The Last Emperor (1987)

Directed by

Bernardo Bertolucci

Genre

drama film, biographical film, epic film, historical film

Country

British Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, France

Runtime

2h 45m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.6 of 10 from 1,937 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

It covers the life of Puyi, who became emperor of China as a child. It follows his journey from the palace to imprisonment and eventually to a new life under Communist rule.

sweepingmelancholicintimategrandiosebittersweetcontemplativevisually sumptuoussolemn

What happens

The Last Emperor (Italian: L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted from Puyi's 1964 autobiography, and independently produced by Jeremy Thomas. The film depicts Puyi's life from his ascent to the throne as an infant to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese Communist Party. It stars John Lone in the eponymous role, with Peter O'Toole, Joan Chen, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Vivian Wu, Lisa Lu, and Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed the film score with David Byrne and Cong Su). It was the first Western feature film authorised by the People's Republic of China to film in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Last Emperor premiered at the 1987 Tokyo International Film Festival, and was released in the United States by Columbia Pictures on November 18. It earned widespread positive reviews from critics and was also a commercial success. At the 60th Academy Awards, it won all nine Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won several other accolades, including three BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, nine David di Donatello Awards, and a Grammy Award for its musical score. The film was converted into 3D and shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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