A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
John Lone
Pu Yi (Adult)
Joan Chen
Wan Jung
Peter O'Toole
Reginald Johnston (R.J.)
Ruocheng Ying
The Governor
Victor Wong
Chen Pao Shen
Dennis Dun
Big Li
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Amakasu
Maggie Han
Eastern Jewel
Ric Young
Interrogator
Vivian Wu
Wen Hsiu
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Chang
Jade Go
Ar Mo
Fumihiko Ikeda
Yoshioka
Richard Vuu
Pu Yi (3 years)
Tsou Tijger
Pu Yi (8 years)
Tao Wu
Pu Yi (15 years)
Guang Fan
Pu Chieh (Adult)
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
Chen Kaige
Captain of Imperial Guard
Liangbin Zhang
Big Foot
Wenjie Huang
Hunchback
Dong Liang
Lady Aisin-Gioro
Zhendong Dong
Old Doctor
Jiechen Dong
Doctor
Constantine Gregory
Oculist
Huaikuei Soong
Lung Yu
Ruzhen Shao
First High Consort
Yu Li
Second High Consort
Guangli Li
Third High Consort
Chunqing Xu
Grey Eyes
Zhang Tianmin
Old Tutor
Hongnian Luo
Sleeping Old Tutor
Shihong Yu
Hsiao Hsiu
Jun Wu
Wen Hsiu (12 years)
Lucia Hwong
Lady of the Book
Jingping Cui
Lady of the Pen
Shi Liang
Republican Officer
Junguo Gu
Tang
Xu Tongrui
Captain of Feng's Army
Fusheng Li
Minister of Trade
Chen Shu
Chang Chinghui
Shuyan Cheng
Lady Hiro Saga
Daxing Zhang
Tough Warder
Ruigang Zu
Second Warder
Yuan Jin
Party Boss
Akira Ikuta
Japanese Doctor
Michael Vermaaten
American
Matthew Spender
Englishman
Cai Hongxiang
Scarface (uncredited)
Glen Murphy
Captain (uncredited)
Biao Wang
Prisoner (uncredited)
Director, Screenplay
Bernardo Bertolucci
Author
Aisin-Gioro Puyi
Screenplay
Mark Peploe
Screenplay
Enzo Ungari
July 17, 2023
8
This is a glorious film to watch on a big screen. It depicts the end of empire and the birth of new ones - and it does it in a spectacularly colourful and stylish fashion. The death of the Empress Dowager sees the toddler Pu Yi ascend the Dragon Throne of China, and live amidst concubines and eunuchs in the Forbidden City. He grows up believing his is a divine right to rule, and it is only upon the arrival of his tutor RJ (Peter O'Toole) and his procurement of spectacles that his eyes begin to be opened to the reality that his kingdom is entirely enclosed within a wall of golden yellow tiles. When this idyll is disrupted by warring events outside, the Emperor (now John Lone) sone finds himself a playboy, married to an opium addict (Joan Chen) and a useful puppet of the manipulative Japanese who have invaded much of his erstwhile realm. WWII arrives, power struggles ensue and the story of his eventual - and rather brutal - reintegration into the newly established Chinese communist society is depicted sensitively and without recourse to too much melodrama or sentiment. The score adds a wonderful richness to what is undoubtedly the star of this - the cinematography. Set inside the splendour of the actual Imperial Palace complex in Peking, we get a wonderful sense of the grandeur, isolation and luxury of life inside this sumptuously decorated collection of marble and brightly painted villas whilst outside, poverty and mysticism reigned more surely than did the occupant of the throne. The costume design is also remarkable - a perfect eye for the detail of the period from the start to the middle of the 20th Century. To be honest, the acting - aside from an engaging performance from the inquisitive and mischievous three year old (Richard Vuu) is all pretty routine. O'Toole features sparingly and doesn't quite fit the bill as the learned and worldly scholar. Lone and Chen are competent but they really only shine a light on the rather stilted dialogue. This isn't really a film about words - it's a film about visuals. It's about history, politics, corruption, betrayal - and even a little bit of love - all encased in a shell of creative elegance. It's wasted on the television - but is certainly one of the best examples of "epic" cinema yet made and Bertolucci has clearly invested a great deal of himself in this beautiful piece of drama. A must see, I'd say.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$23,800,000.00
Revenue:
$44,000,000.00