..The warlords of China..

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2006)

To say that Bernardo Bertolucci aptly over-saw the creation of a masterpiece on an era of history that would definitely change the relationship of nations throughout history, forever, is putting it mildly. That he did it with such artistically factual film-making is to say his success was nearly miraculous. "Never can be made again" is one of many "users" favorite descriptions of many films. You may conclude that would be a quite accurate statement about "The Last Emperor", especially for American film-making......they had nothing to do with it.
To amass such a huge cast today would put many nations into immediate bankruptcy, much less movie-producers. Every scene is detailed to perfection; the reign of the last emperor of China wasn't that long ago, so there were unlimited sources for research. That they were made available - and especially shooting on location in The Forbidden City - with the approval of the communist government of Peking in the 1980s is even more miraculous. After centuries of the Qing emperors' reigns, for this gigantic nation to change its manner of governing boggles the mind. One would assume China would just as soon deny that one year of its history, much as Japan is only beginning to admit its Asian atrocities.
As we have seen a poverty-stricken nation become a world-power, it's frightening to realize it is an ON-GOING epic - the USA has fought two major wars against China, without putting one soldier on its soil: The Vietnam War and The Korean War, not taking into consideration the countless insurgencies to contain this giant, a major ally during The Second World War. Keep tuned, folk - the drama continues.......
I wonder if this period of history is being taught in our schools. It certainly would help students to understand that era more easily just by showing "The Last Emperor" to every class, inviting their parents also to attend for a little briefing. There must be millions who had/have no idea these incidences were happening and what catastrophic results that brief era could have hidden in the wings. The Giant is awakening, already an atomic power, with some of the world's greatest cities. "Made in China" is no longer a derision - we have seen with our own eyes how intelligent its peasants have always been; the metamorphosis into a nation which does pretty-much as it pleases was possible only because the peasants - until today - were dispensable.
Again we are shown what epics were filmed during the 1970s-80s - there are no modern-day movies that can compare to the richness of this film. The luxury therein will never be matched; it is almost unbelievable to realize Chinese royalty and its wealthy citizens lived every day of their lives with such pomp, up to modern-day history.
All of the actors who portrayed the emperor were stellar - the closing of the crimson gates at The Forbidden City and at the Japanese palace in Manchuria left no doubt this unfortunate creature was going nowhere but where other powers forced him to go. John Lone was truly robbed of an Oscar. His role clearly depicted the emperor's vulnerabilities to have no power to conduct his own destiny. As a puppet-emperor, he was totally controlled by the Japanese, then subjugated to communist cruelties in Russia, and then brain-washed into the free-but-pitiful citizen he became in his later life. John Lone's acting definitely gave us the character of totalitarian-with-compassion Pu Yi was.
Joan Chen and "the second wife" were brilliant, as was the "spy" who undid their lives. Peter O'Toole, in my opinion, was barely convincing in his role. ALL of the supporting actors/actresses were totally convincing; just the management of such masses of people is astounding. There is so much to see and learn in this movie, I cannot imagine anyone not being caught-up in it. Mark Peploe's script was perfect, the way every script should be. The panoramic cinematography a feast for the eyes - the costuming and choreography and score mesmerizing. I wondered how many people realized, during the early scenes in The Forbidden City, those gigantic headdresses were actually the ladies' hair !!!
I sincerely hope there are many other films of this caliber I have not yet seen - would make no difference where they were made. The scope of this movie demands a rating of 15-to-10.