Rating: 
Summary: Witness the fabric of a long gone society torn appart ....
Review: Having just returned from my first trip to Bejing I was surprised to note how many times the Chinese tour guide mentioned this film as we were hitting the important sights. Although I had seen seen this movie in the first week of it's theatrical release I bought the DVD just to refresh my memories. It is a spectacular film, but like a good meal, it should be enjoyed at leisure. Much of the story, scenery, set, intrigues and treachery depicted in the film have, of course, been maintained as pretty secret, with the exception of a chosen few, even in China. Yes, while travellig through China I would say that 90 percent of the tourists really were locals who as well have never been exposed to or dreamed of the opulance of the royal family and wealthy generals. China is a rich country with a vast but somewhat secretive past, particularily since the revolution, and, oddly enough even today it struck me that our young tour guide told us what to expect at the airport as we were leaving since he himself had never seen the airport any further than the check-in gates ..... On another note, although we do not see much of the dowager empress in this film it was poignant to see her and recall that this is the same woman that in reply to the Chinese navy wanting to buy new ships to defend the country, took millions of dollars (in today's money) and had a huge cement boat replica, almost the size of an island, built on the man made lake in her summaer palace in Bejing.... It is these experiences that really gave me persective as to the actual of importance of this film historically as it cronicals a society forced to change and a life of decadance that is lost forever ....
Rating:
Summary: Impressive beyond description
Review: It helps for the viewer to have the basic story of Puyi down before entering this cinematic world. That said, what I saw was a masterpiece that exceeded my expectations. There were a few Hollywood moments, such as the Dowager Empress Cixi conveniently dying right when little Puyi was first crowned when in fact she endured for another year. Otherwise, this was so clearly taken from the historical sources and so filled with details I'll need to check in on it again to absorb them all. Directed by a master, and acted well by all involved, not merely the stars. Truth is, this is something for everyone, not merely freaks who like myself are interested in the history of the East.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated, Overrated, Overrated!
Review: This is one of THE most OVERRATED movies I have EVER seen! (I haven't see it since it was in the theaters.) The only reason I give it two stars is for the two elements of it that I DID like, one star for the costumes; one for the cinematography. The REST of it? FORGET IT! It's SO BO-O-O-O-O-O-RING!
Rating:
Summary: Great Film on either VHS and DVD Format...Read on...
Review: After reading most of the customers' reviews, I found them to be very helpful. I was most interested in reading up on most of the reviewer's disappointment towards the DVD version of the Last Emperor and I was somewhat reluctant to buy the DVD version. However, curosity got the better of me and I went ahead and bought the DVD version. I viewed both the VHS and the DVD version. I can understand why most reviewers may not like the DVD version - I think it is the new technological format (wide-screen) which most of us are not used to since we have been so accustomed to viewing movies that are made to fit the entire TV screen. Wide-screen format is basically a panoramic view - it ultimately comes down to a matter of preference on format (Letterbox, Wide-Screen, Full-Screen). Can't wait to get a wide-screen TV so I can enjoy the wide-screen format which most DVD's are coming out with. For the VHS version, it seems much clearer because it is up close and in full-screen format which we are accustomed to. Again, it comes down to format preference. It is a great film in either DVD or VHS format.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Appalling DVD Quality
Review: I'm not a big fan of director's cuts, they tend to be long and plodding. But for a historical biography like that of Pu-Yi, you really need the extra time to covers a man's entire life at an appropriate pace. This is a wonderful story well told. That said, this is simply the worst looking DVD I have ever seen - skies have a grainy, bitmapped quality, images have nasty sawtoothed edges, noticeable even on my low resolution TV set. The reason for this poor quality is simple: they tried to squeeze a 3 hour and 38 minute film, plus a theatrical trailer, onto a single DVD disc, even while similarly long films like Lawrence of Arabia, The Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, Godfather II, are routinely spread over two discs precisely to avoid such problems. The folks at Artisan should hide their heads in shame for defacing this masterpeace, which looks worse on DVD than on VHS, and look only a bit better (pun intended) than a video downloaded off the Internet. I had assumed that the February 2002 release date listed meant that other complaints about DVD quality referred to problems on a previous release that had now been corrected. I was sorely mistaken.
Rating: 
Summary: A GREAT FILM
Review: Enough has been written about this film, so I am not going to discuss the contents in detail. I will just say that this is a fascinating complex look at a tragic life of the China's last emperor. I have always been very impressed by the cinematography, the plot, and the direction of the film. Like many others, however, I was rather disappointed by the picture quality. A good VHS tape looks just as good, if not better. Still, I wouldn't go as far as to say you shouldn't buy the DVD. Instant scene access is absolutely priceless with a long (three and a half hours)movie like this, so in this sense the DVD is still much better than the VHS. Plus, the picture quality, while disappointing, is not as distracting as some people say. Anyway, if you love the movie, you gotta have the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my god!
Review: This has got to be the worst quality DVD on the market today! I love this movie and find the DVD to be a TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY. I would be embarrassed to have my name associated with such a poor quality product. I hope the creators of this masterpiece film will take some action to remedy this situation!
Rating: 
Summary: faded colors
Review: Remember the subtle jade coloring used to such breath taking perfection in Pu Yi's wet nurse scene? Well, the DVD transfer washed the color out. It's anemic and pointless without the twilight green hues that give the image of a twelve year old boy emperor (still suckling) a tinge of queazy eroticism. And the toddler emperor who lifts a fantastic veil of imperial yellow fabric awning high into a cobalt blue sky while maroon and saffron robed lamas blow horns in praise? Somehow these colors were faded as well. Let's hope for a Criterion Collection transfer with full attention to color, SOON!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie, *very* terrible DVD
Review: While this is an excellent and engaging movie, DVD collectors should wait until another release to become available. The picture quality of this DVD is amazingly BAD, worse than VHS in some segments. Picture is dark in general, resolution low, colors bleed all over the place, and dialogs are difficult to understand. I am not sure how the disc was mastered, but the person who did it should be fired. It was a mistake to have purchased it sight unseen. 1 star for being a good movie and the commentary.
Rating:
Summary: Masterwork marred by transfer
Review: Master director Bernardo Bertolucci, the best filmmaker at work in the world today, is still ill-served by the new video release of his Oscar-winning epic "The Last Emperor." [word has that the DVD isn't too spiffy, either] However, this is still required viewing as it is the full-length cut of one of the director's canonical films. The visionary film technique of Bertolucci and his genius collaborator Vittorio Storarro is well represented in the transfer of the latrine-greens and wan, puritanical whites of the Maoist prison, but the reds are considerably less crisp than they should be: the interiors of the Forbidden City are often near impenetrable in darkness, and even the golden exteriors often seem a bit off tone. Consider the passage where Pu Yi is first transferred to the Forbidden City: a long shot of beggars outside the gates, then a magnificent crane shot sweeping over chanting monks as the morning light strengthens into a gold radiance, etc. The progression of tones just isn't as sharp on this transfer as it must obviously be in the original. The coronation ball when Pu Yi becomes the puppet-emperor in Manchuria, one of Bertolucci's occasional uses of an eerily light-deprived canvas, also comes off poorly. But at least this is widescreen, so the scope of his glorious camera-movements and compositions can be enjoyed. Consider this a downpayment till the entire Eastern trilogy is represented on top-quality DVDs. No filmlover should have to live entirely deprived of the experience of "The Last Emperor."
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