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DVD Description
Disc One: Original theatrical version plus extras (total running time: 230 minutes)
Disc Two: The Director’s Cut (running time: 220 minutes)
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Commentary, Documentary, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Special Edition, Trailer(s), Uncut, SYNOPSIS: The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years 1908 to 1967. We first see the three-year-old Pu Yi being installed in the Forbidden City by ruthless, dying dowager Empress Tzu-Hsui (Lisa Lu). Though he'd prefer to lark about like other boys, the infant emperor is cossetted and cajoled into accepting the responsibilities and privileges of his office. In 1912, the young emperor (Tijer Tsou) forced to abdicate when China is declared a republic, is a prisoner in his own palace, 'protected' from the outside world. Fascinated by the worldliness of his Scottish tutor (Peter O'Toole), Pu Yi plots an escape from his cocoon by means of marriage. He selects Manchu descendant Wan Jung (Joan Chen), who likewise is anxious to experience the 20th century rather than be locked into the past by tradition. Played as an adult by John Lone, Pu Yi puts into effect several social reforms, and also clears the palace of the corrupt eunuchs who've been shielding him from life. In 1924, an invading warlord expels the denizens of the Forbidden City, allowing Pu Yi to 'westernize' himself by embracing popular music and the latest dances as a guest of the Japanese Concession in Tientsin. Six years later, his power all but gone, Pu Yi escapes to Manchuria, where he unwittingly becomes a political pawn for the now-militant Japanese government. Humiliating his faithful wife, Pu Yi falls into bad romantic company, carrying on affairs with a variety of parasitic females. During World War II, the Japanese fo...The Last Emperor (Theatrical and Director's Versions) ( L' Ultimo imperatore ) ( Modai huangi )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Early 20th century China history in a nutshell,
By cybergel78 "cybergel" (Singapore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Last Emperor [DVD] [1988][Special Edition] (DVD)
The movie is basically a straight-forward biopic of the last emperor of China as the name implies. What sets this Oscar winning film apart is the adept direction by Bernardo Bertolucci and his equally talented crew (especially the DP Vittorio Stararo). The colours that fill the screen is amazing. This movie has to been seen in the 70mm format in an IMAX auditorium. Production values aside, the only flaw in this film, is the deadpan performance of John Lone. He still represents the Western archetype of Asians in the Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu style of bad acting with equally bad accented English. The movie could have been better if it had been using the authentic Mandarin language (Pu Tong Hua). Overall, this edition is a marked improvement from its Region 1 cousin, being the presence of an audio commentary and a documentary. The Region 1 DVD that I owned was a general disappointment.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent DVD transfer,
By
This review is from: The Last Emperor [DVD] [1988][Special Edition] (DVD)
I bought the Optimum Home Entertainment Double Disc Special Edition, released in 2004. The theatrical version (DVD 1 of 2) in this set is first class. It displays with 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Other releases, including Blu-Ray, offered a cropped 2:1 ratio. The movie screened in theatres at 2.35:1 though Bertolucci later said he had intended it to be seen at 2.2:1 or 2.0:1. Personally I prefer to see it as it was shown in the cinemas, so I like this latest release (I have a 2.0:1 version as well). The earlier PAL DVD release had really horrible picture quality. This one has been remastered and the transfer to DVD is excellent. The picture quality is *flawless*. The audio is stereo AC-3.
Some drawbacks: The audio on the director's commentary is out of sync, though it doesn't really matter as the voices of the Bertolucci, Jeremy Thomas and Ryuichi Sakomoto dominate. The "Director's Cut" on DVD 2 is no such thing. It is an extended version which was cobbled together for TV. There were reasons why that extra hour of footage didn't make it into the cinema version..... Now Bertolucci approving it being issued on DVD has led to marketing monkeys making the bogus claim that it's a director's cut. The picture quality of this extended version is lamentable, being soft, dark and extremely grainy. It would look bad under any circumstances but releasing it alongside this pristine theatrical version is inviting criticism. This is definitely a UK PAL release, not a Europe PAL release; there are no foreign language subtitles. In fact there aren't even English subtitles for the hard of hearing. Despite the lame second DVD and the lack of subtitles I've rated it 5 stars because the picture quality of the theatrical version in this set is as excellent as such a film deserves, which is what matters most in my opinion, and the double DVD edition didn't cost any more than a budget single disc.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Director's cut is even better.,
By
This review is from: The Last Emperor [DVD] [1988][Special Edition] (DVD)
I won't go into details of how wonderful I consider this film to be. Suffice to say that the director's cut adds almost an extra hour to the two-and-a-half hour original. It fills in much of the background historical material and shores up the action on screen, especially with regard to Pu Yi's servant in the prison, the arrival of Johnstone (O'Toole's character), and life in general in the Forbidden City.
A marvellous visual feast.
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