SYNOPSIS: Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor won nine Academy Awards, unexpectedly sweeping every category in which it was nominated—quite a feat for a challenging, multilayered epic directed by an Italian and starring an international cast. Yet the power and scope of the film was, and remains, undeniable—the life of Emperor Pu Yi, who took the throne at age three, in 1908, before witnessing decades of cultural and political upheaval, within and without the walls of the Forbidden City. Recreating Ching dynasty China with astonishing detail and unparalleled craftsmanship by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, The Last Emperor is also an intimate character study of one man reconciling personal responsibility and political legacy.
| Pu Yi | John Lone |
| Wan Jung | Joan Chen |
| Reginald Johnston | Peter O'Toole |
| The governer | Ruocheng Ying |
| Chen Pao Shen | Victor Wong |
| Big Li | Dennis Dun |
| Amakasu | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| Eastern Jewel | Maggie Han |
| Interrogator | Ric Young |
| Wen Hsiu | Vivian Wu |
| Chang | Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa |
| Ar Mo | Jade Go |
| Yoshioka | Fumihiko Ikeda |
| Pu Yi (3 years) | Richard Vuu |
| Pu Yi (8 years) | Tsou Tiger |
| Pu Yi (15 years) | Tao Wu |
| Director | Bernardo Bertolucci |
| Producer | Jeremy Thomas |
| Screenplay | Bernardo Bertolucci and Mark Peploe |
| Editing | Gabriella Cristiana and Anthony Sloman |
| Production design | Ferdinando Scarfiotti |
| Art direction | Maria-Teresa Barbasso, Gianni Giovagnoni and Gianni Silvestri |
| Music | David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su |
| Set decoration | Chunpu Wang |
| Costume designer | James Acheson |
| Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro |
AVAILABLE IN BOTH FOUR-DVD AND BLU-RAY EDITIONS:
ALSO AVAILABLE IN A SINGLE-DISC DVD EDITION, FEATURING THE THEATRICAL VERSION OF THE FILM, AUDIO COMMENTARY, TRAILER, AND THOMSON’S ESSAY, FOR THE CRITERION STORE PRICE OF $23.96!
By February 25, 2008
In the first few moments of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, we get extreme versions of China, done in the film’s rigorous yet electrifying color scheme. We open in the drabbest years of . . . Read more »
By February 25, 2008
We’re getting a huge amount of mail about our edition of The Last Emperor, specifically about the aspect ratio, which is 2:1. Some people seem to believe that we’ve lost our minds, forsaken our mission . . . Read more »
March 11, 2010
In 2009, Cinecittà, the legendary movie studio located on Rome’s suburban outskirts, celebrated its seventy-second anniversary. For the occasion, Cineaste’s associate editor Martha P. Nochimson ventured . . . Read more »
March 03, 2010
The Guardian has begun an exciting new short essay series called The Film That Changed My Life, and the first entry brings together two titans of cinema history. Bernardo Bertolucci writes lovingly . . . Read more »
