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    The Last Emperor [4 Discs] [Criterion Collection]

    3.9 21

    Director: Bernardo Bertolucci Cast: Ryuichi Sakamoto

    Ryuichi Sakamoto
    , Su Cong
    Su Cong
    , John Lone
    John Lone
    , Joan Chen
    Joan Chen
    , Peter O'Toole
    Peter O'Toole
    , Ying Ruocheng
    Ying Ruocheng
    , Victor Wong
    Victor Wong


    DVD

    (Wide Screen / Restored)

    $59.99
    $59.99

    Temporarily Out of Stock Online

    Customer Reviews

    • Release Date: 02/26/2008
    • UPC: 0715515027922
    • Original Release: 1987
    • Rating: PG-13
    • Source: CRITERION COLLECTION
    • Region Code: 1
    • Presentation: [Wide Screen]
    • Sound: [Dolby Digital Surround]
    • Language: English
    • Runtime: 9900
    • Sales rank: 5,707

    Special Features

    Disc one: The theatrical version:; All-new restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro; Audio commentary featuring director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark Peploe, and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto; Theatrical trailer; Disc two:; All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer; Disc three:; The Italian Traveler, Bernardo Bertolucci, a 53-minute film by Fernand Moszkowicz tracing the director's geographic influences, from Parma to China; Video images taken by Bertolucci while on preproduction in China; The Chinese Adventure of Bernardo Bertolucci, a 51-minute documentary that revisits the film's making; A new 45-minute documentary featuring Storaro, editor Gabriella Cristiana, costume designer James Acheson, and art director Gianni Silvestri; Disc four:; A 66-minute BBC documentary exploring Bertolucci's creative process and the making of the Last Emperor; A 30-minute interview with Bertolucci from 1989; A new interview with composer David Byrne; A new interview with cultural historian Ian Buruma examing the period of the film; Plus a booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard

    Cast & Crew

    Performance Credits
    John Lone Pu Yi
    Joan Chen Wan Jung,Capital of Imperial Guard
    Peter O'Toole Reginald Johnston
    Ying Ruocheng Governor
    Victor Wong Chen Pao Shen
    Dennis Dun Big Li
    Ryuichi Sakamoto Masahiko Amakasu
    Maggie Han Eastern Jewel
    Ric Young Interrogator
    Wu Jun Mei Wen Hsiu
    Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Chang
    Jade Go Ar Mo
    Fumihiko Ikeda Yoshioka
    Richard Vuu Pu Yi (age 3)
    Tijger Tsou Pu Yi (age 8)
    Wu Tao Pu Yi (age 15)
    Fan Guang Pu Chieh,Japanese Bodyguard
    Henry Kyi Pu Chieh (age 7)
    Alvin Riley III Pu Chieh (age 14)
    Lisa Lu Tzu Hsui, The Empress Dowager
    Hideo Takamatsu Gen. Ishikari
    Hajime Tachibana Japanese Translator
    Basil Pao Prince Chun
    Jian Xireng Lord Chamberlain
    Zhang Liangbin Big Foot
    Huang Wenjie Hunchback
    Pan Hung Li Shu Xian
    LiDien Lang Empress Wan Rung
    Liang Dong Lady Aisin-Gioro
    Dong Zhendong Old Doctor
    Dong Jiechen Doctor
    Constantine Gregory Oculist
    Soong Huaikuei Lung Yu
    Shao Ruzhen First High Consort
    Li Yu Second High Consort
    Li Guangli Third High Consort
    LiDien Xing Li Yu Qin
    Xu Chunqing Grey Eyes
    Zhang Tianmin Old Tutor
    Luo Hongnian Sleeping Old Tutor
    Yang Baozong Gen. Yuan Shikai
    Cai Hongxiang Scarface
    Yu Shihong Hsiao Hsiu
    Wu Jun Wen Hsiu (age 12)
    Lucia Hwong Lady of the Book
    Cui Jingping Lady of the Pen
    Wu Hai Republican Officer
    Gu Junguo Tang
    Xu Tongrui Captain of Feng's Army
    Li Fusheng Minister of Trade
    Chen Shu Chang Chinghui
    Cheng Shuyan Lady Hiro Saga
    Zhang Lingmu Emperor Hirohito
    Luo Shigang Chang Ching Hui's Secretary
    Zhang Daxing Tough Warder
    Zu Ruigang Second Warder
    Jin Yuan Party Boss
    Akira Ikuta Japanese Doctor
    Cui Xinmin Japanese Bodyguard
    Li Zhenduo Dignitary
    Yang Hongchang Scribe
    Wang Biao Prisoner
    Michael Vermaaten American
    Matthew Spender Englishman
    Martin Reynolds Englishman
    Rio Ruocheng Actor
    Liangbin Zhang Big Foot
    David Byrne Composer
    Cong Su Composer

    Technical Credits
    Mark Peploe Screenwriter
    Bernardo Bertolucci Screenwriter
    Jeremy Thomas Producer
    Gianetto De Rossi Special Effects
    Fabrizio Martinelli Special Effects

    Scene Index

    Disc #1 -- The Last Emperor: The Theatrical Version
    1. Manchuria, 1950 [6:46]
    2. Peking, 1908 [8:03]
    3. First Coronation [3:42]
    4. The Young Emperor [2:43]
    5. Criminal [2:06]
    6. Puchieh [9:07]
    7. A New Republic [4:39]
    8. Reginald Johnston [4:34]
    9. First Lesson [3:53]
    10. Protests [4:10]
    11. Grief [7:19]
    12. Spectacles [3:18]
    13. Two Wives [4:29]
    14. Strangers [5:30]
    15. Confession [3:01]
    16. Reforms [8:22]
    17. Departures [1:00]
    18. Life Outside [5:14]
    19. Secondary Consort [6:47]
    20. Tientsin, 1931 [8:00]
    21. Manchuria, 1934 [4:09]
    22. Second Coronation [6:02]
    23. New Quarters [9:05]
    24. Manchuria, 1935 [2:48]
    25. Puppet [7:53]
    26. The Russians [5:04]
    27. Freedom [7:17]
    28. Peking, 1967 [3:24]
    29. Citizen [5:51]
    1. The Story's Challenges [6:46]
    2. Locations and Sets [8:03]
    3. Shooting Logistics [3:42]
    4. Details [2:43]
    5. Reeducation Begins [2:06]
    6. History as Dramatis Personae [9:07]
    7. Metaphors [4:39]
    8. Change in China [4:34]
    9. Casting Difficulties/Reginald Johnston [3:53]
    10. Dialogue Continuity [4:10]
    11. Color/Lighting [7:19]
    12. Reference Works [3:18]
    13. Chinese New Wave [4:29]
    14. Joan Chen/Sex and Sexuality [5:30]
    15. Ric Young/Interrogations [3:01]
    16. Process/Lies [8:22]
    17. Two Sides of Pu Yi's Nature [1:00]
    18. Vittorio Storaro/Life Outside [5:14]
    19. Become the Structure/Eastern Jewel [6:47]
    20. Re-Creating the Past [8:00]
    21. An Ordinary Man [4:09]
    22. Nagisa Oshima/The Score [6:02]
    23. An Interest in Asia/Ryuichi Sakamoto [9:05]
    24. John Lone/Omnipotence [2:48]
    25. On China and Japan [7:53]
    26. Historical Background [5:04]
    27. An Inaccuracy [7:17]
    28. The Tragedy of the Governor [3:24]
    29. A Useful Life [5:51]
    Disc #2 -- The Last Emperor: The Television Version
    1. Manchuria, 1950 [6:46]
    2. Peking, 1908 [9:12]
    3. First Coronation [4:19]
    4. Criminal [1:48]
    5. The Young Emperor [7:02]
    6. Prison [1:57]
    7. Pu Chieh [9:25]
    8. Reeducation [3:27]
    9. A New Republic [8:07]
    10. Instructions [4:17]
    11. Reginald Johnston [4:57]
    12. First Lesson [4:56]
    13. Protests [7:13]
    14. Grief [9:38]
    15. Spectacles [3:46]
    16. Two Wives [7:32]
    17. Strangers [6:48]
    18. Confession [3:03]
    19. Reforms [7:45]
    20. Expelled [2:14]
    21. State Prisoners [3:22]
    22. Life Outside [7:56]
    23. Secondary Consort [7:19]
    24. Tientsin, 1931 [9:28]
    25. Manchuria, 1934 [7:46]
    26. Second Coronation [6:47]
    27. New Quarters [9:26]
    28. Manchuria, 1935 [4:43]
    29. Puppet [9:48]
    30. The Russians [9:41]
    31. Freedom [8:08]
    32. Peking, 1967 [4:01]
    33. Citizen [7:21]
    Disc #3 -- The Last Emperor: Supplements - Part 1
    1. The Journey Begins [6:03]
    2. Provocations [7:21]
    3. Ghosts [10:34]
    4. Far West to Far East [3:51]
    5. From Darkness to Light [8:38]
    6. Metamorphoses [9:45]
    7. Mystery [6:44]
    1. Memories [6:55]
    2. "The Birth of Omnipotence" [4:36]
    3. The Expulsion of the Eunuchs [2:12]
    4. Directing [4:37]
    5. Editing [9:08]
    6. Recording the Score [12:23]
    7. Sakamoto As Amakasu [3:39]
    8. First Screening [4:23]
    9. Metamorphoses [2:54]
    1. A Unique Collaborator [1:53]
    2. Preproduction [8:38]
    3. Logistics [5:22]
    4. Visuals [9:25]
    5. The Coronation Scene [8:35]
    6. Small Details/Editing [5:48]
    7. Recollections [4:44]
    Disc #4 -- The Last Emperor: Supplements - Part 2
    1. A Brief History [8:47]
    2. First Memory [8:03]
    3. Walled In [3:59]
    4. Protests [9:48]
    5. Reginald Johnston [9:03]
    6. Becoming a Man [7:07]
    7. Puppet Emperor [6:42]
    8. Prison [6:58]
    9. Freedom [5:25]
    1. A Need for Reform [6:21]
    2. A Surge of Nationalism [5:45]
    3. The Warlord Period [7:28]
    4. Japan and Manchuria [8:12]
    5. 1937-45 [8:16]
    6. 1945-50 [5:41]
    7. The Cultural Revolution [2:59]

    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.

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    In this unprecedented Sino-Western co-production, Bernardo Bertolucci turned the strange life of final Chinese crown ruler Pu Yi into a sumptuous epic. Shooting on location in China in the first Western production allowed to film in Beijing's Forbidden City, Bertolucci spent $25 million on lavish sets and costumes, as well as a cast of thousands, for a story spanning six decades, from Pu Yi's 1908 coronation to his 1960s life as a poor civilian. The story is structured through flashback memories as Pu Yi comes to grips with existence as a villain and commoner under Communism, and Vittorio Storaro's exquisite cinematography subtly underscores the emperor's rise and fall by shifting from a palette rich in reds, oranges, and yellows for Pu Yi's imperial years to somber blues and grays for his exile and imprisonment. Despite critical complaints that the story was lacking in emotional involvement, many viewers agreed that Bertolucci had created another visual marvel. Nominated for nine Oscars, The Last Emperor scored an unexpected sweep, winning all nine, including Best Picture and Best Director. An hour of footage cut from the release version was restored in the 1998 theatrical reissue reedited by Bertolucci.
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