The Last Emperor

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The Last Emperor

PG-13

1987

2h 42m

Biography

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

126 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

This sweeping account of the life of Pu Yi (John Lone), the last emperor of China, follows the leader's tumultuous reign. After being captured by the Red Army as a war criminal in 1950, Pu Yi recalls his childhood from prison. He remembers his lavish youth in the Forbidden City, where he was afforded every luxury but unfortunately sheltered from the outside world and complex political situation surrounding him. As revolution sweeps through China, the world Pu Yi knew is dramatically upended.

Critics Consensus

While Bernardo Bertolucci's decadent epic never quite identifies the dramatic pulse of its protagonist, stupendous visuals and John Lone's ability to make passivity riveting give The Last Emperor a rarified grandeur.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/15/2023

Bertolucci makes pretty pictorial music, but two hours and forty-six minutes is a long time for a movie to dance. Maybe it wouldn't be if his sense of rhythm hadn't become erratic.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

02/17/2023

4/5

Yet there’s also a great sadness in the film, as it tracks Puyi, the emperor of the title (played by four actors at different ages), through a state of permanent lifelong imprisonment, from gilded cage to Red Army capture.

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Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Herald Examiner

08/08/2022

When this film really sings, it's as if Bertolucci had tapped the wellspring of cinema and, ecstatic, discovered the eroticism at its essence.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 14

3/4

As a resplendently gorgeous historical pageant of China in the 20th century, The Last Emperor is, visually at least, the most beautiful movie in years. But as an involving human drama about Pu Yi... it doggedly refuses to come to much dramatic life.

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

09/03/2024

3.5/4

Moreso than most historical epics, we feel the real pull of history and the whiplash of violent social change, but most of all the steady march of life.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

08/20/2024

3.5/4

This is no dull, dusty biopic that’s forced to solely fall back on its good looks.

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Sabrina

09/21/2023

The directors version has more details to build up the deep emotion. Especially after the Emperor claimed the throne of Manchu Guo.

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown Mar 11

Holy long. Never really felt connected to the Emperor - felt like 3 hours of looking outside in and not really caring.

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Christian K

@ckacar Feb 11

Nice music and production. Found it pretty impenetrable on the story and character side but not enough to detract from its merits too much.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Oct 6

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Alain E

@AlainE Aug 12

I understand it won an Oscar and more, but I found it boring and continued to watch it to see where it was going. Thankfully, the end was quite good. Some of the flashbacks were a little confusing. Acting and cinematography is good. I don’t see how non Asians will want to follow a feature for almost three hours about events that we have no knowledge of. I happen to have a Chinese American son in law, so he will be my sample of one at the next family reunion. In terms of Bertolucci’s output I prefer for historical drama 1900. In other context The Conformist and The Last Tango.

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Nik F

@nikfort 03/23/2025

Visually breathtaking film with amazing costume designs. It was very touching, particularly the way the story comes full circle in the end. What a tumultuous life! My only complaint is that it’s a very long film, and I have to admit it was a bit slow in the middle. But definitely worth watching.

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Bernardo Bertolucci

Director

John Lone

Emperor (Henry) Pu Yi

Joan Chen

Empress (Elizabeth) Wan Jung

Peter O'Toole

Reginald Fleming 'R.J.' Johnston

Ying Ruocheng

The Governor

Victor Wong

Chen Pao Shen

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Synopsis

This sweeping account of the life of Pu Yi (John Lone), the last emperor of China, follows the leader's tumultuous reign. After being captured by the Red Army as a war criminal in 1950, Pu Yi recalls his childhood from prison. He remembers his lavish youth in the Forbidden City, where he was afforded every luxury but unfortunately sheltered from the outside world and complex political situation surrounding him. As revolution sweeps through China, the world Pu Yi knew is dramatically upended.

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci, Henry Pu-yi
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Artisan Entertainment
Production Co: Hemdale Studios, Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Biography, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.0M
Runtime: 2h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround

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