Trailer
Summary
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City…
Good for
- Date night
- Friends night
- Teens
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- You want to half-watch while scrolling
Where to watch
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At a glance
Critics vs audiences
Critics and audiences agree
Critics 76Audiences 79GoodWatch 77
Metascore76
User score8.1
Letterboxd · 103 K ratings3.9/5
IMDb7.7
Box office
1.8×its budget
- Budget
- $24 M
- Worldwide
- $44 M
Worldwide it earned $20 M more than it cost.
Running time
2 h 43 min
Longer than 9 in 10 dramas, +54 min on the typical 109
typical 109163Half of all dramas run 98–125 min.
Reach
Streams in 21 countries, rent or buy in 10 more
+11Released
1987
October 4, 1987
39 years ago
Genres
DramaHistoryLanguage
English
Original language
Also spoken
NyanjaJapaneseChineseMade in
China
France
Italy
United Kingdom
Academy Awards1988
- Best Picture1988Won
- Directing1988Won
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay)1988Won
- Cinematography1988Won
- Costume Design1988Won
- Film Editing1988Won
- Music (Original Score)1988Won
- Production Design1988Won
- Sound1988Won
Golden Globe Awards1987
- Best Director1987Won
- Best Screenplay1987Won
BAFTA Awards1989
- Best Film1989Won
- Best Director1989Nominated
- Best Supporting Actor1989Nominated
César Awards1988
- Best Foreign Film1988Won
Directors Guild of America Awards1987 to 1988
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film1988Won
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, Feature Film1987Won
Writers Guild of America Awards1988
- Best Original Screenplay1988Nominated
Rated
- PG-13United States
Not for young kids: it's rated PG-13 in the United States for violence, sexual content, and disturbing imagery, and the viewing guide lists it for teens and adults.
What's in it
- ViolenceMild
- Gore, disturbing imagesLittle or none
- Frightening scenesLittle or none
- Sex, nudityLittle or none
- Dark themesModerate
In white: what the content advisories name. Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsDate NightFriends NightIntergenerationalPartner WatchPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensThought-ProvokingNot listed for kids or family movie night.
and 21 more57 people
- John LonePu Yi (Adult)
- Joan ChenWan Jung
- Peter O'TooleReginald Johnston (R.J.)
- Ruocheng YingThe Governor
- Victor WongChen Pao Shen
- Dennis DunBig Li
- Ryuichi SakamotoAmakasu
- Maggie HanEastern Jewel
Ric YoungInterrogator
Vivian WuWen Hsiu
Cary-Hiroyuki TagawaChang- JGJade GoAr Mo
- FIFumihiko IkedaYoshioka
- RVRichard VuuPu Yi (3 years)
- TTTsou TijgerPu Yi (8 years)
- TWTao WuPu Yi (15 years)
- GFGuang FanPu Chieh (Adult)
- HKHenry KyiPu Chieh (7 years)
- ARAlvin Riley IIIPu Chieh (14 years)
Lisa LuTzu Hsui
Hideo TakamatsuGeneral Ishikari- HTHajime TachibanaJapanese Translator
- BPBasil PaoPrince Chun
Henry OLord Chamberlain
Directing · 5
- Bernardo Bertolucci Director, Screenplay
- Nicoletta Peyran Third Assistant Director
- Ning Ying Assistant Director
- Biao Wang Assistant Director
- Suzanne Durrenberger Continuity
Writing · 3
- Mark Peploe Screenplay
- Enzo Ungari Other
- Aisin-Gioro Puyi Author
Production · 7
- Jeremy Thomas Producer
- John Daly Producer
- Joyce Herlihy Producer
- Franco Giovale Producer
- Joanna Merlin Casting
- Mario Cotone Production Supervisor
Camera · 3
- Vittorio Storaro Director of Photography
- Angelo Novi Still Photographer
- Mauro Marchetti Camera Operator
Editing · 2
- Gabriella Cristiani Editor
- Catherine Hodgson Assistant Editor
Sound · 5
- Ryuichi Sakamoto Original Music Composer
- David Byrne Original Music Composer
- Su Cong Original Music Composer
- Ivan Sharrock Sound Designer
- Bill Rowe Sound Designer
Art · 6
- Bruno Cesari Production Design
- Ferdinando Scarfiotti Production Design
- Gianni Giovagnoni Art Direction
- Maurice Binder Main Title Designer
- Gianni Silvestri Art Direction
- Maria Teresa Barbasso Art Direction
Costume & Make-Up · 4
- James Acheson Costume Design
- Sun Huanxiang Costume Design
- Jole Cecchini Hair Designer
- Fabrizio Sforza Makeup Artist
Other crew · 3
- Gino De Rossi Special Effects
- Ann Tasker Unit Publicist
- Michael Saxton Post Production Supervisor
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