Welcome to enterprise on line. Thank you for reading and rating my reviews, constructive criticism w...
Welcome to enterprise on line. Thank you for reading and rating my reviews, constructive criticism welcome. I'm back good to see you all.
Member since:29.05.2004
Reviews:193
Members who trust:11
***INTRO***
The story of the final Emperor of China from a biography by Aisin - Giori. My DVD came free with the Times, I watched before doing a little research and was later surprised at the significance of its content. Filming on location in China, Bertolucci and producer Jeremy Thomas were the first western film - makers to be allowed access to hitherto forbidden locations. The cast includes Peter O'Toole (Reginald Johnston) amongst others (see below).The film is deemed suitable for persons of 15 years or over by the censors, although in other countries this maybe lower. Genre : biography/drama/history.
***THE STORY***
He was the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, the absolute monarch of China. He was born to rule a world of ancient tradition. Nothing prepared him for our world of change. A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from the lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden city, the object of worship by half a billion people. Made Emperor at the age of 3 in the Forbidden City, through his abdication and decline. Exploited by the invading Japanese and his term as Emperor of Japans Manchguo, put to work as a peasant worker (gardener) at the Botanical Gardens of Peking. Eventually released back to public life in 1959. The story starts with the prisoner (The Emperor) departing from a train at a train station.
***CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE***
Directed.............Benardo Bertolucci. Writing credits...Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci.
CAST :
John Lone............Pu Yi (adult) Joan Chen............Wan Jung Peter O'Toole......Reginald Johnston Ruocheng Ying....The Governor Victor Wong.........Chen Pao Shen
AWARDS : 9 Oscars
1988......best art decorations, cinematography, costume design, director, film editing, music and original score, picture, sound, writing.
9 BAFTAS : 1989
Told in an interesting flashback/flashforward style. This was the first feature film granted permission by the Chinese government to be filmed in the Forbidden City and the western film made in and about the country to be produced with full Chinese government cooperation since 1949. Pu Yi's eldest brother Pu Chien Li Wenda who helped Yi write his autobiography were brought into act as advisors along with the prison governor and his manservant in an unofficial capacity. 19,000 extras were needed over the course of the film. Hairdresser 'Giancarlo di Leonardis' imported 2,200 pounds of human hair to make the elaborate wigs needed for the court. For the coronation scenes, his staff spent ten days training fifty Chinese to pin wigs and plaits onto two thousand extras in under two hours. 1,100 schoolchildren were brought in to play Red Guards who composed the Cultural Revolution march (1967). The 250-acre Forbidden City, built in the early 15th century with high walls up to 50 feet thick, provided an excellent soundproof filming environment - although the Chinese crews were unused to making films with live sound recording. During filming of the immense coronation scene in the Forbidden City, Queen Elizabeth II was in Beijing on a state visit. The production was given priority over her by the Chinese authorities and she was therefore unable to visit the Forbidden City. The costumes & decorator in the Forbidden City are stunning and the images visually colourful. The dialogue is slow to start with. And in English. The eloquence of the dialogue improves with the introduction of Johnson (Peter O'Toole) the teacher.
Notable quote from Reginald Fleming "RJ" Johnston : if you cannot say what you mean, your majesty, you will never mean what you say and a gentleman should always mean what you say.
***MY OPINION***
The movie struck me as having a documentary style about it, its flashback/flashforward style helps to maintain the dramatic feel of the film. The picture quality is rather good. This is a film for a Saturday afternoon. I thought O'Toole was exceptional as R.J.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1977 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Anne Bancroft, Robert Powell, Rod Steiger, James Mason, Michael York, Laurence Olivier
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Giles Foster - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Emily Mortimer, Joanna Lumley, Peter O'Toole
Drama - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Rose Byrne, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Penry-Jones, Laura Fraser, Nina Sosanya, Matt Lucas, David Tennant
Following Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his birth in 1908, through his ... more
childhood in the fortress-like Forbidden City and his later misguided collaboration with the Japanese in World War II, The Last Emperor tells the history of modern ...
Bernardo Bertolucci's epic film tells the incredible story of Pu Yi who in 1908 at the ... more
age of three became ruler of nearly half of the world's population. He was the "Son of heaven" "Lord of Ten Thousand Years" and the last emperor of China. His r...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![The Last Emperor [DVD] [1987]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78479443.jpg "The Last Emperor [DVD] [1987]")
very helpful by (63%):
helpful by (38%):
