Rating of
2.5/4
Review - The Last Emperor (1987)
Delorted - wrote on 11/18/07
In 1911, the Qing Dynasty was overtaken by The Republic of China, and the then emperor, Pu-Yi (Richard Vuu, Tsou Tijger, Tao Wu and John Lone), no longer had any ruling power. His story is told in the Best Picture winning film, "The Last Emperor."
I have personally never heard of Pu-Yi or his story, so I saw this film knowing nothing about its history. That being said, I feel I have learned a lot about his life and China in general, but even more impressive is the fact that I was able to sit through the whole thing.
At three and a half hours, this is a very long movie that could have easily been shortened to less than two and a half hours. There are way too many stretched moments in which nothing happens that could have been greatly shortened or even omitted.
The movie was, however, very well acted, and all of the actors playing the emperor were very talented. I also must give a nod to the ever-talented Peter O'Toole, who played the Pu-Yi's teacher, Reginald Johnston.
"The Last Emperor" is a beautiful look at the history of the Republic of China, but it's not a very interesting movie. I don't really recommend it unless you are particularly interested in the life of Emperor Pu-Yi.
Acting: 9/10
Writing:6/10
Video/Editing: 7/10
Audio/Music: 7/10
Entertainment: 4/10
Final Score: 6.6/10
