The Last Emperor
Encyclopedia
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi
, the last Emperor of China
, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci
. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas
, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures
. Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation
by the Chinese Communist authorities.
The film stars John Lone
as Puyi, with Joan Chen
, Peter O'Toole
, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong
, Dennis Dun
, Ryuichi Sakamoto
, Maggie Han
, Ric Young
, Vivian Wu
, and Chen Kaige
. It was the first feature film for which the producers were authorized by the Chinese
government to film in the Forbidden City
in Beijing. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
as a political prisoner
and war criminal, having been captured by the Red Army
when the Soviet Union
entered the Pacific War
in 1945 (see Soviet invasion of Manchuria) and been in their custody for the past five years. Puyi attempts suicide
, which only renders him unconscious. In a flashback, apparently triggered as a dream, Puyi relives his first entry, with his wet nurse
at his side, into the Forbidden City
.
The next section of the film is a series of chronological flashbacks showing Puyi's early life: from his royal upbringing, to the tumultuous period of the early Chinese Republic
, to his subsequent exile, his Japanese-supported puppet
reign of Manchukuo
, and then his capture by the Soviet army — all of which are intermixed with flash-forwards portraying his prison life. Under the “Communist re-education program” for political prisoners, Puyi is coerced by his interrogators to formally renounce his forced collaboration with the Imperial Japanese invaders for war crimes during their occupation of China during the war. Finally, after a heated discussion with the camp commandant
and upon watching a propaganda film detailing the wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese, Puyi recants his previous stance and is set free and rehabilitated by the government in 1958.
The concluding section of the film ends with a flash-forward to the mid-1960s during the Mao
cult and the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
. By now, Puyi has become a simple gardener who lives a peasant proletarian
existence. On his way home from work, he happens upon a Red Guard
parade, complete with children playing pentatonic music on accordions en masse and dancers who dance the rejection of landlordism by the Communists. His prison camp commander, his only friend during his incarceration, is forced to wear a dunce cap and a sandwich board bearing punitive slogans, and is one of the political prisoners now punished as an anti-revolutionary in the parade.
Puyi later visits the Forbidden City as an ordinary tourist. There he meets an assertive little boy wearing the red scarf of the Pioneer Movement
. The young Communist orders Puyi to step away from the throne. However, Puyi proves to the boy that he is indeed the Son of Heaven
, proceeding to approach the throne. There, Puyi discovers the 60 year old pet cricket he kept as a child and gives it to the child. Amazed by the gift, the boy turns to talk to Puyi, but the emperor has disappeared.
The film ends with a tour guide leading a tour in front of the throne, where the guide sums up Puyi's life in a few, brief sentences, concluding that he died in 1967.
. The Chinese preferred this project. During filming of the immense coronation scene in the Forbidden City, Queen Elizabeth II
was in Beijing
on a state visit. The production was given priority over her by the Chinese authorities and she was therefore unable to visit the Forbidden City.
Producer Jeremy Thomas
managed to raise the $25 million budget for his independent production single-handedly. At one stage, he scoured the phone book for potential financiers.
Thomas later remembered his experience shooting the film:
19,000 extras were needed over the course of the film. The Chinese army was drafted in to accommodate.
" (1929), "Auld Lang Syne" (uncredited), and "China Boy
" (1922) (uncredited).
, although they were initially reluctant, and producer Jeremy Thomas had to raise a large sum of the budget independently. Only after shooting was completed did the head of Columbia Pictures agree to distribute The Last Emperor in North America. Columbia later lost the rights when it reached home video through Nelson Entertainment, which released the film on VHS
and Laserdisc
. Years later, Artisan Entertainment
acquired the rights to the film and released both the theatrical and extended versions on home video. In February 2008 the Criterion Collection (under license from now-rights-holder Jeremy Thomas) released a four disc Director-Approved edition, again containing both theatrical and extended versions. Criterion released a Blu-ray version on January 6, 2009.
The Last Emperor had an unusual run in theatres. It did not enter the weekend box office top 10 until its twelfth week in which the film reached #7 after increasing its gross by 168% from the previous week and more than tripling its theatre count (this was the weekend before it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
). Following that week, the film lingered around the top 10 for 8 weeks before peaking at #4 in its 22nd week (the weekend after winning the Oscar) (increasing its weekend gross and theatre count by 306% and nearly doubling its theatre count) and spending 6 straight weeks in the weekend box office top 10. Were it not for this late push, The Last Emperor would have joined The English Patient
, Amadeus
and The Hurt Locker
as the only Best Picture winners to not enter the weekend box office top 5 since these numbers were first recorded in 1982.
, the film won nine Oscars:
, the Shochiku Fuji Company edited out a thirty-second sequence from The Last Emperor depicting the Rape of Nanjing before distributing it to Japanese theatres, without Bertolucci's consent; the Rape of Nanjing — in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army — is an event disputed by the Japanese government, and a diplomatic stumbling block with China. Bertolucci was furious at Shochiku Fuji's interference with his film, calling it "revolting". The company quickly restored the scene, blaming "confusion and misunderstanding" for the edit while opining that the Rape sequence was "too sensational" for Japanese audiences.
Jeremy Thomas recalled the approval process for the screenplay with the Chinese government: "It was less difficult than working with the studio system. They made script notes and made references to change some of the names, then the stamp went on and the door opened and we came."
runs 218 minutes; cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and director Bernardo Bertolucci have confirmed that this version was created for television and does not represent a "director's cut". The television cut includes more footage from the stifling palace of Manchukuo
. An entire character cut from the theatrical release is the drug-addled opium pusher appointed Minister of Defence by the Japanese, who becomes a sort of demon when he surfaces in Pǔyí's prison camp, whispering the awful truth to Puyi at night. In addition, the extra footage shows more detail about the way in which Pǔyí was unable to take care of his own needs without servants.
The Criterion Collection
2008 version of 4 DVDs adds commentary by Ian Buruma
, composer David Byrne, and the Director's interview with Jeremy Issacs (ASIN: B000ZM1MIW, ISBN 9781604650143). It includes a booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson
, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by Bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard.
Puyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
, the last Emperor of China
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE is a British film producer, founder of the Recorded Picture Company. He was the producer of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World...
, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation is the process by which a member of a political organization or government who has fallen into disgrace, is restored to public life. It is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals who regain their prominence after a period in which they have no influence or...
by the Chinese Communist authorities.
The film stars John Lone
John Lone
John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
as Puyi, with Joan Chen
Joan Chen
Joan Chong Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor...
, Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong
Victor Wong
Victor Wong was a Chinese American character actor who appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Education:...
, Dennis Dun
Dennis Dun
Dennis Dun is a Chinese American actor from Stockton, California, currently residing in Los Angeles.-Film and TV:Dun has had prominent roles in several films, notably Year of the Dragon , Big Trouble in Little China , The Last Emperor , Prince of Darkness , and A Thousand Pieces of Gold , Warriors...
, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
, Maggie Han
Maggie Han
Maggie Han is an American actress who has appeared in numerous films and television productions. Her career began with modeling jobs in the United States and France, and progressed to acting in a broad range of roles. Among other roles, Han played Yoshiko Kawashima in the movie The Last Emperor...
, Ric Young
Ric Young
- Selected Filmography :- External links :...
, Vivian Wu
Vivian Wu
Vivian Wu , is a Chinese actress, known for her roles in The Last Emperor , Heaven & Earth , The Joy Luck Club , and The Pillow Book and as the historical figure of Soong May-ling, commonly referred to as Madam Chiang Kai-shek, in two major Chinese motion pictures The Soong Sisters and The...
, and Chen Kaige
Chen Kaige
Chen Kaige is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema. His films are known for their visual flair and epic storytelling.-Early life:...
. It was the first feature film for which the producers were authorized by the Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
government to film in the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
in Beijing. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Plot
The film opens in 1950 with Puyi's re-entry into the just-proclaimed People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
and war criminal, having been captured by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
when the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
entered the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
in 1945 (see Soviet invasion of Manchuria) and been in their custody for the past five years. Puyi attempts suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, which only renders him unconscious. In a flashback, apparently triggered as a dream, Puyi relives his first entry, with his wet nurse
Wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who is used to breast feed and care for another's child. Wet nurses are used when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures the families are linked by a special relationship of...
at his side, into the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
.
The next section of the film is a series of chronological flashbacks showing Puyi's early life: from his royal upbringing, to the tumultuous period of the early Chinese Republic
History of the Republic of China
The History of the Republic of China begins after the Qing Dynasty in 1912, when the formation of the Republic of China put an end to over two thousand years of Imperial rule. The Qing Dynasty, also known as the Manchu Dynasty, ruled from 1644 to 1912...
, to his subsequent exile, his Japanese-supported puppet
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
reign of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
, and then his capture by the Soviet army — all of which are intermixed with flash-forwards portraying his prison life. Under the “Communist re-education program” for political prisoners, Puyi is coerced by his interrogators to formally renounce his forced collaboration with the Imperial Japanese invaders for war crimes during their occupation of China during the war. Finally, after a heated discussion with the camp commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
and upon watching a propaganda film detailing the wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese, Puyi recants his previous stance and is set free and rehabilitated by the government in 1958.
The concluding section of the film ends with a flash-forward to the mid-1960s during the Mao
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
cult and the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. By now, Puyi has become a simple gardener who lives a peasant proletarian
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
existence. On his way home from work, he happens upon a Red Guard
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
parade, complete with children playing pentatonic music on accordions en masse and dancers who dance the rejection of landlordism by the Communists. His prison camp commander, his only friend during his incarceration, is forced to wear a dunce cap and a sandwich board bearing punitive slogans, and is one of the political prisoners now punished as an anti-revolutionary in the parade.
Puyi later visits the Forbidden City as an ordinary tourist. There he meets an assertive little boy wearing the red scarf of the Pioneer Movement
Young Pioneers of China
The Young Pioneers of China is a mass youth organization for children aged six to fourteen in the People's Republic of China. The Young Pioneers of China is run by the Communist Youth League, an organization of older youth that comes under the Communist Party of China...
. The young Communist orders Puyi to step away from the throne. However, Puyi proves to the boy that he is indeed the Son of Heaven
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
, proceeding to approach the throne. There, Puyi discovers the 60 year old pet cricket he kept as a child and gives it to the child. Amazed by the gift, the boy turns to talk to Puyi, but the emperor has disappeared.
The film ends with a tour guide leading a tour in front of the throne, where the guide sums up Puyi's life in a few, brief sentences, concluding that he died in 1967.
Cast
- John LoneJohn LoneJohn "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
as PuyiPuyiPuyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
(adult) - Joan ChenJoan ChenJoan Chong Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor...
as Wanrong - Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
as Reginald JohnstonReginald JohnstonSir Reginald Fleming Johnston, KCMG, CBE, was a Scottish academic, diplomat and tutor to Puyi, the last emperor of China, and later appointed as the last Commissioner of Weihaiwei.-Early:... - Ying RuochengYing RuochengYing Ruocheng , Manchu people, was a Chinese actor, director, playwright and Vice Minister of Culture from 1986 to 1990. He is best known for playing the part of the governor of the detention camp in The Last Emperor.Ying was born in Beijing...
as Detention Centre Governor - Victor WongVictor WongVictor Wong was a Chinese American character actor who appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Education:...
as Chen BaochenChen BaochenChen Baochen Chinese official, hailing from Fujian province in southeast China. During the last years of the Qing dynasty, he served as sub-chancellor in the Grand Secretariat and as vice president of the Board of Rites... - Dennis DunDennis DunDennis Dun is a Chinese American actor from Stockton, California, currently residing in Los Angeles.-Film and TV:Dun has had prominent roles in several films, notably Year of the Dragon , Big Trouble in Little China , The Last Emperor , Prince of Darkness , and A Thousand Pieces of Gold , Warriors...
as Big Li - Ryuichi SakamotoRyuichi SakamotoAfter working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
as Amakasu Masahiko - Maggie HanMaggie HanMaggie Han is an American actress who has appeared in numerous films and television productions. Her career began with modeling jobs in the United States and France, and progressed to acting in a broad range of roles. Among other roles, Han played Yoshiko Kawashima in the movie The Last Emperor...
as Eastern Jewel (Yoshiko Kawashima) - Ric YoungRic Young- Selected Filmography :- External links :...
as Interrogator - Vivian WuVivian WuVivian Wu , is a Chinese actress, known for her roles in The Last Emperor , Heaven & Earth , The Joy Luck Club , and The Pillow Book and as the historical figure of Soong May-ling, commonly referred to as Madam Chiang Kai-shek, in two major Chinese motion pictures The Soong Sisters and The...
(credited as Wu Jun Mei) as Wenxiu - Cary-Hiroyuki TagawaCary-Hiroyuki Tagawais a Japanese-American actor.In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" , Thunder in Paradise , Nash Bridges , Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding , and Heroes . He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game...
as Chang - Jade Go as Ar Mo
- Fumihiko Ikeda as Colonel Yoshioka
- Richard Vuu as Puyi (3 years old)
- Tijger Tsou as Puyi (8 years old)
- Wu Tao as Puyi (15 years old)
- Fan Guang as PujiePujie-External links:**...
(adult), Puyi's younger brother - Henry Kyi as Pujie (7 years old)
- Alvin Riley III as Pujie (14 years old)
- Lisa LuLisa LuLisa Lu is a Chinese-American actress and documentary producer.-Life and career:Lu was born in Peking, China . Beginning in her teens, she was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu, before emigrating to the United States...
as Empress Dowager CixiEmpress Dowager CixiEmpress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908.... - Hideo Takamatsu as General Hishikari TakashiTakashi Hishikari- Notes :...
- Hajime Tachibana as Japanese Translator
- Basil PaoBasil PaoBasil Pao Ho-Yun is a Hong Kong-based photographer who is perhaps best known for his work as the stills photographer on the BBC filming teams that made Michael Palin's TV travel programs.-Early career:...
as Zaifeng, 2nd Prince ChunZaifeng, 2nd Prince ChunThe 2nd Prince Chun was born Zaifeng , of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro clan . He was the leader of China between 1908 and 1911, serving as regent for his son Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor.His courtesy name was Yiyun...
, Puyi's father - Henry OHenry OHenry O is a Chinese American actor. He is the father of Ji-li Jiang, the author of Red Scarf Girl.-Biography:Raised in China , O was brought up in English and American missionary schools. He worked in the Children’s Art Theater as an actor and later as the deputy art director/actor for thirty years...
as Lord ChamberlainLord ChamberlainThe Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
Production
Bernardo Bertolucci proposed the film to the Chinese government as one of two possible projects - the other was an adaptation of La Condition Humaine by André MalrauxAndré Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
. The Chinese preferred this project. During filming of the immense coronation scene in the Forbidden City, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
was in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on a state visit. The production was given priority over her by the Chinese authorities and she was therefore unable to visit the Forbidden City.
Producer Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE is a British film producer, founder of the Recorded Picture Company. He was the producer of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World...
managed to raise the $25 million budget for his independent production single-handedly. At one stage, he scoured the phone book for potential financiers.
Thomas later remembered his experience shooting the film:
19,000 extras were needed over the course of the film. The Chinese army was drafted in to accommodate.
Soundtrack
While not included on the album soundtrack, the following music was played in the movie: "Am I Blue?Am I Blue?
"Am I Blue?" is a song written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke in 1929, and was a big hit that year for Ethel Waters. It has become a standard and has been covered by numerous artists.-Other versions:...
" (1929), "Auld Lang Syne" (uncredited), and "China Boy
China Boy
"China Boy" is a 1922 popular song written by Phil Boutelje and Dick Winfree. It was introduced in vaudeville by Henry E. Murtagh and popularized by Paul Whiteman's 1929 Columbia recording featuring Bix Beiderbecke...
" (1922) (uncredited).
Release
The film was originally released by Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, although they were initially reluctant, and producer Jeremy Thomas had to raise a large sum of the budget independently. Only after shooting was completed did the head of Columbia Pictures agree to distribute The Last Emperor in North America. Columbia later lost the rights when it reached home video through Nelson Entertainment, which released the film on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
. Years later, Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
acquired the rights to the film and released both the theatrical and extended versions on home video. In February 2008 the Criterion Collection (under license from now-rights-holder Jeremy Thomas) released a four disc Director-Approved edition, again containing both theatrical and extended versions. Criterion released a Blu-ray version on January 6, 2009.
The Last Emperor had an unusual run in theatres. It did not enter the weekend box office top 10 until its twelfth week in which the film reached #7 after increasing its gross by 168% from the previous week and more than tripling its theatre count (this was the weekend before it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
). Following that week, the film lingered around the top 10 for 8 weeks before peaking at #4 in its 22nd week (the weekend after winning the Oscar) (increasing its weekend gross and theatre count by 306% and nearly doubling its theatre count) and spending 6 straight weeks in the weekend box office top 10. Were it not for this late push, The Last Emperor would have joined The English Patient
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
, Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
and The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
as the only Best Picture winners to not enter the weekend box office top 5 since these numbers were first recorded in 1982.
Awards
At the 60th Academy Awards60th Academy Awards
The 60th Academy Awards were presented April 11, 1988 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was the first to be held there since the 20th Academy Awards...
, the film won nine Oscars:
- Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
(Jeremy ThomasJeremy ThomasJeremy Jack Thomas, CBE is a British film producer, founder of the Recorded Picture Company. He was the producer of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World...
) - Best Director (Bernardo BertolucciBernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
) - Best Art DirectionAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Ferdinando ScarfiottiFerdinando ScarfiottiFerdinando Scarfiotti was an Italian art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Last Emperor.-Selected filmography:* Death in Venice...
, Bruno CesariBruno CesariBruno Cesari was an Italian art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Last Emperor.-External links:...
, Osvaldo DesideriOsvaldo DesideriOsvaldo Desideri is an Italian art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Last Emperor.-External links:...
) - Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(Vittorio StoraroVittorio StoraroVittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild judged Storaro one of history's ten most influential cinematographers.-Biography:...
) - Best Costume Design (James AchesonJames AchesonJames Acheson is a British costum designer.Born in Leicester, Acheson has a twin brother, Patrick. In the early 1950s, Acheson was a pupil at St. Marys Convent School, in Priory Street, Colchester, along with his brother...
) - Best Film Editing (Gabriella CristianiGabriella CristianiGabriella Cristiani is an Italian film editor with about twenty feature film credits. She has had a notable collaboration with director Bernardo Bertolucci. Early in her career she assisted editor Franco Arcalli on two of Bertolucci's films, Last Tango in Paris and 1900...
) - Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
(Ryuichi SakamotoRyuichi SakamotoAfter working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
, David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
, Cong SuCong SuCong Su is a Chinese composer.He studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, then in Germany. He has lectured on music theory, music analysis, film music and ballet music at the Musikhochschule in Munich...
) - Best Sound (Bill RoweBill Rowe (sound engineer)Bill Rowe was a British sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound for the film The Last Emperor. He worked on over 150 films between 1961 and 1992.-External links:...
, Ivan SharrockIvan SharrockIvan Sharrock is a British sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for three more in the same category...
) - Best Adapted Screenplay (Mark Peploe, Bernardo BertolucciBernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
)
Historical omissions
In JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the Shochiku Fuji Company edited out a thirty-second sequence from The Last Emperor depicting the Rape of Nanjing before distributing it to Japanese theatres, without Bertolucci's consent; the Rape of Nanjing — in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army — is an event disputed by the Japanese government, and a diplomatic stumbling block with China. Bertolucci was furious at Shochiku Fuji's interference with his film, calling it "revolting". The company quickly restored the scene, blaming "confusion and misunderstanding" for the edit while opining that the Rape sequence was "too sensational" for Japanese audiences.
Jeremy Thomas recalled the approval process for the screenplay with the Chinese government: "It was less difficult than working with the studio system. They made script notes and made references to change some of the names, then the stamp went on and the door opened and we came."
Alternate versions
The film's theatrical release ran 160 minutes. An extended version currently available on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
runs 218 minutes; cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and director Bernardo Bertolucci have confirmed that this version was created for television and does not represent a "director's cut". The television cut includes more footage from the stifling palace of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
. An entire character cut from the theatrical release is the drug-addled opium pusher appointed Minister of Defence by the Japanese, who becomes a sort of demon when he surfaces in Pǔyí's prison camp, whispering the awful truth to Puyi at night. In addition, the extra footage shows more detail about the way in which Pǔyí was unable to take care of his own needs without servants.
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
2008 version of 4 DVDs adds commentary by Ian Buruma
Ian Buruma
Buruma is a nephew of the English film director John Schlesinger, a series of interviews with whom he published in book form.-Works:*The Japanese Tattoo with Donald Richie ISBN 978-0-8348-0228-5...
, composer David Byrne, and the Director's interview with Jeremy Issacs (ASIN: B000ZM1MIW, ISBN 9781604650143). It includes a booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson
David Thomson
David Thomson may refer to:* David Coupar Thomson , Scottish publisher, founder of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd* David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet , Canadian businessman and currently the wealthiest individual in Canada...
, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by Bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard.