Review of The Last Emperor (1987) by Cedric R — 16 Aug 2009

I'm giving it three stars because Oscar went way too crazy over this one. What we have is basically just the sequel to Bertolucci's 1971 film, "The Conformist"--which in and of itself would not disqualify it from being a great movie, except for the fact that "The Conformist" is a far superior film! If the Academy Awards had realized Bertolucci's greatness the FIRST time, I would be a lot happier about their overenthusiasm about "The Last Emperor.

" I saw the Director's Cut of "Emperor", and it is much better than some other Director's Cuts I have seen. Directors can really mess up the editing of their films--e.g., Billy Bob Thorton's version of "Slingblade.

" I think Bertolucci said all he needed to say in 1971, and this sequel is just excess. Anyway, I still love Bertolucci, and he will always be one of my favorites.