Empire of the Sun (film)
| Empire of the Sun | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Tom Stoppard |
| Based on |
Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard |
| Starring | |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Cinematography | Allen Daviau |
| Edited by | Michael Kahn |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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154 minutes |
| Country | United States |
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| Budget | $35 million |
| Box office | $66.7 million |
Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American epic 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.
Amidst Japan's invasion of China during World War II, Jamie Graham—a British upper middle class schoolboy—is enjoying a privileged and spoiled life in the Shanghai International Settlement. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese begin to occupy the settlement, and in the ensuing chaos, Jamie is separated from his parents. Jamie's mother shouts at him over the panicked mob to wait at their house and promises that they will come back for him. He spends some time living in his deserted home, but after eating all the food he ventures out into the city.
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Wikipedia