The last emperor / Jeremy Thomas presents ; a film by Bernardo Bertolucci ; screenplay by Mark Peploe with Bernardo Bertolucci ; produced by Jeremy Thomas ; directed by Bernardo Bertolucci ; made by Yanco Films Limited and Tao Film SRL ; in association with Recorded Picture Company (Productions) Limited, Screenframe Limited, AAA Soprofilms.
Material type:
FilmPublisher number: CC1783D | Criterion CollectionLanguage: English, Chinese, Japanese Subtitle language: English Series: Criterion collection ; 422.Publication details: Irvington, NY : Criterion Collection, ©2008.Edition: Director-approved special editionDescription: 1 videodisc (165 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (12 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm)Content type: - two-dimensional moving image
- video
- videodisc
- 1604651067
- 9781604651065
- Title on container: Bernardo Bertolucci's The last emperor
- Last emperor (Motion picture)
- Puyi, 1906-1967 -- Drama
- Nationalists -- China -- Drama
- Communists -- China -- Drama
- Man-woman relationships -- Drama
- Political prisoners -- China -- Drama
- Identity (Philosophical concept) -- Drama
- China -- Kings and rulers -- Biography -- Drama
- China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912 -- Drama
- China -- Politics and government -- 20th century -- Drama
- China
- Photography by Vittorio Storaro ; editor, Gabriella Cristiani ; music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su; production designer, Ferdinando Scarfiotti ; costume designer, James Acheson.
- Winner, Academy Awards USA, 1988: Best Picture (Jeremy Thomas) ; Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci) ; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci) ; Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro) ; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Bruno Cesari, Osvaldo Desideri) ; Best Costume Design (James Acheson) ; Best Sound (Bill Rowe, Ivan Sharrock) ; Best Film Editing (Gabriella Cristiani) ; Best Music, Original Score (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Cong Su).
- Winner, Golden Globes, USA, 1988: Best Director - Motion Picture (Bernardo Bertolucci) ; Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci, Enzo Ungari) ; Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Connie Su) ; Best Motion Picture - Drama.
- 1988 David di Donatello Awards for Best Production Design, Costume Design, Cinematography, Editing, Screenplay, Producer, Director, Film, and Best Supporting Actor (Migliore Attore non Protagonista): Peter O'Toole (Italy).
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult DVD
|
Main Library | DVD | DRAMA LAST EMP | Available | 33111009904612 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby digital surround sound; widescreen presentation, director approved aspect ratio 2.00:1, enhanced for 16:9 televisions; restored, high-definition digital transfer.
In English, Chinese, and Japanese, with English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH)
John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Wu Jun Mei, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Jade Go, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Photography by Vittorio Storaro ; editor, Gabriella Cristiani ; music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su; production designer, Ferdinando Scarfiotti ; costume designer, James Acheson.
Originally produced as an international motion picture in 1987.
A dramatic history of Aisin-Gioro "Henry" Pu Yi, who at the age of three became the last of the Emperors of China. Chronicles his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, as the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; and his exploitation by the invading Japanese as the ruler of Manchukuo from 1932 to 1945. He returned to public life in 1959, just another peasant worker in the People's Republic, and died as a gardener at the Botanical Gardens of Peking.
Manchuria, 1950 -- Peking, 1908 -- First coronation -- Young emperor -- Criminal -- Pu Chieh -- New republic -- Reginald Johnston -- First lesson -- Protests -- Grief -- Spectacles -- Two wives -- Strangers -- Confession -- Reforms -- Departures -- Life outside -- Secondary consort -- Tientsin, 1931 -- Manchuria, 1934 -- Second coronation -- New quarters -- Manchuria, 1935 -- Puppet -- Russians -- Freedom -- Peking, 1967 -- Citizen -- Color bars.
Special features: Audio commentary featuring director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark Peploe, and composer-actor Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Booklet includes: an essay "The Last Emperor, or the Manchurian Candidate" by David Thomson.
Winner, Academy Awards USA, 1988: Best Picture (Jeremy Thomas) ; Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci) ; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci) ; Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro) ; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Bruno Cesari, Osvaldo Desideri) ; Best Costume Design (James Acheson) ; Best Sound (Bill Rowe, Ivan Sharrock) ; Best Film Editing (Gabriella Cristiani) ; Best Music, Original Score (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Cong Su).
Winner, Golden Globes, USA, 1988: Best Director - Motion Picture (Bernardo Bertolucci) ; Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci, Enzo Ungari) ; Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Connie Su) ; Best Motion Picture - Drama.
1988 David di Donatello Awards for Best Production Design, Costume Design, Cinematography, Editing, Screenplay, Producer, Director, Film, and Best Supporting Actor (Migliore Attore non Protagonista): Peter O'Toole (Italy).
Educational and home use only.