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starring: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong (III)directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301055840
Format: NTSC
ISBN: 6301055845
Label: Columbia Tristar Hom
Manufacturer: Columbia Tristar Hom
Publication Date: 1993-02
Publisher: Columbia Tristar Hom
Release Date: December 07, 1992
Sales Rank: 7831
Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom
Theatrical Release Date: December 18, 1987
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
Bernardo Bertolucci does the nearly impossible with this sweeping, grand epic that tells a very personal tale. The story is a dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the emperors of China. It follows his life from its elite beginnings in the Forbidden City, where he was crowned at age three and worshipped by half a billion people. He was later forced to abdicate and, unable to fend for himself in the outside world, became a dissolute and exploited shell of a man. He died in obscurity, living as a peasant in the People's Republic. We never really warm up to John Lone in the title role, but this movie focuses more on visuals than characterization anyway. Filmed in the Forbidden City, it is spectacularly beautiful, filling the screen with saturated colors and exquisite detail. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A Visual Gem
I saw "The Last Emperor" a few years back and the movie has staid with me in many a positive way. I was truly amazed at the quality of the sets, the costumes and and the color throughout the movie. I had the feeling that we were seeing scenes shot in the Forbidden City itself. The tale is one that deserved telling because it gives us the story of China in the 20th Century.
The prime focus of the story, obviously, is the last emporer of China, Pu Yi. We are given ample time to see ... Read More
Rating: - Not What You Think It Is
The standard interpretation on "The Last Emperor" (and certainly the title suggests such an interpretation) is that it presents the end of aristocratic China to make way for the inexorable, modern movements of the 20th century, i.e. militarist Japan and communist China.
I wonder.
Unlike Pu Yi's 20th century counterparts, Pu Yi survives: the Japanese commander blows his brains out upon his country's defeat in WWII and the head of the communist detention center eventually ... Read More
Rating: - Top-Notch In Every Way
Do you like bio-pics? Are you interested in history? Would you like to see a movie that has DESERVEDLY won many Academy awards? Then what are you waiting for, get this movie! (LOL!)
Visually stunning, great writing, long but holds your interest throughout. A winner, but only one drawback -- not the kind of film you want to watch over and over. Maybe once every couple of years, but that's it. So, perhaps it only deserves 4 and 3/4 stars, but still, that's a heck of a lot of stars!
Rating: - Takes a while to sink in
This film tells the story of Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China. It is a long, quiet, detailed film, that focuses on how Pu Yi was molded to completely not fit in with the times and the needs of China. He is a virtual bank-vault of contradictions. What if you are the Emperor of a country that no longer wants an emperor? What if you are raised being repeatedly told that you can have anything you want, but you are also a prisoner in your own home and not even allowed to be with your family? What ... Read More
Rating: - Redemptive.
With 'The Last Emperor' Bernardo Bertolucci finally succeeded where he had failed with '1900'. In the previous film he tried too hard to document a period of Italian history through 2-dimensional characters placed in didactic situations. In this film he moved closer to the story of the central character and as a result we get a greater insight into the political upheavals of China at the time and how they effected those in power.
The story itself isn't entirely objective however as the ... Read More
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