
By comparison Metacritic
calculated an average score of 60%, based on 17 reviews.
J. G. Ballard
gave positive feedback, and was especially impressed with Christian Bale's performance.
Critical reaction was not universally affirmative, with Richard Corliss
of Time
stated that Spielberg "has energized each frame with allusive legerdemain and an intelligent density of images and emotions."
Janet Maslin
from The New York Times
called the film "a visual splendor, a heroic adventurousness and an immense scope that make it unforgettable."
Julie Salamon of The Wall Street Journal
wrote that the film as "an edgy, intelligent script by playwright Tom Stoppard
, Spielberg has made an extraordinary film out of Mr. Ballard's extraordinary war experience." J. Hoberman from the Village Voice decried that the serious subject was undermined by Spielberg's "shamelessly kiddiecentric" approach. Roger Ebert
gave a mixed reaction, "[D]espite the emotional potential in the story, it didn't much move me. Maybe, like the kid, I decided that no world where you can play with airplanes can be all that bad."
, an award specially created for his performance in Empire of the Sun. At the 60th Academy Awards
, Empire of the Sun was nominated for Art Direction
, Cinematography
, Editing
, Original Music Score
, Costume Design
, and Sound (Robert Knudson
, Don Digirolamo
, John Boyd
and Tony Dawe
). It did not convert any of the nominations into awards. Allen Daviau
, who was nominated as cinematographer, publicly complained, "I can't second-guess the Academy, but I feel very sorry that I get nominations and Steven doesn't. It's his vision that makes it all come together, and if Steven wasn't making these films, none of us would be here." The film won awards for cinematography, sound design, and music score at the 41st British Academy Film Awards
. The nominations included production design, costume design
, and adapted screenplay
. Spielberg was honored by his work from the Directors Guild of America
, while the American Society of Cinematographers
honored Allen Daviau
. Empire of the Sun was nominated for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Original Score
at the 45th Golden Globe Awards
. John Williams earned a Grammy Award
nomination.
The apocalyptic wartime setting and the climactic
moment when Jim sees the distant white flash of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
gave Spielberg powerful visual metaphors "to draw a parallel story between the death of this boy's innocence and the death of the innocence of the entire world." Spielberg reflected he "was attracted to the idea that this was a death of innocence, not an attenuation
of childhood, which by my own admission and everybody's impression of me is what my life has been. This was the opposite of Peter Pan
. This was a boy who had grown up too quickly." Other topics that Spielberg previously dealt with, and are presented in Empire of the Sun, include a child being separated from his parents (The Sugarland Express
, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
and Poltergeist) and World War II (1941
, Raiders of the Lost Ark
and Schindler's List
). Spielberg explained "My parents got a divorce when I was 14, 15. The whole thing about separation is something that runs very deep in anyone exposed to divorce."
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
based on J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name
Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story, "The Dead Time" , it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II...
. Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
directed the film, which stars Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
, John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
, Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
, and Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
. The film tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham, a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, to becoming a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center
Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center
Lunghua Civil Assembly Centre was one of the internment camps eventually established by the Empire of Japan in Shanghai for European and American citizens, who had anyway been resident under Japanese occupation since December 1941. James Graham Ballard was interned in the camp as an adolescent...
, a Japanese internment camp, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Harold Becker
Harold Becker
Harold Becker is American film director and producer from New York.-Biography:After studying art and photography at the Pratt Institute, Becker began his career as a still photographer, but later tried his hand at directing television commercials, short films and documentaries...
and David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
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 eventually more than recouped its budget through revenues in other markets.
Plot
The Empire of JapanEmpire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
had been at war with China since 1937
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
before declaring war on the United States and the United Kingdom. During the conflict, Jamie Graham, a British upper middle class schoolboy living in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, is separated from his parents. He spends some time living in his deserted house and eating remnants of food; eventually, he ventures out into the city and finds it bustling with Japanese troops. Jamie is captured along with Basie, an American sailor, who nicknames him "Jim". They are taken to Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center
Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center
Lunghua Civil Assembly Centre was one of the internment camps eventually established by the Empire of Japan in Shanghai for European and American citizens, who had anyway been resident under Japanese occupation since December 1941. James Graham Ballard was interned in the camp as an adolescent...
in Shanghai, but are eventually moved to Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek is a river in China that passes through the Shanghai city centre. It is named after Suzhou, a city in neighbouring Jiangsu province which was the predominant city in this area prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.One of the principal outlets of Lake Tai, Suzhou Creek has a...
Internment Camp. By 1945, a few months before the end of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, Jim has established a good living, despite the poor conditions of the camp. He has an extensive trading network, even involving the camp's commanding officer, Sergeant Nagata.
Dr. Rawlins, the camp's British director, becomes a father figure to Jim. Through the barbwire fencing, Jim befriends a Japanese teenager, who shares Jim's dream of becoming a pilot. Still idolizing Basie, Jim frequently visits him in the American soldiers' barracks. At one point, Basie charges him to set snare traps outside the wire of the camp and while Jim succeeds, thanks to the help of the Japanese teenager from the other side, the real reason for sending Jim into the marsh was actually to test the area for mines, not to catch game. As a reward, Basie allows him to move into the American barracks with him. Basie then plots to escape.
Nagata visits Basie's barracks and Nagata beats him severely after discovering a stolen bar of Japanese soap hidden under a table. While Basie is in the infirmary, his possessions are stolen by other men in the camp. One morning at dawn, Jim witnesses a kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
ritual of three Japanese pilots at the air base. Overcome with emotion at the solemnity of the ceremony he begins to sing the Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
song Suo Gân
Suo Gan
Suo Gân is a traditional Welsh lullaby written by an anonymous composer.It was first recorded in print around 1800. The lyrics were notably captured by the Welsh folklorist Robert Bryan . The song's title simply means lullaby...
. Later, the camp comes under attack by a group of American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft. As a result of the attack, the Japanese decide to evacuate the camp, and Basie escapes during the confusion, leaving Jim behind, although he had promised to let Jim come with him. The camp's population marches through the wilderness, where many die of fatigue, starvation, and disease. During the march Jim witnesses a flash from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
hundreds of miles away, and hears news of Japan's surrender and the end of the war.
Jim sneaks away from the group and goes back to Soochow Creek, nearly dead from starvation. He encounters the Japanese youth he knew earlier, who has since become a pilot and appears distraught at the surrender of his country. The youth remembers Jim and offers him a mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, cutting it for him with his katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
sword. As Jim is about to eat it, Basie reappears with a group of armed Americans, who have arrived to loot the Red Cross containers that were dropped after the Japanese surrender. One of the Americans, thinking Jim is in danger, shoots and kills the Japanese youth. Jim, furious, beats the American who shot his friend. Basie drags him off and promises to take him back to Shanghai to find his parents, but Jim refuses the offer and stays behind. He is found by American soldiers and put in an orphanage in Shanghai with other children who had lost their parents. When his parents come looking for him, Jim is so scarred from his experiences that he does not recognize them at first.
Cast
- Christian BaleChristian BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
as Jamie "Jim" Graham: Jamie goes through a coming of ageComing of ageComing of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
from living in a wealthy British family in ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, to becoming a prisoner of warPrisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Lunghua Civilian Assembly CenterLunghua Civilian Assembly CenterLunghua Civil Assembly Centre was one of the internment camps eventually established by the Empire of Japan in Shanghai for European and American citizens, who had anyway been resident under Japanese occupation since December 1941. James Graham Ballard was interned in the camp as an adolescent...
during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
felt Bale had a physical resemblance to himself at the same age. The actor was 12 years old when he was cast. Amy IrvingAmy IrvingAmy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
, Bale's co-star in the television movieTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Anastasia: The Mystery of AnnaAnastasia: The Mystery of AnnaAnastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex...
, recommended Bale to her then-husband, Steven Spielberg, for the role. Over 4,000 child actors auditioned. On the experience, Bale reflected, "After I finished the movie I got this really nice mountain bikeMountain bikeA mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
. Because it was a big deal where I lived that I was in this movie, I had jealous bullies threatening to beat me up and girls who wanted to kiss me. I just wanted to ride my bike." - John MalkovichJohn MalkovichJohn Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
as Basie: An American ship steward stranded in Shanghai during Japanese occupation. Basie forms a false friendship with Jamie, giving him the nickname of "Jim". - Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
as Mrs. Victor: A British woman who was Jim's "neighbor" at Suzhou. She dies in the wilderness, where Jim sees a bright light in the sky to the East. He believes it to be her soul floating to HeavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
but finds out later it was the flash from the atomic bombing of NagasakiAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiDuring the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
, hundreds of miles away. - Nigel HaversNigel HaversNigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
as Dr. Rawlins: Jim's father figureFather Figure"Father Figure" is the U.S. number-one song written and performed by George Michael and released on Columbia Records in 1988 as the third single from the album Faith.-History:...
at Suzhou. Rawlins finds difficulty teaching Jim humilityHumilityHumility is the quality of being modest, and respectful. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness.-Term:The term "humility"...
.
Cast notes
Smaller roles in the film by notable actors include Leslie PhillipsLeslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
, Burt Kwouk
Burt Kwouk
Burt Kwouk OBE , born Herbert Kwouk, is an English actor of Chinese descent, known for many television appearances and for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films.-Career:...
, Emily Richard
Emily Richard
Emily Richard is a British actress and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.One of three sisters, Richard attended drama school in London in 1966 aged 18, but she was asked to leave after a year as she was "too timid". She then sold programmes in theatres in London's West End...
, Paul McGann
Paul McGann
Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
, Joe Pantoliano
Joe Pantoliano
Joseph Peter "Joe" Pantoliano is an American film and television actor. He played the character of Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos, Bob Keane in La Bamba, Cypher in The Matrix, Teddy in Memento, Francis Fratelli in The Goonies, Guido "the Killer Pimp" in Risky Business, and Jennifer Tilly's...
, and Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
, with Masatō Ibu
Masato Ibu
' is a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Films:*Maison Ikkoku *Empire of the Sun as Sgt. Nagata*Sukeban Deka *Dr. Akagi *Taboo *Godzilla vs...
and Guts Ishimatsu
Guts Ishimatsu
is a former boxing world champion from Kanumashi, Japan. After retiring from boxing, he has gained popularity as an actor and comedian.As a boxer, he was known for his unpredictable style, sometimes marking completely unpredicted victories, and often losing in extravagant fashion as well...
as Japanese soldiers. Ballard makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
at the costume party
Costume party
A fancy dress party or a costume party , mainly in contemporary Western culture, is a type of party where guests dress up in a costume.-Fancy dress parties in Britain:...
scene. Stiller conceived the idea for Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
while performing in Empire of the Sun.
Production
Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
purchased the film rights
Film rights
Film rights are the rights under copyright law to make a derivative work—in this case, a film—derived from an item of intellectual property. Under U.S...
, intending Harold Becker
Harold Becker
Harold Becker is American film director and producer from New York.-Biography:After studying art and photography at the Pratt Institute, Becker began his career as a still photographer, but later tried his hand at directing television commercials, short films and documentaries...
to direct and Robert Shapiro
Robert Shapiro (film producer)
Robert Shapiro is an American film producer who was the president of theatrical film production at Warner Bros.Shapiro started working in the proverbial mailroom of the William Morris Agency. Advancing through the firm's ranks, he served as head of the television talent department and vice...
to produce. Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
wrote the first draft, which J.G. Ballard briefly collaborated on. Becker dropped out, and David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
came to direct with Spielberg as producer. Lean explained, "I worked on it for about a year and in the end I gave it up because I thought it was too similar to a diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
. It was well-written and interesting, but I gave it to Steve." Spielberg felt "from the moment I read J.G. Ballard's novel I secretly wanted to direct myself." Spielberg found the project to be very personal. As a child, his favorite film was Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
, which similarly takes place in a Japanese prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp. Spielberg's obsession with World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the aircraft of that era was stimulated by his father's stories of his experience as a radio operator
Radioman
Radioman was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology.-History of the rating:...
on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers in the China-Burma Theater
China Burma India Theater of World War II
China Burma India Theater was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjunction with British and Chinese Allied air and land forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II...
. Spielberg hired Menno Meyjes
Menno Meyjes
Menno Meyjes is a Dutch-born screenwriter, film director and producer.He moved to the United States in 1972 and studied at the Art Institute of California – San Francisco. He was nominated for several awards for his screenplay to the 1985 film The Color Purple, adapted from the novel by Alice Walker...
to do an uncredited rewrite before Stoppard was brought back to write the shooting script
Shooting script
A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers , and they follow a well defined set of procedures specifying how script revisions should be implemented and...
.
Empire of the Sun was filmed at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in the United Kingdom, and on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The filmmakers searched across Asia in an attempt to find locations that resembled 1941 Shanghai. They entered negotiations with Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.-History:...
s and China Film Co-Production Corporation
China Film Co-Production Corporation
China Film Co-Production Corporation , abbreviated as CFCC, is a Chinese film production company and distributor. It is a subsidiary of China Film Group Corporation...
in 1985. After a year of negotiations, permission was granted for a three-week shoot in early-March 1987. It was the first American film shot in Shanghai since the 1940s. The Chinese authorities allowed the crew to alter signs to traditional Chinese character
Traditional Chinese character
Traditional Chinese characters refers to Chinese characters in any character set which does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. It most commonly refers to characters in the standardized character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong, or in the Kangxi...
s, as well as closing down city blocks for filming. Over 5,000 local extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
s were used, some old enough to remember the Japanese occupation of Shanghai
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
40 years earlier. Members of the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
played Japanese soldiers. Other locations included Trebujena
Trebujena
-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía* - Trebujena.net, The forum, the pictures and the news of Trebujena....
, Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, Sunningdale
Sunningdale
Sunningdale is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England.-Location:Sunningdale is located close to the present border with Surrey, and is not far from Ascot, Sunninghill and Virginia Water. It is situated 24 miles west of London and 7...
, and Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. Lean often visited the set during the England shoot.
Spielberg attempted to portray the era accurately, using period vehicles and aircraft including three A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
full-scale replicas and three North American P-51D Mustang restored warbird
Warbird
Warbird is a term used, predominantly in North America, to describe vintage military aircraft.- Naming :Although the term originally implied piston-driven aircraft from the World War II era, it is now often extended to include all military aircraft, including jet-powered aircraft, that are no...
fighter aircraft from the UK. These P-51s were flown by the late Ray Hanna (who was filmed flying past the child star with the canopy back, waving), his son Mark and "Hoof" Proudfoot and took over 10 days of filming to complete due to the complexity of the planned aerial sequences, which included the P-51s actually dropping plaster-filled replica 500 lb bombs at low level (although bomb blasts were simulated). A number of large scale flying models were also used, but as the results were, in some cases, disappointing, Spielberg himself extended the film contract with the full-size examples and pilots on set in Trebujena, Spain.
Industrial Light & Magic designed the visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
sequences with some Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
also used for the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. Norman Reynolds
Norman Reynolds
Norman Reynolds is best known for being an Academy Award winning British art director and production designer for the original Star Wars trilogy. He was born in London, England, UK....
was hired as the production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
while Vic Armstrong
Vic Armstrong
Victor Monroe Armstrong is a BAFTA winning British film director and stunt double -- the world's most prolific according to the Guinness Book of Records...
served as the stunt coordinator
Stunt coordinator
A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company to arrange the casting and performance of stunts for a film, television programme or a live audience...
.
Reception
Empire of the Sun was given a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on December 11, 1987, before being wide released on December 25, 1987. The film earned $22.24 million in North America, and $44.46 million in other countries, accumulating a worldwide total of $66.7 million, earning more than its budget but still considered a box office disappointment by Spielberg.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a score of 81% based on reviews from 36 critics.
By comparison Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
calculated an average score of 60%, based on 17 reviews.
J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
gave positive feedback, and was especially impressed with Christian Bale's performance.
Critical reaction was not universally affirmative, with Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
stated that Spielberg "has energized each frame with allusive legerdemain and an intelligent density of images and emotions."
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "a visual splendor, a heroic adventurousness and an immense scope that make it unforgettable."
Julie Salamon of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
wrote that the film as "an edgy, intelligent script by playwright Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
, Spielberg has made an extraordinary film out of Mr. Ballard's extraordinary war experience." J. Hoberman from the Village Voice decried that the serious subject was undermined by Spielberg's "shamelessly kiddiecentric" approach. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave a mixed reaction, "[D]espite the emotional potential in the story, it didn't much move me. Maybe, like the kid, I decided that no world where you can play with airplanes can be all that bad."
Awards
In his second starring role, Bale received a special citation for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor from the National Board of Review of Motion PicturesNational Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
, an award specially created for his performance in Empire of the Sun. At the 60th Academy Awards
60th Academy Awards
The 60th Academy Awards were presented April 11, 1988 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was the first to be held there since the 20th Academy Awards...
, Empire of the Sun was nominated for Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
, Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
, Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
, Original Music Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
, Costume Design
Academy Award for Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
, and Sound (Robert Knudson
Robert Knudson
Robert Knudson was an American sound engineer. He won three Academy Awards for Best Sound and was nominated for seven more in the same category...
, Don Digirolamo
Don Digirolamo
Don Digirolamo is an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for two more in the same category. He has worked on over 170 films since 1963.-Selected filmography:...
, John Boyd
John Boyd (sound engineer)
John Boyd is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Sound.-Selected filmography:* Empire of the Sun * Who Framed Roger Rabbit -External links:...
and Tony Dawe
Tony Dawe
Tony Dawe is a British sound engineer. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards in the category Best Sound.-Selected filmography:* Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi * Empire of the Sun...
). It did not convert any of the nominations into awards. Allen Daviau
Allen Daviau
Allen Daviau, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer.-Selected filmography:*Amblin *Close Encounters of the Third Kind *E.T...
, who was nominated as cinematographer, publicly complained, "I can't second-guess the Academy, but I feel very sorry that I get nominations and Steven doesn't. It's his vision that makes it all come together, and if Steven wasn't making these films, none of us would be here." The film won awards for cinematography, sound design, and music score at the 41st British Academy Film Awards
41st British Academy Film Awards
The 41st British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1988, honoured the best in film for 1987.-Best Film: Jean de Florette *Cry Freedom*Radio Days*Hope and Glory-Best Actor:...
. The nominations included production design, costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
, and adapted screenplay
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
. Spielberg was honored by his work from the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
, while the American Society of Cinematographers
American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild. Membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film...
honored Allen Daviau
Allen Daviau
Allen Daviau, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer.-Selected filmography:*Amblin *Close Encounters of the Third Kind *E.T...
. Empire of the Sun was nominated for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Original Score
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
at the 45th Golden Globe Awards
45th Golden Globe Awards
The 45th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1987, were held on January 23, 1988.-Best Actor - Drama: Michael Douglas - Wall Street*John Lone - The Last Emperor*Jack Nicholson - Ironweed*Nick Nolte - Weeds...
. John Williams earned a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination.
Themes
Flying symbolizes Jim's possibility and danger of escape from the prison camp. His growing alienation from his prewar self and society is reflected in his hero-worship of the Japanese aviators based at the airfield adjoining the camp. "I think it's true that the Japanese were pretty brutal with the Chinese, so I don't have any particularly sentimental view of them," Ballard recalled. "But small boys tend to find their heroes where they can. One thing there was no doubt about, and that was that the Japanese were extremely brave. One had very complicated views about patriotism [and] loyalty to one's own nation. Jim is constantly identifying himself, first with the Japanese; then, when the Americans start flying over in their Mustangs and B-29s, he's very drawn to the Americans."The apocalyptic wartime setting and the climactic
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
moment when Jim sees the distant white flash of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
gave Spielberg powerful visual metaphors "to draw a parallel story between the death of this boy's innocence and the death of the innocence of the entire world." Spielberg reflected he "was attracted to the idea that this was a death of innocence, not an attenuation
Attenuation
In physics, attenuation is the gradual loss in intensity of any kind of flux through a medium. For instance, sunlight is attenuated by dark glasses, X-rays are attenuated by lead, and light and sound are attenuated by water.In electrical engineering and telecommunications, attenuation affects the...
of childhood, which by my own admission and everybody's impression of me is what my life has been. This was the opposite of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. This was a boy who had grown up too quickly." Other topics that Spielberg previously dealt with, and are presented in Empire of the Sun, include a child being separated from his parents (The Sugarland Express
The Sugarland Express
The Sugarland Express is a 1974 American drama film starring Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, William Atherton, and Michael Sacks. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, his first film to be intended as a theatrical release .It is about a husband and wife trying to outrun the law and was based on a...
, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
and Poltergeist) and World War II (1941
1941 (film)
1941 is a 1979 period comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and featuring an ensemble cast including John Belushi, Ned Beatty, John Candy, Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee and Dan Aykroyd...
, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
and Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
). Spielberg explained "My parents got a divorce when I was 14, 15. The whole thing about separation is something that runs very deep in anyone exposed to divorce."