EMPIRE OF THE SUN 101
84 Charlie MoPic’s violations of realism, Gordon L. Rottman, a widely published
military author who served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969–
1970, rates 84 Charlie MoPic as one of the most historically accurate films about the
Vietnam War (Rottman, p. 58).
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Synopsis
Empire of the Sun is an American war film/coming- of- age drama based on J. G. Bal-
lard’s semi- autobiographical novel that bears the same title. Directed by Steven
Spielberg and starring John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, and
Christian Bale, the film recounts the saga of Jamie “Jim” Graham, a British boy who
goes from living in wealthy circumstances in Shanghai to becoming a prisoner of
war in a Japa nese internment camp during World War II.
Background
Born and raised in the Shanghai International Settlement in China, acclaimed Brit-
ish writer J. G. Ballard (1930–2009) lived through the Japa nese occupation that
started the day after Pearl Harbor and ended shortly before Japan’s surrender on 2
September 1945. Some 40 years later Ballard wrote Empire of the Sun (Gollancz,
1984), a quasi- autobiographical novel derived from his boyhood years living under
Japa nese rule, mostly at the Lunghua Civil Assembly Center, a Japa nese intern-
ment camp in Shanghai. Short- listed for the Man Booker Prize, Ballard’s novel
garnered rave reviews, earned Ballard an estimated £500,000 in royalties, and
attracted the attention of Hollywood. Warner Bros. purchased the film rights and
hired Harold Becker to direct, Robert Shapiro to produce, and playwright Tom
Stoppard to write the screen adaptation in collaboration with Ballard. After Becker
dropped out, David Lean was hired to direct, and Steven Spielberg took over as
producer. Lean worked on pre- production for a year and a half before fi nally ced-
ing the directorial reins to Spielberg, who had a closer personal affinity to the
proj ect that stemmed from his interest in coming- of- age stories and a lifelong
fascination with World War II (his father had been a radio operator on B-25
Mitchell bombers in the China- Burma Theater). Spielberg then hired Menno
Meyjes (The Color Purple) to do an uncredited rewrite before Stoppard was
rehired to write a fourth and final draft, that is, the shooting script (completed on
2 February 1987).
Production
After his casting team vetted over 4,000 hopefuls, Steven Spielberg hired Chris-
tian Bale, a 13- year- old British actor from Wales, to play the lead role of Jamie
Graham. The shoot for Empire of the Sun took place in England, Spain, and China
and lasted 100 days (1 March to 24 June 1987). While some scenes were filmed at
Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, southern England, the interior shots of the Graham
family home in Shanghai were filmed in a bungalow at Sunningdale, England, and