EMPIRE OF THE SUN - DVD review

Steven Spielberg grew up listening to World War II tales told to him by his father, Arnold. Spielberg's first amateur movies tended to be kids' recreations of WWII battles. As an adult professional, Spielberg's canon includes more films set during the 1930s/1940s than during any other era. Clearly, Mr. Spielberg feels a major jones for the historical event (World War II) that shaped the world's destinies from the Twentieth Century onwards.

Before Spielberg could tackle the Nazis as a serious, mature adult and as a Jew, he had to work out some kinks in the system. Living vicariously through Indiana Jones (and Harrison Ford) in the "Indiana Jones" films, Spielberg found himself gleefully outwitting and beating up Nazis at every convenient opportunity. However, he knew that he could not portray the Nazis as video-game opponents for the rest of his career, so Spielberg took a side excursion to Asia to focus on "the other bad guys" of WWII, the Japanese. The director made "Empire of the Sun," an adaptation of J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, in 1987.

In "Empire," young James Graham (played by a very very very young Christian Bale, far removed from his recent performance as a nude chainsaw-wielder in "American Psycho") lives in Shanghai, China with his parents. Born in China to parents doing business in the region, the British Jamie has never been to England. When the Japanese invade China, they leave the Western Settlements (European enclaves in Chinese cities) alone. However, on December 8,1941 (which was December 7, 1941 on our side of the International Date Line), the Japanese seize all Westerners' properties and send the Europeans and Americans to prison camps.

During the chaos of the war, Jamie finds himself separated from his parents, due in part to his fascination with airplanes. As a pre-teen without a defined sense of politics and morality, he fixates on whatever airplanes happen to be in his reach. During the second half of the film, while under Japanese guard, Jamie identifies with his Japanese captors, for their bravery and their wondrous Zero airplanes capture his imagination. Yet, things are quickly reversed when American airplanes show up at the prison camp and bomb the hell out of the Japanese. While P-51 Mustangs strafe and swoop, Jamie shrieks with terrible joy.

Jamie ends up meeting a plethora of people, including Basie (John Malkovich), Frank (Joe Pantoliano), and characters played by Miranda Richardson and Ben Stiller (yes, THAT Ben Stiller). Yet, they matter little really. Christian Bale literally carries the entire film on his shoulders, without benefit of an alien companion (as Henry Thomas did in "E.T.") or a fellow android (as Haley Joel Osment in "A.I."). Bale delivers a classic performance that shows a boy shell-shocked into becoming a man. In one scene, he breaks down when he realizes that he's forgotten what his parents look like. That scene resonates until the end of the film, when a camera stares intently at Bale's hollow, listless eyes.

Yes, "Empire of the Sun" relates a coming-of-age story, and I'm all the more glad that the film takes place in China. In my opinion, Western filmmakers have not focused enough on the battles that occurred in China during WWII. Sure, the European continent and Pacific Ocean gave rise to moving conflicts, but so did the events that took place in occupied China. Early in the film, there is a wide-angle crane shot of an endless field of Chinese prisoners forced to hard labor by the Japanese. This shot anticipates (and matches) the horrors of the concentration camps shown in "Schindler's List."

Spielberg portrays the Japanese in a serious light, not in the cartoony fashions of the Nazis opposing Indy at every turn. As a Jew, Spielberg probably nurtures a special, different anger about the Nazis/Germans than he does about the Japanese as an American. However, by refocusing his feelings and intellectual responses towards WWII in making "Empire of the Sun," Spielberg regained a better historical understanding of the European conflict. "Empire" gave Spielberg the emotional tools necessary to make "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan." Spielberg even managed to approach the subject of the atom bomb in this film, something that he has not done in any other movie.

At 152 minutes, the film runs too long by about half an hour. Episodic by nature, the story lacks a strong narrative thrust to sustain a viewer's rapt attention. A movie doesn't always have to be "going" somewhere in order to entertain me, but "Empire" likes to reiterate its points with incessant insistency. Then there's the problem with the movie's music. I enjoy John Williams's music very much, especially when he writes orchestral scores for Spielberg. However, he gets the mood all wrong with "Empire," seeking to soar our spirits when he should be going in other directions. The film's reliance on "Suo Gan" will irritate some viewers because the song appears during odd moments. Indeed, to an astute, observant film buff, "Empire" plays like a rough cut that needs to be trimmed down to two hours and needs a real orchestral score.

Originally, Steven Spielberg actually suggested to British filmmaker David Lean (of "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago" fame) that HE, Mr. Lean, direct "Empire of the Sun." Instead, Mr. Lean wound up making "A Passage to India," so Spielberg took up the "Empire" challenge instead. Knowing this little tidbit about the production's history, it's of no wonder, that Spielberg achieves visually breathtaking shots that rival those created by Lean. Massively epic pull-back long shots of fields of confused crowds, the stark silhouette of Christian Bale trudging alone in a rice paddy--these images demonstrate Spielberg's total command of the technical aspect of filmmaking without seeming too clinical (as James Cameron and Michael Mann often tend to be).

Cinematographer Allen Daviau worked with Spielberg on "Empire of the Sun." Daviau also lensed "E.T." and "The Color Purple." While I have no complaints whatsoever with Spielberg's choice to work exclusively with Janusz Kaminski ever since their "Schindler's List" days, allow me to say that Daviau delivered shots of Olympian beauty during his collaborations with Spielberg. There were moments when I found my interest in the film flagging, but I could always watch in awe of the sureness of the power of Daviau's cinematography. (Mr. Daviau was nominated by the American Academy and won the British Academy Award for his efforts.)

Video:
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen looks good but does not always do justice to the filmmakers' image compositions. While free of digital defects/artifacting, there are instances of film grain that can be bothersome. Sometimes, for some reason, actors in the foreground look like they're disconnected from the sky in the background, even though the film was not shot with bluescreens. Also, occasionally, there are subtle vertical "blob" effects. None of these things present major problems, and the stability of the digital transfer helps the viewer overlook these less-than-perfect moments.

Audio:
Warner Bros. reconfigured the film's audio mix into a Dolby Digital 5.1 English soundtrack (a DD 2.0 surround English and a DD 2.0 surround French are available as well). I found the results to be very pleasing, though the sound mix still lacks the "oomph" of today's action-adventure extravaganzas. Bass response is most apparent during the P-51 attack on the prison camp, and the sound stage sounds very wide during massive crowd scenes. The surrounds get the most use when music plays, but there are some aerial fly-bys that register in the rear as well.

Borrowing a page from Sony (Columbia TriStar), Warner Bros. included a boatload of subtitle options on the "Empire" DVD: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and Korean. English closed captions are available, too.

Extras:
(Note: Warner Bros. presents "Empire of the Sun" as a DVD-14. The film appears on Side A, a dual-layer side. The extras appear on Side B, a single-layer side.)

Although "Empire of the Sun" did not enjoy the commercial or critical acclaim of other high-profile Spielberg projects, I think that the movie deserves a DVD edition with more extras than the one currently offered. For example, a featurette on composer John Williams, a longtime Spielberg collaborator, would've been welcome. Also, I know that Spielberg refuses to do an audio commentary for any of his films, but why not have a critic who appreciated "Empire" do a commentary to defend the film against those who have misunderstood it?

The primary bonus feature is the "The China Odyssey: Empire of the Sun" documentary that was shown on TV when the film was released in 1987. A comprehensive look at the production, "China Odyssey" covers much ground, providing viewers with a substantive feel for the location shooting. Near the beginning of the documentary, Spielberg speaks with various residents of Shanghai, and an elderly Chinese man poignantly recounts how he had not spoken a word of English in at least thirty to forty years (presumably because he feared that the Communist authorities would send him to a work camp). You also get to see how Spielberg worked closely with his actors, bonding especially well with Christian Bale. It's no secret that the director draws great performances from child actors, and Bale's craft seems to grow noticeably when Spielberg gives him a pointer or two.

The remaining extras are of considerably lower caliber than the featurette:

*a one-page listing of the principal cast and crew members;

*a one-page listing of three awards that the film received from the National Board of Review: Best Picture, Best Director, and a special citation for Outstanding Juvenile Performance--Christian Bale;

*a theatrical trailer.

As the DVD comes in Warner's "snapper" case, you will find chapter listings on the inside of the case's front cover.

Entertainment Value:
Usually, I think that the term "flawed masterpiece" is an oxymoron. Of course, there are always exceptions to a rule, and "Empire of the Sun" is one such exception--it is a flawed masterpiece without negating itself. The themes, the majesty of the visual compositions, and Christian Bale's performance will remain permanently with the viewer. Despite the film's obvious flaws, you get the chance to see Spielberg working towards "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan," and "A.I." As the saying goes, it's not the goal that offers satisfaction--rather, it is in the journey towards a goal that one finds intrinsic rewards. "Empire of the Sun" is Spielberg's journey towards dramatic effectiveness.