EMPIRE OF THE SUN (1987) MOVIE POSTER, ORIGINAL DAYBILL, WWII EPIC
Condition Very Fine / Near Mint (9.0)
Size AU Daybill Post 80's (33 x 66 cm)
Empire of the Sun (1987) Original Daybill Movie Poster, Starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich, & Miranda Richardson, Directed by Steven Spielberg is in Very Fine/Near Mint Condition. Movie Poster and...
Empire of the Sun (1987) Original Daybill Movie Poster, Starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich, & Miranda Richardson, Directed by Steven Spielberg is in Very Fine/Near Mint Condition.
Movie Poster and Condition
Condition: This Daybill is presented in Very Fine+ condition with two standard Daybill folds. Unused. Very small edge bruise bottom left corner. Minor handling and edge wear. This Poster is currently stored folded and will be shipped in an acid free polyprop bag with acid free backing board. This original Australian daybill poster represents a remarkable piece of World War II cinema from one of Steven Spielberg's most critically acclaimed war dramas of the 1980s.
Movie Synopsis
Empire of the Sun is a stunning 1987 American epic coming-of-age war drama directed by Steven Spielberg and written by renowned playwright Tom Stoppard. Based on J.G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical 1984 novel, this powerful film explores the horrors of war through the innocent eyes of a child, marking one of Spielberg's most emotionally complex and visually spectacular achievements.
Christian Bale delivers a remarkable breakout performance as Jamie "Jim" Graham, a privileged young British boy living in luxury with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai's International Settlement. When the Japanese invasion of China begins, Jim becomes separated from his parents and must survive in a harsh Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. John Malkovich provides exceptional support as Basie, an opportunistic American sailor who becomes Jim's unlikely mentor, whilst Miranda Richardson portrays Mrs. Victor, a fellow British prisoner.
The outstanding supporting cast features Nigel Havers as Dr. Rawlins, Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest, Leslie Phillips as Maxton, Masatō Ibu as Sergeant Nagata, and notably Ben Stiller in an early dramatic role as Dainty. Robert Stephens, Emily Richard, and Rupert Frazer round out this exceptional ensemble cast.
The film chronicles Jim's transformation from a spoiled, privileged child fascinated by Japanese fighter planes to a hardened survivor who must navigate the brutal realities of wartime imprisonment. His journey explores themes of innocence lost, survival, and the resilience of the human spirit amidst the chaos of war.
Originally, legendary directors Harold Becker and David Lean were attached to direct before Spielberg came aboard, initially as producer for Lean. The film was shot on location in Spain and England, with elaborate sets recreating 1940s Shanghai and the internment camps. Cinematographer Allen Daviau created breathtaking visuals that earned him widespread critical acclaim.
Empire of the Sun received six Oscar nominations including Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. Interestingly, the film lost all six nominations to "The Last Emperor", another film set in mid-20th century China with a child protagonist. Despite this, the film won three BAFTA awards for cinematography, music and sound, cementing its technical brilliance.
This 152-minute epic stands as one of Spielberg's most underrated masterpieces, combining spectacular wartime action with intimate character development in a way that few films achieve.
To find out more about Empire of the Sun (1987) click here to go to IMDB.com.
Special Notes
Images may have a small 'MPA' digital watermark and this does not appear on the poster. Posters are being held by magnets in the corners to take photographs, so you may see some magnet and shadows from the magnets in these areas. The magnets are not included in the sale of the item.
Postage, Insurance & Your Country Taxes
Postage costs are quoted for this item, include insurance up to AUD$100, but if you reside outside of Australia, the price does not include any import taxes/fees that you may be required to pay when the item reaches your borders. Please check with your local authorities for any additional taxes or fees. If you would like full insurance coverage for your purchase, please message me and I would be happy to quote the additional cost (estimate is AUD$2.50 p/AUD$100 or 2.5% of the item value, up to a maximum item value of AUD$5,000).
FAQ
At Movie Posters Australia, the love and conservation of movie posters comes first, and we like to share this passion. Our commitment to quality means we will provide high quality memorabilia to our customers. Posters are carefully chosen and authenticated to ensure originality and value. We want our customers to trust MPA, so we always try to be as open and transparent as we can, provide detailed condition information and images, to ensure customers are comfortable and confident in their purchase.
While the industry does have a few condition rating standards, there is no movie poster condition rating system that has become the accepted standard world wide. This unfortunately makes condition terms vary from movie poster dealer to movie poster dealer. Terms like Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, seem to be universal to most condition rating standards, but most standards still lack definition about what and how many flaws/defects/damage defines a specific condition level. For more information on how Movie Posters Australia grades the condition of its movie posters, daybills, lobby cards and other ephemera please see out Movie Poster Condition and Grading page.
In the early days of cinema, posters were primarily hand-drawn and printed in various sizes, often tailored to fit the available space in theaters or promotional areas. In the United States, the "One Sheet" size (some times called '1 Sheet' or '1SH' approximately 27" x 41", became the standard during the 1930s. This size was manageable for theater display and suited the needs of a growing film industry.
Different countries developed their own poster sizes and styles, which also changed sometimes over the decades, and were influenced by local preferences and practical considerations, like available paper sheet sizes and how many posters could be printed on one sheet.
In Australia, the most popular size, the Daybill, has evolved over the decades. Australian Daybills sizes in chronological order are:
- Long Daybills (15" x 40"), from 1920's to pre-WW2 or pre-1941, were printed two to a sheet, longer than current Daybill versions. There were size variances in width from 14.5" to 15" and in height from 39.5" to 40".
- War Time Daybill (10" x 30"), during WW2, for a short time to conserve paper during a war time shortage, four Daybills were printed on one sheet. Information from Press Sheets also referred to these War-Time sizes as "New Size Daybills".
- Post-War Daybill (13" x 30"), this 13" x 30" Post-War size carried through until the 1980's, but also varied in size from 13"-14" x 29.75"-30.25".
- Post-80's Daybill (33cm x 66cm, or 13" x 26"), over a few years in the late 80's, the size changed again to a metric 33cm x 66cm, although these have also varied from 32-33cm x 64.5-66cm. New sizes from the late 80's were created, sometimes called a Mini Daybill or Mini Poster, in 9" x 12", 11" x 17" and 13" x 20".
In the UK, the somewhat unique 'Quad' poster, measuring 30" x 40", became popular, offering a larger landscape format that allowed for more elaborate designs.
In Japan, movie poster sizes were smaller, such as the "B2" (20" x 28"), which suited the more compact living environment of larger cities, smaller advertising spaces, and unique aesthetic sensibilities.
The 1970s and 1980s, witnessed the rise of the "six-sheet" (81" x 81") format, reflecting a trend towards larger and more visually impactful advertising.
Overall, the variation in movie poster sizes across different countries and decades highlights the interplay between technological printing advancements, paper resource availability, paper sheet size changes, cultural preferences, and the evolving nature of movie marketing.
At Movie Posters Australia we tag each poster we sell with a 'size' and 'condition' description at the very top of the page for our customers to easily see. There may however be some slight variations to sizes by up one inch due to variations in production and guillotine methods by printers over the decades.