The Last Emperor (1987) ( L'ultimo imperatore (Modai huangi) )

The Last Emperor (1987) (Blu-Ray) (*)

~~$25.99~~ $19.97

Alternate Title: L'ultimo imperatore (Modai huangi)
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
European Film Awards
Golden Globes
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( DTS-HD Master Audio )
German ( DTS 5.1 )
German ( DTS-HD Master Audio )
German ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
163 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Documentary
Featurette
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 1987 and produced in:
China ( India, Eastern Asia )
Italy ( Italy, Greece )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Bernardo Bertolucci

Written By:
Enzo Ungari
Mark Peploe

Actors:
John Lone ..... Pu Yi - Adult
Joan Chen ..... Wan Jung
Peter O'Toole ..... Reginald 'R. J.' Johnston
Ruocheng Ying ..... The Governor (as Ying Ruocheng)
Victor Wong ..... Chen Pao Shen
Dennis Dun ..... Big Li
Ryûichi Sakamoto ..... Amakasu
Maggie Han ..... Eastern Jewel
Ric Young ..... Interrogator
Vivian Wu ..... Wen Hsiu (as Wu Jun Mei)
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ..... Chang (as Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa)
Jade Go ..... Ar Mo
Fumihiko Ikeda ..... Yoshioka
Richard Vuu ..... Pu Yi - 3 Years
Tsou Tijger ..... Pu Yi - 8 Years (as Tijger Tsou)
Tao Wu ..... Pu Yi - 15 Years (as Wu Tao)
Guang Fan ..... Pu Chieh - Adult (as Fan Guang)
Henry Kyi ..... Pu Chieh - 7 Years
Alvin Riley III ..... Pu Chieh - 14 Years
Lisa Lu ..... Tzu Hsui
Hideo Takamatsu ..... General Ishikari
Hajime Tachibana ..... Japanese Translator
Basil Pao ..... Prince Chun
Henry O ..... Lord Chamberlain (as Jiang Xi Ren)
Kaige Chen ..... Captain of Imperial Guard (as Chen Kai Ge)
Liangbin Zhang ..... Big Foot (as Zhang Liangbin)
Wenjie Huang ..... Hunchback (as Huang Wenjie)
Dong Liang ..... Lady Aisin-Gioro (as Liang Dong)
Zhendong Dong ..... Old Doctor (as Dong Zhendong)
Jiechen Dong ..... Doctor (as Dong Jiechen)
Constantine Gregory ..... Oculist
Huaikuei Soong ..... Lung Yu (as Soong Huaikuei)
Ruzhen Shao ..... First High Consort (as Shao Ruzhen)
Li Yu ..... Second High Consort
Guangli Li ..... Third High Consort (as Li Guangli)
Chunqing Xu ..... Grey Eyes
Tianmin Zhang ..... Old Tutor (as Zhang Tianmin)
Hongnian Luo ..... Sleeping Old Tutor (as Luo Hongnian)
Shihong Yu ..... Hsiao Hsiu (as Yu Shihong)
Jun Wu ..... Wen Hsiu - 12 Years (as Wu Jun)
Lucia Hwong ..... Lady of the Book
Jingping Cui ..... Lady of the Pen (as Cui Jingping)
Shi Liang ..... Republican Officer (as Wu Hai)
Junguo Gu ..... Tang (as Gu Junguo)
Xu Tongrui ..... Captain of Feng's Army
Fusheng Li ..... Minister of Trade (as Li Fusheng)
Shu Chen ..... Chang Chinghui (as Chen Shu)
Shuyan Cheng ..... Lady Hiro Saga (as Cheng Shuyan)
Daxing Zhang ..... Tough Warder (as Zhang Daxing)
Ruigang Zu ..... Second Warder (as Zu Ruigang)
Yuan Jin ..... Party Boss (as Jin Yuan)
Akira Ikuta ..... Japanese Doctor
Michael Vermaaten ..... American
Matthew Spender ..... Englishman
Hongxiang Cai ..... Scarface (uncredited)
Xinmin Cui ..... Japanese Bodyguard (uncredited)
Zhenduo Li ..... Dignitary (uncredited)
Shigang Luo ..... Chang Chinghui's Secretary (uncredited)
Guang Ma ..... Japanese Bodyguard (uncredited)
Biao Wang ..... Prisoner (uncredited)
Baozong Yang ..... General Yuan Shikai (uncredited)
Hongchang Yang ..... Scribe (uncredited)
Lingmu Zhang ..... Emperor Hirohito (uncredited)

Synopsis:

Winner of 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture is Bernardo Bertolucci's historical masterpiece unveiling the story of the Last Chinese Emperor. Peking, 1908. A three year old boy is removed from his home and mother and taken to the Forbidden City, deep in the heart of ancient China and placed upon the Dragon Throne. Thus begins the story of Pu Yi, 'Lord of Ten Thousand Years', 'The Son of Heaven', and ruler over almost half the world's population. Three years after his ascension to the throne China becomes a republic and the Qing dynasty is forced to abdicate, ending more than three thousand years of imperial rule. While the outside world is transformed by the convulsive tides of modern history life inside the Forbidden City continues on unchanged until 1924 when a warlord captures Peking and expels the ex-emperor. Forced to live on the outside, Pu Yi goes from western playboy to puppet emperor of Manchukuo to a gardener in the Peking Botanical Gardens as a citizen of the People's Republic of China.

The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years 1908 to 1967. We first see the three-year-old Pu Yi being installed in the Forbidden City by ruthless, dying dowager Empress Tzu-Hsui (Lisa Lu). Though he'd prefer to lark about like other boys, the infant emperor is cossetted and cajoled into accepting the responsibilities and privileges of his office. In 1912, the young emperor (Tijer Tsou) forced to abdicate when China is declared a republic, is a prisoner in his own palace, 'protected' from the outside world. Fascinated by the worldliness of his Scottish tutor (Peter O'Toole), Pu Yi plots an escape from his cocoon by means of marriage. He selects Manchu descendant Wan Jung (Joan Chen), who likewise is anxious to experience the 20th century rather than be locked into the past by tradition. Played as an adult by John Lone, Pu Yi puts into effect several social reforms, and also clears the palace of the corrupt eunuchs who've been shielding him from life. In 1924, an invading warlord expels the denizens of the Forbidden City, allowing Pu Yi to 'westernize' himself by embracing popular music and the latest dances as a guest of the Japanese Concession in Tientsin. Six years later, his power all but gone, Pu Yi escapes to Manchuria, where he unwittingly becomes a political pawn for the now-militant Japanese government. Humiliating his faithful wife, Pu Yi falls into bad romantic company, carrying on affairs with a variety of parasitic females. During World War II, the Japanese force Pu Yi to sign a series of documents which endorse their despotic military activities. At war's end, the emperor is taken prisoner by the Russians; while incarcerated, he is forced to fend for himself without servants at his beck and call for the first time. He is finally released in 1959 and displayed publicly as proof of the efficacy of Communist re-education. We last see him in 1967, the year of his death; now employed by the State as a gardener, Pu Yi makes one last visit to the Forbidden City...as a tourist. Bernardo Bertolucci's first film after a six-year self-imposed exile, The Last Emperor was released in two separate versions: the 160-minute theatrical release, and a 4-hour TV miniseries. Lensed on location, the film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

This sweeping, unforgettable cinematic spectacle tells the story of Pu Yi, the last Chinese Emperor, from his amazing childhood as Emperor in the Forbidden City, his forced abdication and his subsequent installation as a puppet Emperor by the Japanese ruling forces. The Last Emperor is an essential addition to any serious blu-ray collection.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 01 July, 2021.