Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
- Won 9 Oscars
- 58 wins & 20 nominations total
Ruocheng Ying
- The Governor
- (as Ying Ruocheng)
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
- Chang
- (as Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa)
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)
Best Picture Winners by Year
Best Picture Winners by Year
See the complete list of Best Picture winners. For fun, use the "sort order" function to rank by IMDb rating and other criteria.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first Western film made in and about the country to be produced with full Chinese government cooperation since 1949.
- GoofsThe emperor was not in the Forbidden City to witness the expulsion of the eunuchs. This action was carefully planned with few people knowing, since the emperor could trust very few of his intimates. The order to remove the eunuchs was received in the City while the emperor was visiting at a friend's home. Also, not all of the eunuchs were dismissed, as the empress dowager (the wife of the late emperor) begged Pu Yi to allow a few of her personal servants to remain.
- Quotes
Reginald Fleming 'R.J.' Johnston: Words are important.
Pu Yi, at 15: Why are words important?
Reginald Fleming 'R.J.' Johnston: If you cannot say what you mean, Your Majesty, you will never mean what you say and a gentleman should always mean what he says.
- Alternate versionsThe theatrical version runs 163 minutes. A 218 minute version was released in the US in 1998 under the mistaken title of the "Director's Cut". It was known by this erroneous title until the 2008 Criterion DVD and Blu-ray Disc came out. Bertolucci and DP Vittorio Storaro made it clear while working on the DVD and BD that the shorter theatrical version is without doubt the director's cut. The 218 minute version was an early cut meant only to be aired as a four-part television mini-series by the Italian television network that funded the film.
- SoundtracksKaiser Walzer (Emperor Waltz) op. 437
Written by Johann Strauss (as Johann Strauss)
Performed by Berliner Philharmoniker (as The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
with kind permission of Polydor International GmbH
Featured review
A film like this comes along in 10,000 years
Bernardo Bertolucci left a remarkable impression on the Academy with The Last Emperor, taking away nine oscars including one for best film and best director. This film will leave a lasting impression on those who view it as well. Last Emperor provides a strong message through its main character Pu-Yi. Although the film bases its story on the true life accounts of the last emperor of China, Last Emperor shows that life can deal one undesirable circumstances and the way one reacts and handles these circumstances determine one's place in history. Bertolucci's powerful method of storytelling also further enhances the greatness of Last Emperor. The motif of pursuing a forbidden love that remains out of reach presents a tearful message. Who cannot get misty eyed seeing an eight year old Pu-Yi chasing after his beloved nanny or an almost exact similar scene when a much older Pu-Yi chases his insane first wife? Last Emperor will move even the most adamant viewer. "To his majesty, the emperor... Ten thousand years!"
helpful•185
- s0250143
- Nov 24, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der letzte Kaiser
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £23,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $43,984,230
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $149,460
- Nov 22, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $43,994,979
- Runtime2 hours 43 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![The Last Emperor (1987)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYWZhOThiYTktMTIxNi00OGRlLWI4MTAtNDhjOGEwNjcxMTg3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU3NDU4MDg2._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)