Last Emperor

Pros: A spectacular film and a riveting story

Cons: none for me

The Bottom Line: I'm in an Asian frame of mind!

Review: The 1987 movie, The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, contains the moving history of Pu Yi. It tells of his life and brief reign in the Forbidden City where he was the object of worship by half a million people. It won Oscars for...

Pros: Bertolucci's Direction, Script, Storaro's Cinematography, Look, Sakamoto/Byrne's Score, & Cast.

Cons: None.

The Bottom Line: Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor is a Grand, Enchanting Masterpiece with Great Technical Work & a Superb Cast.

Review: ***Note: The following is a review of the Director's Cut version of The Last Emperor***

After the 1976 epic film 1900, despite some acclaim, Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci was being hailed as a great, artistic...

Pros: Visually magnificent, filmed on location in China, beautiful costumes and cinematography, intriguing plot premise

Cons: Lacks only exceptional dramatic punch

The Bottom Line: This film earned an Academy Award for "Best Film" and "Best Director." Though relatively weak by such lofty standards, it is a very good film.

Review: When you're born on top, there's no place to go but down. The story of Pu Yi, told in The Last Emperor, reminds me a bit of the fate of child prot g s or actors who wow the public when they're still children or adolescents. When that much...

Pros: Finely told story, good acting, surprise ending

Cons: It's long and very quiet

The Bottom Line: If you are a patient viewer and like historical dramas, this is a good one.

Review: This film tells the story of Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China. It is a long, quiet, detailed film, that focuses on how Pu Yi was molded to completely not fit in with the times and the needs of China. He is a virtual bank-vault of contradictions...

Pros: Very detailed, past and present life of Pu Yi.

Cons: Very long and easy to get lost.

The Bottom Line: The Last Emperor IS NOT a good movie, I would NOT recommend it to anyone I know. You should read the reviews and make your own decision.

Review: The Last Emperor Director?s Cut
218 Minutes
Rated NR
1987
Artisan

The Last Emperor is an extremely difficult movie to follow. One minute you are seeing the child growing and another you see the man in...

Pros: Well filmed, Decent acting

Cons: Pacing (long and feels long), Unempathetic characters, Lack of great DVD bonus features.

The Bottom Line:

Slow and well-filmed, The Last Emperor is a cinematic marvel with characters it is hard to care about.

Review: A number of significant people in my life - and my partner's life - are Chinophiles, lovers of Chinese art, culture and history. Both my father and mother and my partner's mother have made trips to China within the least five years. In fact, my...

Pros: China, 20th century. How they managed to get too much, too soon?

Cons: Western liberal view, no space for Chinese themselves to tell the story

The Bottom Line: China's wild ride through 20th century. A souless man incarnating the fate of a nation in late Modernity. What about women? Whose "China" is this, by the way?

Review: BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI's Last Emperor is a revelatory narrative on the bumpy road of China during the 20th century - from decadent empire to Japanese colony, then Communist state following the liberation and a bloody civil war. When USSR ceased...

Pros: Stunningly beautiful film based on a true story.

Cons: May be too long for some.

The Bottom Line: This is a very, very good movie which should be seen. It is a Best Picture Winner with very good visuals and very good performances.

Review: The Last Emperor

The winner of nine academy awards including best picture (1987), this is a huge beautiful colorful production filmed on location that shows the last gasp of China's royal family before the boxer rebellion and communist...

Pros: Rich, dense, intense, utterly human

Cons: Not long enough even at 2 hours 45 minutes

Review: The Last Emperor deals with the human element of power. The focus on the main character is so total that the backdrop of historical developments, some of the more significant in the 20th century, fail to drown out the theme of the movie. The...

Pros: The scenery.

Cons: The length.

Review: This movie was excellent. It is a bit slow, but worth every minute. The historical context is amazingly well done, if slightly inaccurate. The cinematography is awesome. In fact, it won many Academy Awards (back when Academy Awards meant something),...