The Last Emperor (1987)

The story of the final Emperor of China.

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Mark Peploe (screenplay), Bernardo Bertolucci (screenplay)

Stars:

John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole

Won 9 Oscars. Another 47 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Ryuichi Sakamoto	...	Amakasu (as Ryûichi Sakamoto)
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)

Storyline

This sweeping account of the life of Pu-Yi, the last emperor of China, follows the leader's tumultuous reign. After being captured by the Red Army as a war criminal in 1950, Pu-Yi recalls his childhood from prison. He remembers his lavish youth in the Forbidden City, where he was afforded every luxury but unfortunately sheltered from the outside world and complex political situation surrounding him. As revolution sweeps through China, the world Pu-Yi knew is dramatically upended.

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Plot Keywords:

cricket the insect | china | bigfoot character | eating a flower | drug | 

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Taglines:

1500 slaves. 353,260,000 royal subjects. Warlords. Concubines. And 2 wives. He was the loneliest boy in the world.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

UK Italy China France USA

Language:

English Mandarin Japanese

Release Date:

15 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

El último emperador

Filming Locations:

Beijing Studios, Beijing, China

Box Office

Budget:

£23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$149,460, 20 November 1987, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$43,984,230

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Hemdale, Yanco Films Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

163 min 219 min (television)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 250-acre Forbidden City, built in the early 15th century with high walls up to 50 feet thick, provided an excellent soundproof filming environment, although the Chinese crews weren't used to making films with live sound.

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Goofs

The tour guide at the end of the film says that Pu Yi was 3 years old at his coronation. Puyi was born Feb. 7, 1906 and invested Nov. 14, 1908, aged 2 years 10 months. However, the guide was likely using the Chinese age system, in which a person is automatically aged "1" when born.

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Quotes

Pu Yi, at 15: [in heavily accented English] I know that you know that I know that you know that that is a dialogue between Confucius and Chuang Tzu.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Last Emperor/Cross My Heart/The Running Man/Sign o' the Times/Steel Dawn (1987)

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Soundtracks

Yankee Doodle
(uncredited)
Traditional folk tune
[Played by the air-horn of the American tourist guide in the Forbidden City]

User Reviews

The Life Of China's Last Emperor

This is somewhat long and generally lacking in excitement, but it's beautifully filmed and it serves as a fascinating look at the life of Pu Yi - the last Emperor of China, who came to the throne in 1908 when he was three years old, and finally died in 1967 as a gardener in Communist China, after serving 10 years in a PRC prison being ideologically "re- educated." Much of the story is told in flash-backs taken from his interrogation by Communist officials in the PRC prison. Much attention is paid to Reginald Johnston's book "Twilight in the Forbidden City." Johnston (played in the movie by Peter O'Toole) was Pu Yi's Scottish tutor.

John Lone's performance as Pu Yi was very good. Not surprising perhaps for someone who became an emperor at such a young age, Pu Yi is depicted as one who is used to comfort and used to having his way - a characteristic he seems to have retained for most of his life, although he doesn't really come across as bad or arrogant; just as someone who never learned how to care for himself or treat others as equals. I suppose it would be hard to expect a child who was treated almost like a god from the age of 3 to grow up psychologically well adjusted. He was actually overthrown not much more than a decade after coming to the throne but I appreciated learning that although he abdicated when the Nationalist revolution took place, he retained his title and it seems as though the Forbidden City remained his "Empire." He continued to rule this little enclave within Beijing, much as the Pope rules a little enclave within Rome. That was very interesting.

There was a lot of attention to Pu Yi's accession as "Emperor of Manchukuo" in 1934. He became a puppet of the Japanese, who placed him on the throne to give Manchukuo a semblance of credibility but no freedom, was captured by the Soviets at the end of the war, and finally handed over to PRC officials in 1950, his transfer to Chinese authority being where the movie begins.

Near the end of the movie there's a truly fascinating scene depicting a small portion of the work of Mao's "Red Guards" during the so-called Cultural Revolution that was quite sobering. I was disappointed, though, with the way this ended. It chose to conclude on a sort of fantasy scene, where Pu Yi returns to the Forbidden City. I suppose it was meant as a way of saying that at his death he returned home, but I found it a weak ending rather than a heartwarming one, perhaps because while his life was interesting, I can't say that I developed any warm feelings or sympathy for Pu Yi by watching this.