The Last Emperor (1987)

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Enzo Ungari (initial screenplay collaboration)
Mark Peploe (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

He was the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, the absolute monarch of China. He was born to rule a world of ancient tradition. Nothing prepared him for our world of change.

Plot:

The story of the final Emperor of China.

Plot Keywords:

Emperor | China | Forbidden City | Japanese | Japan

Awards:

Won 9 Oscars. Another 39 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

John Lone	...	Pu Yi - Adult
Joan Chen	...	Wan Jung
Peter O'Toole	...	Reginald 'R. J.' Johnston
Ruocheng Ying	...	The Governor (as Ying Ruocheng)
Victor Wong	...	Chen Pao Shen
Dennis Dun	...	Big Li
Ryûichi Sakamoto	...	Amakasu
Maggie Han	...	Eastern Jewel
Ric Young	...	Interrogator
Vivian Wu	...	Wen Hsiu (as Wu Jun Mei)
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Chang (as Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa)
Jade Go	...	Ar Mo
Fumihiko Ikeda	...	Yoshioka
Richard Vuu	...	Pu Yi - 3 Years
Tsou Tijger	...	Pu Yi - 8 Years (as Tijger Tsou)

Also Known As:

L'ultimo imperatore (Italy)
Le dernier empereur (France)
Modai huangi (China: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

163 min | 219 min (television version)

Country:

China | Italy | UK | France

Language:

English | Mandarin | Japanese | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1999) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Germany:12 (director's cut) | Germany:12 | UK:15 (director's cut) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:Livre | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-14 (original rating) | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:12 (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Beijing Studios, Beijing, China

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

19,000 extras were needed over the course of the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Johnston is about to board a ship out of China to return to England, in a scene set in 1931, a ticket office window is seen in the background with opening and closing times given in simplified Chinese characters. China only switched to simplified characters after the Communists came to power in 1949, with a drive to improve literacy. At the time this scene takes place, traditional full-form characters would have been used.

Quotes:

Pu Yi, at 15: Where are your ancestors buried?
Reginald Fleming 'R.J.' Johnston: In Scotland, your majesty.
Pu Yi, at 15: But then, where's your skirt? In your country, men wear short skirts, do they not?
Reginald Fleming 'R.J.' Johnston: No, your majesty, Scotmen do not wear skirts. They wear kilts.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Tuxedo (2002)

Soundtrack:

Kaiser Walzer (Emperor Waltz) op. 437

Excellent, if not emotionally confusing, film.

I'd like to comment on the "The Last Emperor" from a somewhat oblique angle compared to the usual reviews a film gets.

For starters, it is my opinion that this was a really good film to watch. It also spurred me into researching a little more Chinese, as well as Japanese, history. I think I should note here, there are some great books to research on the life of Pu Yi. There is in fact a book; "Twilight In The Forbidden City" by Reginald F. Johnston as well as "From Emperor to Citizen" an autobiography by Pu Yi himself. I'll list some titles and where to find them at the end of my "comment".

This "oblique" angle that I'd like to take is on the emotional impact of the film.

While I found the film informative and well made, I also found it conveyed an emotional emptiness, and maybe even sadness. I was distraught at the end of the film. In short: It made me feel that here is a man who was somebody, and at the end of his life he has nothing. He lost everything he ever had, and died alone.

While everyone may get something different from the film, they undoubtedly will find similarities with other viewers as well. I almost wish some creative license were taken to end the film on a happier note.

Although, I found it sad, solemn, and many times it made me feel just empty like I wasn't sure what to feel but I wanted anything to fill the emptiness, I also found it compelling. Not many other films have so made me want to learn more about the history, and people in a film.

That's my review. And as a final note: while my review may have had a somewhat down tone to it and may have even left some people feeling like the review is a bit empty or unfinished, I also hope it compelled people to think a little differently about "The Last Emperor" and maybe even spur some of you to do a little of your own research on the people and places in the film.

Books:

Twilight In The Forbidden City by Reginald F. Johnston ISBN: 0848813901

From Emperor To Citizen by Pu Yi ISBN: 7119007726

The Last Emperor by Arnold C. Brackman ISBN: 0881847003

The Last Emperor by Edward Behr ISBN: 0553344749

The Puppet Emperor: The Life of Pu Yi, Last Emperor of China by Brian Power ISBN: 0876634587