The Last Emperor

( 20 )

Overview

The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years 1908 to 1967. We first see the three-year-old Pu Yi being installed in the Forbidden City by ruthless, dying dowager Empress Tzu-Hsui Lisa Lu. Though he'd prefer to lark about like other boys, the infant emperor is cossetted and cajoled into accepting the responsibilities and privileges of his office. In 1912, the young emperor Tijer Tsou forced to abdicate when China ...
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Overview

The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years 1908 to 1967. We first see the three-year-old Pu Yi being installed in the Forbidden City by ruthless, dying dowager Empress Tzu-Hsui Lisa Lu. Though he'd prefer to lark about like other boys, the infant emperor is cossetted and cajoled into accepting the responsibilities and privileges of his office. In 1912, the young emperor Tijer Tsou forced to abdicate when China is declared a republic, is a prisoner in his own palace, "protected" from the outside world. Fascinated by the worldliness of his Scottish tutor Peter O'Toole, Pu Yi plots an escape from his cocoon by means of marriage. He selects Manchu descendant Wan Jung Joan Chen, who likewise is anxious to experience the 20th century rather than be locked into the past by tradition. Played as an adult by John Lone, Pu Yi puts into effect several social reforms, and also clears the palace of the corrupt eunuchs who've been shielding him from life. In 1924, an invading warlord expels the denizens of the Forbidden City, allowing Pu Yi to "westernize" himself by embracing popular music and the latest dances as a guest of the Japanese Concession in Tientsin. Six years later, his power all but gone, Pu Yi escapes to Manchuria, where he unwittingly becomes a political pawn for the now-militant Japanese government. Humiliating his faithful wife, Pu Yi falls into bad romantic company, carrying on affairs with a variety of parasitic females. During World War II, the Japanese force Pu Yi to sign a series of documents which endorse their despotic military activities. At war's end, the emperor is taken prisoner by the Russians; while incarcerated, he is forced to fend for himself without servants at his beck and call for the first time. He is finally released in 1959 and displayed publicly as proof of the efficacy of Communist re-education. We last see him in 1967, the year of his death; now employed by the State as a gardener, Pu Yi makes one last visit to the Forbidden City...as a tourist. Bernardo Bertolucci's first film after a six-year self-imposed exile, The Last Emperor was released in two separate versions: the 160-minute theatrical release, and a 4-hour TV miniseries. Lensed on location, the film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola
In this unprecedented Sino-Western co-production, Bernardo Bertolucci turned the strange life of final Chinese crown ruler Pu Yi into a sumptuous epic. Shooting on location in China in the first Western production allowed to film in Beijing's Forbidden City, Bertolucci spent $25 million on lavish sets and costumes, as well as a cast of thousands, for a story spanning six decades, from Pu Yi's 1908 coronation to his 1960s life as a poor civilian. The story is structured through flashback memories as Pu Yi comes to grips with existence as a villain and commoner under Communism, and Vittorio Storaro's exquisite cinematography subtly underscores the emperor's rise and fall by shifting from a palette rich in reds, oranges, and yellows for Pu Yi's imperial years to somber blues and grays for his exile and imprisonment. Despite critical complaints that the story was lacking in emotional involvement, many viewers agreed that Bertolucci had created another visual marvel. Nominated for nine Oscars, The Last Emperor scored an unexpected sweep, winning all nine, including Best Picture and Best Director. An hour of footage cut from the release version was restored in the 1998 theatrical reissue reedited by Bertolucci.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/23/1999
  • UPC: 012236072836
  • Original Release: 1987

    • Rating:

  • Source: Live / Artisan
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
John Lone Pu Yi as an Adult
Joan Chen Wan Jung, "Elizabeth"
Peter O'Toole Reginald Johnston, "R.J."
Ying Ruocheng The Governor
Victor Wong Chen Pao Shen
Dennis Dun Big Li
Ryuichi Sakamoto Masahiko Amakasu
Maggie Han Eastern Jewel
Ric Young Interrogator
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Chang
Jade Go Ar Mo
Fumihiko Ikeda Yoshioka
Tiger Tsou Pu Yi, Age 8
Fan Guang Pu Chieh
Henry Kyi Pu Chieh, Age 7
Alvin Riley III Pu Chieh, Age 14
Yang Baozong Gen. Yuan Shikai
Wang Biao Prisoner
Xu Chunqing Grey Eyes
Zhang Daxing Tough Warder
Liang Dong Lady Aisin-Gioro
Li Fusheng Minister of Trade
Constantine Gregory Oculist
Wu Hai Republican Officer
Yang Hongchang Scribe
Luo Hongnian Sleeping Old Tutor
Cai Hongxiang Scarface
Soong Huaikuei Lung Yu
Pan Hung Li Shu Xian
Lucia Hwong Lady of the Book
Akira Ikuta Japanese Doctor
Dong Jiechen Doctor
Cui Jingping Lady of the Pen
Wu Jun Wen Hsiu (12 years)
Gu Junguo Tang
Chen Kaige Capital of Imperial Guard
LiDien Lang Empress Wan Rung
Zhang Lingmu Emperor Hirohito
Lisa Lu Tzu Hsui, The Empress Dowager
Basil Pao Prince Chun
Jiang Xi Ren Lord Chamberlain
Martin Reynolds Englishman
Zu Ruigang Second Warder
Rio Ruocheng
Shao Ruzhen First High Consort
Luo Shigang Chang Ching Hui's secretary
Yu Shihong Hsiao Hsiu
Chen Shu Chang Chinghui
Cheng Shuyan Lady Hiro Saga
Matthew Spender Englishman
Hajime Tachibana Japanese Translator
Hideo Takamatsu Gen. Ishikari
Wu Tao Pu Yi (15 years)
Zhang Tianmin Old Tutor
Xu Tongrui Captain of Feng's Army
Michael Vermaaten American
Richard Vuu Pu Yi (3 years)
Huang Wenjie Hunchback
Vivian Wu Wen Hsiu
LiDien Xing Li Yu Qin
Jin Yuan Party Boss
Liangbin Zhang Big Foot
Dong Zhendong Old Doctor
Technical Credits
Bernardo Bertolucci Director, Screenwriter
James Acheson Costumes/Costume Designer
Maria Teresa Barbasso Art Director
David Byrne Score Composer
Su Cong Score Composer
Gabriella Cristiani Editor
Giannetto De Rossi Special Effects
Gino de Rossi Special Effects
Gianni Giovagnoni Art Director
Franco Giovale Associate Producer
Joyce Herlihy Associate Producer
Ulrike Koch Casting
Fabrizio Martinelli Special Effects
Joanna Merlin Casting
Nicola Pecorini Camera Operator
Mark Peploe Screenwriter
Ryuichi Sakamoto Score Composer
Ferdinando Scarfiotti Production Designer
Fabrizio Sforza Makeup
Ivan Sharrock Sound/Sound Designer
Gianni Silvestri Art Director
Vittorio Storaro Cinematographer
Jeremy Thomas Producer
Enzo Ungari Screenwriter
Ray Williams Musical Direction/Supervision
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 20 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(12)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(2)

1 Star

(2)

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  • Posted November 10, 2010

    I would Highly Recommend this movie.

    It is touching and to know and understand a part of history. I seen this when i was young and fell in love with it because its such a grand and moving movie.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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