MAGNIFICENT

Rating: 10/10 (23 September 2000)

This is one of the most overlooked screen gems in cinematic history. By all rights, "Empire" should have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but inexplicably it was criticized for not being usual Spielberg fantasy fare. I believe that it is this movie, not "Schindler's List" that is Spielberg's masterpiece to date. He paints a moving, poignant epic upon a canvas of stunningly beautiful cinematography. Christian Bale pours his heart and soul into a performance that could well be the best ever given by a child actor. As young Jim, separated from his parents, he shows us the gritty, crafty resilience that children can have in dire circumstances. His fear and determination touch us and we admire him, wondering if we, as adults, could cope or adapt as well in the same situation.
Too numerous to mention are the scenes which are heart-rending or simply surreal. For me, the essence of this movie is captured in the scene in which Jim scurries to the roof to watch his heroes fly by, and cries in exultation, "CADILLAC OF THE SKY!..."