FilmSkool — a free film school
The Last Emperor
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.
1987 · Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci · 163 min · Drama · History · 36 frames
Tagline
1500 slaves. 353,260,000 royal subjects. Warlords. Concubines. And 2 wives. He was the loneliest boy in the world.
Crew
- Screenplay: Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci
- Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro
- Edited by: Gabriella Cristiani
- Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne
- Production design: Bruno Cesari, Ferdinando Scarfiotti
- Produced by: John Daly, Franco Giovale, Joyce Herlihy, Jeremy Thomas
Cast
- John Lone as Pu Yi (Adult)
- Joan Chen as Wan Jung
- Peter O'Toole as Reginald Johnston (R.J.)
- Ruocheng Ying as The Governor
- Victor Wong as Chen Pao Shen
- Dennis Dun as Big Li
- Ryuichi Sakamoto as Amakasu
- Maggie Han as Eastern Jewel
- Ric Young as Interrogator
- Vivian Wu as Wen Hsiu
Production
- Country: China, France, Italy, United Kingdom
- Language: English, Chichewa; Nyanja, Japanese, Mandarin
- Studios: Soprofilms, TAO Film, Yanco, Recorded Picture Company
- Budget: $23,800,000
- Box office: $44,000,000
- Themes: suicide, experiment, china, isolation, buddhism, becoming an adult, war crimes, suicide attempt, war on drugs, revolution
Own the film
FilmSkool earns a small commission from qualifying Amazon purchases, at no cost to you.
More by Bernardo Bertolucci
On this film
This is the plain index, shown because JavaScript is off. Every lesson here is a free video published by the channel credited on it and plays through that channel's own embed — FilmSkool hosts nothing.