The Last Emperor (1987)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1987 is…..”The Last Emperor.” This is director Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic story of Puyi, the final emperor of China. Born in 1906, Puyi’s fascinating life covered the history of modern China, from his brief rule as the nation’s last absolute monarch (age 3-6) to subsisting as an obscure gardener in Mao’s communist state, until his death in 1967.

Actor John Lone was exceptional in the title role. Joan Chen portrayed his wife, with co-stars Peter O’Toole, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ying Ruocheng, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, and Lisa Lu. Actors portraying young Puyi include Richard Vuu (3 years old), Tijger Tsou (8 years old), and Wu Tao (15 years old).

The nine Academy Award nominations (and all wins) for “The Last Emperor” were Best Picture, Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci), Best Screenplay (Mark Peploe, Bertolucci), Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro), Best Original Score (Ryuici Sakamoto, David Byrne, Cong Su), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.

The communist government allowed Bertolucci and company to film inside the Forbidden City, the palace complex that was the home of the Emperors of China of the Ming Dynasty from 1420-1924. The results are simply stunning cinematography. The film and screenplay was based on “From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Puyi,” the 1960 autobiography of Puyi.

Bernardo Bertolucci added an hour of deleted scenes to the DVD, making “The Last Emperor” nearly four hours long. This British-Italian co-production was modestly successful in theatrical release for producer Jeremy Thomas, director Bernardo Bertolucci, Hemdale Film Corporation, Recorded Picture Company, and Columbia Pictures.