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 | Germany:12 (director's cut) | 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:

Hairdresser Giancarlo De Leonardis imported 2,200 pounds of human hair to make the elaborate wigs needed for the court. For the coronation scenes, his staff spent ten days training fifty Chinese to pin wigs and plaits onto two thousand extras in under two hours.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Mr. Johnston enters the emperor's service during the 1919 May Fourth student movement. Thus, Pu Yi is 13 years of age, not 15.

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:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

An Example of Quantity and Quality Combining to Make an Unforgettable Film

"The Last Emperor" is a near perfect film. It was nominated for nine Oscars in 1987 and it won nine (including the Best Picture Oscar). The movie is about the life of Pu Yi (John Lone), China's last emperor. In spite of becoming emperor at the age of three, Yi's reign was more of a burden than anything else. Yi would ultimately end up living an unsavory life of imprisonment which is heartrending to the viewer. "The Last Emperor" is visually stunning. The minute details are amazing. However, the story stands up high as well. Historically accurate for the most part, "The Last Emperor" is easily one of the top 10 films of the 1980s and overall an exceptional achievement in every cinematic department known to man. 5 stars out of 5.