The Last Emperor [Blu-ray]
Bernardo Bertolucci does the nearly impossible with this sweeping, grand epic that tells a very personal tale. The story is a dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the emperors of China. It follows his life from its elite beginnings in the Forbidden City, where he was crowned at age three and worshipped by half a billion people. He was later forced to abdicate and, unable to fend for himself in the outside world, became a dissolute and exploited shell of a man. He died in obscurity, living as a peasant in the People’s Republic. We never really warm up to John Lone in the title role, but this movie focuses more on visuals than characterization anyway. Filmed in the Forbidden City, it is spectacularly beautiful, filling the screen with saturated colors and exquisite detail. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. –Rochelle O’Gorman Bernardo Bertolucci s The Last Emperor won nine Academy Awards, unexpectedly sweeping every category in which it was nominated quite a feat for a challenging, multilayered epic directed by an Italian and starring an international cast. Yet the power and scope of the film was, and remains, undeniable the life of Emperor Pu Yi, who took the throne at age three, in 1908, before witnessing decades of cultural and political upheaval, within and without the walls of the Forbidden City. Recreating Ching-dynasty China with astonishing detail and unparalleled craftsmanship by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, The Last Emperor is also an intimate character study of one man reconciling personal responsibility and political legacy.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES:
Restored, high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro
DTS-HD Master Audio stereo surround soundtrack
Audio commentary by director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark Peploe, and composer-actor Ryuichi Sakamoto
The Italian Traveler: Bernardo Bertolucci, a 53-minute film by Fernand Mozskowicz, tracing the director s geographic influences, from Parma to China
Video images taken by Bertolucci in China
The Chinese Adventure of Bernardo Bertolucci, a 52-minute documentary that revisits the film s creation
A 47-minute documentary featuring Storaro, editor Gabriella Cristiana, costume designer James Acheson, and art director Gianni Silvestri
A 66-minute documentary exploring Bertolucci s creative process and the making of The Last Emperor
A 30-minute interview with Bertolucci from 1989
Interview with composer David Byrne
Interview with Ian Buruma examining the historical period of the film
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Thomson
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Criterion’s Blu-ray of The Last Emperor dazzles the senses
Criterion has done it again. Its blu-ray of The Last Emperor finally does justice to one of the few great films produced since the movie business went downhill in the 1980s, and is now giving us such sickening garbage as Hostel and Saw. The only caveat - Criterion may want to relook its packaging for Blu-ray discs; it’s a big step down from the gorgeous package it delivered for the earlier DVD release of The Last Emperor - it has become so obvious just how mediocre and obsolete that the DVD format is now that we have Blu-ray. Here’s hoping Criterion re-releases The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and The Magnificent Obsession on Blu-ray - and quickly!!
2 Stars Not great
Video quality wasn’t the worst or best I have seen, movie is rather boring. Overall I would not recomend this at all.
4 Stars Leading movie
Example of movie of rare beauty thanks also to the evocative soundtrack.Criterion has not succeeded in eliminating the grain from some scenes, still this is a high rate of a BD.
2 Stars Last Emperor Has No Clothes.
Too Bad… What a shabby dressing technically given to this 1987 first class world ranking film.
If it was shot in 70 mm this means the resolution, sharpness and color should be as smashing
as it was in the theater. AND production standards at the time long before 1987 would have separated
the different audio sources especially the rich Sakamoto score hence the ability to use surround sound
but IN REALITY the video is a bumpy ride; Grainy and color faded. No NOT with all that rich camera work
possible. The audio is the original TWO CHANNEL stereo. This was a sweeper at the Oscars and International venture. Why was it slapped directly to Blu Ray From shoddy transfer? … give up? Gotta be money.
TOTALLY Disappointing and a Shame.
Ray Blue
4 Stars Criterion comes up short on “Emperor”
I recently purchased this edition of “The Last Emperor” and was disappointed. Disappointed not in the brilliant visual presentation in Blu-ray but in the audio design!! On the jacket it says that it is Stereo surround but when I listen, it’s basically monaural sound with all of it emanating from the center, not left or right or rear surrounds, but dead center. Also the aspect ratio is 2:00 and it’s stated that it’s from a 35mm source well that is a surprise!! Although the picture is an improvement over the grainyness of the tape, DVD and laser disc versions of this film–why couldn’t this renowned company acquire a 70mm print since it’s ratio is 2:00!? I almost feel like writing Criterion and addressing this problem. It doesn’t bug me that this is the theatrical rather than the longer Director’s cut that was released to Italian TV since I’ve already seen this version on a Japanese laser disc–it’s the audio design that needs to be addressed!! So 4 stars for the visuals, but only 1 for the audio (the surround doesn’t kick in until the last 45 minutes of this film!!).
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews