Review of The Last Emperor (1987) by Dorianator F — 06 Sep 2014

The Last Emperor is a stunning, vibrant, elegant, and mesmeric historical epic. After hearing all the great things about it and being a fan of film epics, I obtained the 3.5-hour Director's Cut and I was blown away by it, as I hoped I would be by the director of Last Tango In Paris. The Last Emperor is an all-encompassing epic, one that demands every bit of your attention to process everything that it throws at you, both intellectually and visually because of its grand scale and ambition that still impresses to this very day.

The plot focuses on China's last emperor, Pu Yi throughout the course of life, ranging from his abdication to the throne in 1908 at age three, to both World Wars, his imprisonment for his involvement with the Japanese government during World War II, to his eventual death in 1967, complete with his torrid family drama, his love affairs, and his western teacher, R.J., who opens his mind to the outside world of the Forbidden City, altering the course of his life as the world so rapidly changes around him.

There's a lot to be found in the story, which is why it is highly recommended that you watch the 3.5-hour version of the film to appreciate the grand scope and become immersed in the life of Pu Yi. There's plenty of drama, romance, tragedies, some humor, and a whole lot more. I cannot properly explain what the film entails because there is so much to explore in the story, making it difficult to take your eyes away from the screen as you eagerly process everything.

The acting across the board is pretty good, though I would have preferred it if the film had been in a Chinese language (Like Mandarin or Cantonese), as opposed to English. It took me a little while to accept its English language because it didn't feel quite as authentic to me, but it's surprisingly good compared to a lot of other Asian-set films with English languages and I grew to accept it. John Lone does a great job as Pu Yi, and as expected, Peter O'Toole was great as R.J. Surprisingly, the acting is also so good that even the child actors are quite good, which is extremely rare in films. What also made the acting so great is that every actor made their characters feel like their own person, as opposed to just being static characters. Everyone seemed to have a purpose and a soul, which is something that definitely makes the viewer feel more immersed in the film. They make the film feel alive.

The Last Emperor is a grand epic, but only for people who have patience to watch it. It's a very story-oriented and dialogue-heavy film that will reward patient viewers and give them a lot to feed on. If you don't have the patience for this sort of film, you shouldn't be watching it. If you love a good film epic, The Last Emperor is definitely something to check out because of its story, superb acting, stunning visuals and set pieces, great music, and so much more. I think it's an amazing film and a masterpiece.