Film

The Last Emperor

Name: The Last Emperor
Genre: Drama, History
Released: 1987
Cast: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong

Bertolucci's sumptuous three-hour spectacle follows Pu Yi from toddler-emperor sealed inside the Forbidden City to Communist gardener, shot with real access to the palace and a widescreen extravagance rarely matched since. It's history as tragic pageant — gorgeous, unhurried, emotionally cool rather than searing. For anyone who wants scale and strangeness: a man who owns nothing, not even himself, across sixty upheaved years.

TMDb rating

7.6

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