Review of The Last Emperor (1987) by Jon C — 06 Aug 2016

Visually stunning historical epic.

A very remarkable film indeed, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor tells the astonishing true story of Pu Yi, who was crowned the last emperor of China at the age of three and died a simple gardener in Beijing in the 1960s. But the real story is about China, and its turmoil through the wars and revolutions of the 20th century.

The film's richness and beauty are almost daunting, but it's certainly a film which anyone interested in the art of cinema will want to see. The Criterion standard DVD special edition, on which this review is based, includes two versions of the film, the original theatrical release and the director's special television release. Both are digitally remastered and have the same aspect ratio; unlike the usual situation, the television release is longer, and many fans of the film think it tells the story more fully and therefore more clearly, while others prefer the more tightly edited theatrical release. I recommend the television release, provided you have lots of time --- it's very long.

The Criterion set includes many special extras and a booklet. Advisories: a couple moderately explicit sex scenes, and a few short but shocking violent ones.