The Last Emperor (1987)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:39
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: While decidedly imperfect, Bernardo Bertolucci's epic is still a feast for the eyes.
Synopsis: Although it is 160 minutes long and shot with breathtaking scope and sumptuousness, Bernardo Bertolucci's film is a story about claustrophobia. Pu Yi, the Manchurian emperor of China who ascended... [More]
Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Dennis Dun
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Reviews for The Last Emperor
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic biography of Emperor Pu Yi is an astonishing, ravishing and smashing film... And it's a glorious production which won 9 Oscars - that's every major category for which it is eligible Full Review |
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8/10 |
That rare breed of film that is both pure Oscar bait and a thoroughly compelling work. Full Review |
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It works astonishingly well. Full Review |
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4/4 |
Works the brain in two-part harmony: the melody skids effortlessly across the historical timeline of the Ching dynasty, China's last, and the harmony part is all aesthetic appeal... [Blu-ray] Full Review |
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B |
Visually splendid epic on the last Manchu imperial ruler of China. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
We never question the integrity of the historical moment in the film, but we do question our patience. Full Review |
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Constantly absorbing and tremendously interesting. Full Review |
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Storaro's photography, Scarfiotti's designs and the locations seduce us into this leisurely odyssey covering 50 years from Emperor Pu Yi's accession aged three to his end. Full Review |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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A- |
Though boasting stunning photography by Vittorio Storaro (who shot in the Forbidden City), Bertolucci's beautifully crafted saga suffers from episodic text, incoherent story, and lack of truly epic hero at its center. Full Review |
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4/4 |
An involving look at the life of an emperor forced to give up all that he knew only to realize he never had everything he wanted. Full Review |
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John Lone is superb as the sad mediocrity; and if spectacle finally triumphs over sympathy, it is not without a decent struggle. Full Review |
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5/5 |
Mesmerizing, Oscar-winning, fate-filled journey to a vanished time and place.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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 1/5 |
No review available.
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4/4 |
It's a tribute to the film's intelligence and its feeling for dialectics that it views both the Forbidden City and the detention center as prisons, and that when Pu Yi winds up as a gardener there's a sense of gain as well as loss. Full Review |
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4/5 |
The small screen doesn't quite do justice to the rich visuals but with an incredible story and fine performances, it is still a compulsive and moving epic. Full Review |
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5/5 |
There's no doubting its spectacular richness and heartfelt, deeply satisfying storytelling. Full Review |
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2/5 |
No review available.
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