Review of The Last Emperor (1987) by Michael M — 15 Mar 2010

The DVD cover tells you that this will be a gorgeously shot movie, and it is, even though we've had more than two decades to get used to visions of the Forbidden City since this film was made. Fine performances all around, and apparently a fairly even view of the life of Puyi, who comes off as both flawed and victimized (i.

E. there are neither angels nor devils in this film). That said, it is long and there's no action, so if that's the juice you need to keep you going, this is probably not the film for you (don't be scared by the length, though, the theatrical release isn't 4 hours long!).