Lone plays decadent and imperious very well, yet captures a sense of tragedy about his character. Joan Chen plays Pu Yi's wife Wan Chan with amazing style. The fragile Chen decays like a beautiful flower left too long in the vase. Peter O'Toole plays Reginald Johnston with a wide-eyed stiffness that works well, yet the performance fails to make Johnston come to life. The Last Emperor is produced with startling power.
Production design is nothing short of spectacular.
The settings provide a magnificent opportunity for Ferdinando Scarfiotti and Vittorio Storaro's cinematography is regal. The original music by David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su marries perfectly with the magnificence of the imagery. The DVD appears to have been struck from a composite transfer. The many straight edges and details are jumping all over the place. Some scenes are slightly soft, but the overpowering element of this DVD is shimmering, moir and incessant edge jitter.