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John Lone,
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Bernardo Bertolucci,
Bernardo Bertolucci
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: Criterion
: Drama, Foreign, Politics and Social Issues, Costume Drama/Period Piece, Prison, Biopics, China, War, WWII, Criterion Collection
: English
: English
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The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Bonus Disc 1) (1987)
DVD 3 begins the supplementary material, with four separate documentaries about The Last Emperor.
- The Italian Traveler, Bernardo Bertolucci (53 minutes), featuring the director on two sides of the world. The first portion of the film follows Bertolucci in the early 1980s during his last days in Europe before traveling to Los Angeles to start a production of Dashiell Hammet's Red Harvest. He visits locations from 1900 and Last Tango in Paris, and sees friends like Jonathan Demme, Jean-Pierre Leaud, and Gerard Depardieu. The film then picks up in China, after Red Harvest has fallen apart, as the director discovers the country and gets The Last Emperor underway. This documentary is by Fernand Moszkowicz, who shot Last Tango.
- A 7-minute, 21-second collection of "postcard" images Bertolucci shot while scouting locations in China. Two audio options: the director's original narration or a new audio commentary reflecting on his travels.
- The Chinese Adventure of Bernardo Bertolucci (51 minutes). A vintage making-of by Paolo Brunatti, following all aspects of production through script, shooting, composing the music, editing, and the first screening. Complete with lots of on-set footage from China and interviews with composers Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Byrne.
- A new documentary (45 minutes) with contemporary interviews with Vittorio Storaro, editor Gabriella Cristiana, costume designer James Acheson, and art director Gianni Silverstri. These are very substantial, no-nonsense interviews about each person's specific job and what it was like to work with Bertolucci. It may be short on frills, but this is the kind of meaty bonus feature I wish we got more of, rather than all the backslapping and glad-handing that passes as substantive examination of film on most studio discs.
The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Bonus Disc 2) (1987)
DVD 4 finishes up the collection of supplements with four more features.
- A 66-minute episode of the BBC's The South Bank Show from 1987 that also covers the making of the film. This one has more extensive on-set footage than the other documentary, as well as interviews with cast and crew, including Pu Yi's surviving brother, who served as a technical advisor on the movie and is even portrayed as a character in it.
- New interview with composer David Byrne (25 minutes). He discusses how he got on board and how it worked with having multiple composers. In addition to photos of Byrne with the Talking Heads and some production stills, we see the musician's production notes and sheet music, and we hear demo versions of some tracks, which are then compared to the final scenes in the movie.
Beyond the Forbidden City: Ian Buruma on China's Tumultuous Past (46 minutes), an exclusive historical look at the political turmoil and changing government powers in the first half of the 20th century in China. It's mainly Buruma's talking head next to maps, historical photos, and clips from The Last Emperor, and it fleshes out a lot of background detail only touched on in the script.
- A 1989, half-hour episode of the BBC program Late Show: Face to Face. Jeremy Isaacs has a one-on-one interview with Bertolucci, probing him about his past, film theory, The Last Emperor's success, and what would be his next project, The Sheltering Sky. Much more of a personal and direct overview of the director than we get on the other extras.
The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Television Version) (1987)
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 force Pu Yi to sign a series of documents which endorse their despotic military activities. At war's end, the emperor is taken prisoner by the Russians; while incarcerated, he is forced to fend for himself without servants at his beck and call for the first time. He is finally released in 1959 and displayed publicly as proof of the efficacy of Communist re-education. We last see him in 1967, the year of his death; now employed by the State as a gardener, Pu Yi makes one last visit to the Forbidden City...as a tourist. Bernardo Bertolucci's first film after a six-year self-imposed exile, The Last Emperor was released in two separate versions: the 160-minute theatrical release, and a 4-hour TV miniseries. Lensed on location, the film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Theatrical Version) (1987)
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 force Pu Yi to sign a series of documents which endorse their despotic military activities. At war's end, the emperor is taken prisoner by the Russians; while incarcerated, he is forced to fend for himself without servants at his beck and call for the first time. He is finally released in 1959 and displayed publicly as proof of the efficacy of Communist re-education. We last see him in 1967, the year of his death; now employed by the State as a gardener, Pu Yi makes one last visit to the Forbidden City...as a tourist. Bernardo Bertolucci's first film after a six-year self-imposed exile, The Last Emperor was released in two separate versions: the 160-minute theatrical release, and a 4-hour TV miniseries. Lensed on location, the film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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| The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Bonus Disc 1) (1987) |
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| The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Bonus Disc 2) (1987) |
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| The Last Emperor (Criterion Collection) (Television Version) (1987) |
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