There is no denying that "The last emperor" is a great epic movie. A movie on an equal grand scale as the epics of David Lean, but with a greater historical accuracy than for example "Dr Zhivago" (1965, David Lean) (which is not that strange because "The last emperor" is based on an autobiography and "Dr Zhivago" on a fiction novel).
Add to this that "The last emperor" was shot (as first film ever) on location in the Forbidden city and it is no wonder that the film accumulated an astounding number of 9 Oscars under which the categories of best film, best director and best cinematography.
Comparing the film with the rest of the oeuvre of director Bernardo Bertolucci "Novecento" (1976) immediatly comes to mind. This film also spans a time period of decades including the Second World War. Contrary to "The last emperor" the film is however situated in Europe.
A second film that comes to (my) mind is "To live" (1994, Zhang Yimou). Also a film spanning decades and combining the history of a family with the history of a country. A film also situated in China but with a different director.
In "To live" the history of a country is combined with the history of a lower class fictional family. In "The last emperor" the history of China is combined with the history of a non fictional higher class emperor.
A biopic is mostly made about a person who has changed history. The remarkable thing about "The last emperor" is that main character Pu Yi effectively has as less influence on Chinese history as the poor family from "To live".
When he became emperor Pu Yi was less than 3 years old and 4 years later China became a republic after which the emperor ruled only within the Forbidden city. Even the term "ruling" is somewhat out of place. The emperor may not leave the forbidden city and this custom is enforced by his own guard, even against his will.
It is no wonder that when the emperor is thrown out of the Forbidden city in 1924 he is totally out of touch with reality. Therefore it is easy for the Japanese to abuse him as their marionet "ruling" the puppet state of Manchuko in the Second World War.
When the Communist came to power they quite understandably regard Pu Yi as a war criminal and send him to a re-education camp. The term re-education has an ominous sound, associated as it is with dictatorships of the worst kind. The re-education of Pu Yi is probably one of the scarce examples of successful re-education. He becomes a gardener and experiences probably the happiest years of his life.
The film ends with a beautiful scene in which Pu Yi visits the Forbidden city as a tourist.
The Forbidden city, a colossal complex with 9.999 rooms (only heaven has 10.000 rooms), has the potential of dwarving the human characters. It is the merit of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro that this does not happen.
In a couple of scenes there is a window with a bright blue / turquoise light shining trough it in the background. I did see a similar background in some (key) scenes of "Eyes wide shut" (1999, Stanley Kubrick).
Add to this that "The last emperor" was shot (as first film ever) on location in the Forbidden city and it is no wonder that the film accumulated an astounding number of 9 Oscars under which the categories of best film, best director and best cinematography.
Comparing the film with the rest of the oeuvre of director Bernardo Bertolucci "Novecento" (1976) immediatly comes to mind. This film also spans a time period of decades including the Second World War. Contrary to "The last emperor" the film is however situated in Europe.
A second film that comes to (my) mind is "To live" (1994, Zhang Yimou). Also a film spanning decades and combining the history of a family with the history of a country. A film also situated in China but with a different director.
In "To live" the history of a country is combined with the history of a lower class fictional family. In "The last emperor" the history of China is combined with the history of a non fictional higher class emperor.
A biopic is mostly made about a person who has changed history. The remarkable thing about "The last emperor" is that main character Pu Yi effectively has as less influence on Chinese history as the poor family from "To live".
When he became emperor Pu Yi was less than 3 years old and 4 years later China became a republic after which the emperor ruled only within the Forbidden city. Even the term "ruling" is somewhat out of place. The emperor may not leave the forbidden city and this custom is enforced by his own guard, even against his will.
It is no wonder that when the emperor is thrown out of the Forbidden city in 1924 he is totally out of touch with reality. Therefore it is easy for the Japanese to abuse him as their marionet "ruling" the puppet state of Manchuko in the Second World War.
When the Communist came to power they quite understandably regard Pu Yi as a war criminal and send him to a re-education camp. The term re-education has an ominous sound, associated as it is with dictatorships of the worst kind. The re-education of Pu Yi is probably one of the scarce examples of successful re-education. He becomes a gardener and experiences probably the happiest years of his life.
The film ends with a beautiful scene in which Pu Yi visits the Forbidden city as a tourist.
The Forbidden city, a colossal complex with 9.999 rooms (only heaven has 10.000 rooms), has the potential of dwarving the human characters. It is the merit of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro that this does not happen.
In a couple of scenes there is a window with a bright blue / turquoise light shining trough it in the background. I did see a similar background in some (key) scenes of "Eyes wide shut" (1999, Stanley Kubrick).