The Last Emperor

1987

Action / Biography / Drama / History

73
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 88% · 126 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 88% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.7/10 10 118591 118.6K

based on a true story suicide experiment china isolation buddhism

Plot summary

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Director

Bernardo Bertolucci Photo
Bernardo Bertolucci

Top cast

Ric Young Photo
Ric Young as Interrogator
Peter O'Toole Photo
Peter O'Toole as Reginald 'R. J.' Johnston
John Lone Photo
John Lone
Daxing Zhang Photo
Daxing Zhang as Tough Warder
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay 2160p.BluRay
1.84 GB
1280*544
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 43 min
Seeds 26
3.52 GB
1920*816
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 43 min
Seeds 69
7.4 GB
3840*2160
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 43 min
Seeds 27

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by emm 8 / 10

An Oriental paradise that is wonderfully mastered to the screen.

I guess I'm the only one who watched this from a worn out-of-print VHS copy. No matter what the quality, THE LAST EMPEROR is arguably among the best of the foreign pictures. The sights and sounds of The Forbidden City are sharp and beautifully screened right on with the provocative events that unfold the coming-of-age life of Pu Yi. It has plentiful moments including his romantic affairs with concubines and how he learns the way of the world as a child. His chronicle of a young emperor boy paints a colorful picture for the first half, only leading to more conflicting matters later, which is the most exciting part. Don't expect to see heads getting chopped off, like I thought would happen (unless you have the longer DVD version), but the intensity of the talk surrounding it sounds horrifying and true. Nevertheless, the dialogue is clearly mystical. Every minute is a feel-good breeze through crafty cinematic art, but it ends too fast, and the narration from Pu Yi in his prison term could use a lot more detailing. Maybe I'll stick around longer and wait to see the Director's Cut which has more. Definitely a winning treat not to be missed for foreign movie lovers and collectors of premium filmfare.
Reviewed by FilmOtaku 8 / 10

A sweeping epic

Every time I mention to someone that I hadn't seen The Last Emperor, the first reaction is disbelief, and the second is `It is such a good movie'. And indeed it was. I'm not sure what the non-director's cut was, because the version I saw was the director's cut, but it was absolutely fantastic. Not once did I think that the nearly four hour run time was too long because the story was so compelling, the direction brilliant and the acting engaging. I find it hard to believe that it took me this long to see this film, and I also find it hard to believe it is not in the IMDB Top 250. Its Best Picture and Director honors were well-deserved, and the Oscar-winning score is amazing. I'll admit that I was left hanging a bit in regard to the Emperor's wife, but that is the only thing that I can remotely find slightly lacking in this film. An outstanding film, The Last Emperor is entertaining, informative and important.--Shelly
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