Bernardo Bertolucci s The Last Emperor won nine Academy Awards, unexpectedly sweeping every category in which it was nominated quite a feat for a challenging, multilayered epic directed by an Italian and starring an international cast. Yet the power and scope of the film was, and remains, undeniable the life of emperor Pu Yi, who took the throne at age three, in 1908, before witnessing decades of cultural and political upheaval, within and outside of the walls of the Forbidden City. Recreating Qing-dynasty China with astonishing detail and unparalleled craftsmanship by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, The Last Emperor is also an intimate character study of one man reconciling personal responsibility and political legacy. Special Features * - DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FOUR-DISC SET FEATURES: * - All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro * - All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer of the extended television version * - Audio commentary featuring director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark Peploe, and composer-actor Ryuichi Sakamoto * - The Italian Traveler: Bernardo Bertolucci, a 53-minute film by Fernand Moszkowicz tracing the director's geographic influences, from Parma to China * - Video images taken by Bertolucci while on preproduction in China * - The Chinese Adventure of Bernardo Bertolucci, a 52-minute documentary that revisits the film's making * - A new, 47-minute documentary featuring Storaro, editor Gabriella Cristiana, costume designer James Acheson, and art director Gianni Silvestri * - A 66-minute BBC documentary exploring Bertolucci's creative process and the making of The Last Emperor * - A 30-minute interview with Bertolucci from 1989 * - A new interview with composer David Byrne * - A new interview with Ian Buruma examining the historical period of the film * - Theatrical trailer * - PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by Bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
No version gets it ALL right:
The five stars are given to the movie itself. For the different DVD versions, there are various pros and cons. Below is a short summary - Hong Kong version - forget what it's like, given it away long ago. US Artisan version - only Director's cut (i.e. longer TV version), original 2.35:1 aspect ratio but only 4:3 letterboxed (i.e. not anamorphic widescreen), transfer quality just ok. Japanese version - only theatrical version, original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, anamorphic widescreen, very good... more info
Stunning -- on all accounts:
All that was written before my review is not hype. It's all true. See it on the largest screen you can...
No, no, no. No more foreplay...:
Why the hell was it cropped in 2:1? Was Bernardo Bertolucci at all involved, or concerned with the transfer of his own movie? And if so, did he agree with such stupid idea? Thank Heavens I did not trash my Optimum PAL DVD of the very same movie... Besides being cheaper, it has a far higher image resolution and it still comes with a pristine 2:35 image ratio. Besides, the sound is far better on the Optimum copy than on Criterion. Despite being filled with extras, the Criterion copy... more info
A film that solidifies my faith in cinema....:
This film, along with 1900, are Bernardo Bertolucci's greatest films (so far). The Last Emperor is one of my all time favorites, safely secure in my top ten list. The late Gene Siskel called this film "one of the greatest films I've seen since I became a film critic" (I'm paraphrasing here). It's one of the most mysterious, beguiling, and transendant epics ever made. The film is remarkable for many reasons. Bertolucci's career was on the wane at the time. He's a marvelous filmmaker, but he's been... more info
