The Last Emperor

Oscar™ Best Picture - Winning Movies

7.2

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Original title: The Last Emperor
Year: 1987
Running time: 156 min.
Country: United Kingdom
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Screenwriter: Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci, Enzo Ungari (Autobiography: Puyi)
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Cong Su
Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro
Cast: John Lone, Peter O'Toole, Joan Chen, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, Jade Go, Fumihiko Ikeda, Richard Vuu, Tsou Tijger, Hai-Tao Wu, Guang Fan, Henry Kyi, Alvin Riley III, Lisa Lu, Hideo Takamatsu, Hajime Tachibana, Basil Pao, Henry O, Chen Kaige, Liangbin Zhang, Wenjie Huang, Shu Chen, Dong Liang, Constantine Gregory, Yu Li, Wu Jun, Lucia Hwong, Shi Liang, Daxing Zhang
Producer: Co-production United Kingdom-Italy-China;
Columbia Pictures, Hemdale, TAO Film, Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Yanco Films Limited, Screenframe, AAA Soprofilms, China Film Group
Genre: Drama | Historical. Biography. Epic film
Synopsis / Plot: THE LAST EMPEROR is the true story of Pu Yi, the last monarch of a China that changed drastically during his lifetime. Though he comes to power at the age of three and is waited on hand and foot by an army of servants and consorts, Pu Yi is politically powerless. His life becomes a tortuous struggle with this reality, as he is used as a puppet by the Japanese and later reeducated by the communists. Bernardo Bertoluccis award-winning film is epic, lavish, and poignant.

Awards: 1987: 9 Academy Awards, including Best Movie and Director. 9 nominations

1988: 3 BAFTA Awards, including Best Movie. 12 nominations

1987: 4 Golden Globes, including Best Drama Movie. 5 nominations

1987: 9 David di Donatello Awards, including Best Film. 10 Nominations

1987: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Cinematographer

1987: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Cinem. & Music Score. 3 Nom.

Show 4 more awards

1987: Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Cinematography

1987: Directors Guild of America (DGA): Best Director

1987: Writers Guild of America (WGA): Nominated for Best Original Screenplay

1987: César Awards: Best Foreing Film

Critics' reviews

"A film of unique, quite unsurpassed visual splendor (...) A prodigious production in every respect."

Todd McCarthy: Variety
"'The Last Emperor' is like an elegant travel brochure. It piques the curiosity. One wants to go. Ultimately it's a let-down."

Vincent Canby: The New York Times
"In the case of 'The Last Emperor' the narrative cannot be separated from the awesome presence of the Forbidden City, and from Bertolucci's astonishing use of locations (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"One of cinema's greatest cinematographic performances combines with a director's epic vision and superb craftsmanship to create a visual masterpiece (...) Rating; ★★★★½ (out of 5)"

Arthur Ryel-Lindsey: Slant
"[A] visually ravishing spectacle (...) [It] is a genuine rarity: a blockbuster that manages to be historically instructive and intensely personal at the same time."

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Chicago Reader
"An intoxicating visual rush"

Sheila Benson: Los Angeles Times
"The small screen doesn't quite do justice to the rich visuals but with an incredible story and fine performances, it is still a compulsive and moving epic (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Giala Murray: Empire
Show 3 more reviews

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Ranking Lists Position

45 My Favorite Biopics/Biographical Movies (43)
78 My Favorites from the 80s (78)
80 My Favorite British & Irish Movies (28)

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