Rating: 
Summary: Another "Candle in the Wind"
Review: An excellent feature film that deserved to be the Academy Award winner for best picture. Brilliant acting plus terrific photography on location within Beijing's "forbidden city" helped to make this movie a winner. To fully appreciate this film, a familiarity with the history of twentieth century China and the life of Emperor Pu Yi would be greatly helpful. John Lone is a name not too many are familiar with; but his portrayal of the man caught up in a turbulent time of change and upheaval in his country is an fabulous one. It's longer than most other films, but the average person will find every minute informative and entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Great ending
Review: I bought the director's-cut dvd and I wish I hadn't. The movie was long around 3hrs and 20 mins, and the added scenes from the director's cut didn't make any difference in making the movie any better. I thought the movie moved quite slowly. In the beginning of the movie I thought it was obscene how the emperor Pu Yi's wet nurse kept showing her breast, I thought that it was quite indecent, especially when she breast fed him when he was already 7 or 8 years old. I guess my reaction was due to culture shock. After watching this movie I learned that the emperor Pu Yi really had quite a sad life, he was king but that title didn't bring him much happiness. He was used by the Japanese, he couldn't trust his servants, and in the end he was treated like a commoner. In the end it was so heart breaking when he had lost it all (all his wealth, respect, loved ones, etc.) I truly do feel for him. Even though I thought the whole move was slow and boring, the sad ending made the whole story and the experiences in his life meaningful. The ending is what ties it all together and make you look at your life in a whole different light. After having watched this movie I learn to appreciate the things that I have in my life and the people whom I share my life with. I have a greater appreciation of these things because I've learned from the movie that people and material possessions may not always last and be with you forever, so don't take anything or anyone for granted. This is a story of riches to rags. John Lone is a great actor in the movie, his acting was so genuine and believable, you'd think he really was the emperor of China. Overall, this was a boring movie but it brought great meaning to the words "Life" and "Destiny". If you think your life sucks right now, watch this movie and you'll appreciate what God has given you.
Rating: 
Summary: It's all true!
Review: One of the most visually impressive films of all time has been treated like inconsequential trash in this poor DVD translation of Bertolucci's masterpiece. I bought it on sale and thought I was getting a bargain, but was sadly mistaken. I was simply appalled at the aliasing and graininess, almost unwatchable, although I'll make myself sit through it all the way at least once, just because I've not yet seen the 218 minite version all the way through yet. I agree with another reviewer that the theatrical version should always be included along with the director's cut. (A case in point of more not nexessarily being better is the bloated director's cut of Cinema Paradiso, proving once again there are some things best left to the imagination! It was a perfect movie as it was. At least they did include the theatrical vesrion on the other side)In the end , the same might be said of this version, as even the 180 minute version seemed slow in places. but these are small quibbles compared with the criminal job that was done in the technical presentation of this marvelous film. All, I suppose , to save a buck. (a 2 disc version would've been required to get the highest quality resolution this lengthy version deserved) Oh well, one of these days they'll do it right...we hope.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece!
Review: If you somehow missed this one, do yourself a favor and make time available in your schedule for viewing this masterpiece from director Bernardo Bertolucci! Nine academy awards, including Best Picture [1987], only gives partial credit to this magnificently epic and absolutely unforgettable true story. It is the story of Pu Yi, who at the age of 3 comes to the Imperial Dragon Throne to become the Last Emperor of China. His whole life is spanned in this film, from his childhood, to his ultimate fate as an unskilled gardener in the streets of Bejing. Throughout this film we are treated to a cinematic feast for the senses, so rich in detail and imagery, you will be compelled to see it again as soon as possible (I saw it again the very next night!). You will have felt the full range of emotions from having experienced this movie, and few others in recent memory have mesmerized me so totally in an almost 3 hour (164 min) time span. Truly one of the greatest films of all time! Masterpiece!
Rating:
Summary: Redemptive.
Review: With 'The Last Emperor' Bernardo Bertolucci finally succeeded where he had failed with '1900'. In the previous film he tried too hard to document a period of Italian history through 2-dimensional characters placed in didactic situations. In this film he moved closer to the story of the central character and as a result we get a greater insight into the political upheavals of China at the time and how they effected those in power. The story itself isn't entirely objective however as the Chinese government had final say over the script and made sure to correct any 'historical inaccuracies' they deemed damaging to China's image. Like most westerners I saw the individual fate of Pu Yi as essentially tragic, a once powerful if somewhat naive figure, brought to his knees by political machinations beyond his control. However, this is not how the story is seen in China or even by Bertolucci himself (who I believe is still a member of the Italian Communist Party). For them the emperor acts as a symbol of the collective and his re-education is seen as an act of redemption. The first step on his road to becoming a fully-fledged adult shorn of the childish priviliges and illusions he has lived with all his life. In one of the final scenes of the film, Pu Yi comes across his old prison governor being publicly humiliated by the youth of the Cultural Revolution. For the first time in his life he seems to empatise with the individual plight of a fellow human being and this spurs him to futile, yet ultimately redeeming action.
Rating:
Summary: Another "Candle in the Wind"
Review: An excellent feature film that deserved to be the Academy Award winner for best picture. Brilliant acting plus terrific photography on location within Beijing's "forbidden city" helped to make this movie a winner. To fully appreciate this film, a familiarity with the history of twentieth century China and the life of Emperor Pu Yi would be greatly helpful. John Lone is a name not too many are familiar with; but his portrayal of the man caught up in a turbulent time of change and upheaval in his country is an fabulous one. It's longer than most other films, but the average person will find every minute informative and entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: no subtitling - otherwise marvelous
Review: I could have given this 5 stars if the DVD had some with English subtitling. Unfortunately, I missed much of the dialogue between whispering actors and actor accents and subtitles could have helped me.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the version to buy
Review: As others have written, this DVD is an appalling presentation of a cinema masterpiece. The video quality is disastrous and there are no extras. Worse still, the film, which won Best Picture and an Oscar for editing, is presented only in the Director's Cut. I love this film. It was the first movie I ever saw, at ten years old, which showed me that film could be art as well as entertainment, but the Director's Cut is unnecessarily long and is quite simply NOT the film which won these awards, especially the editing. I'm totally against releasing only Director's Cuts of films without the accompanying original versions, as was also done with Dances With Wolves and Amadeus recently. Fox has the right idea with their recent Alien series and The Abyss, with discs that offer both versions. Luckily, the New York Times recently said a special edition DVD of The Last Emperor is in the works for this year. Hopefully it will correct the picture problems with this one, and offer a second disc, like the Korean edition I found online, which will include the vastly superior Theatrical Version. The cut scenes are interesting and would be fascinating as bonus features, but integrated into the body of the film they just make it unwieldy and tedious, which it never is in the theatrical version.
Rating:
Summary: LOUSY DVD
Review: This is a WONDERFUL movie. One of my favorites. But this is a TERRIBLE DVD. There are no special features, although there is a text box on the back of the box supposedly enumerating the "Special Features" (including the "4:3 Widescreen" format). The "widescreen" format is simply a scam! The original (2.35?) aspect ratio of the film has been reduced to 4:3 pan and scan, then "enlarged" for 16:9 by cutting off the top and bottom! The resolution is AWFUL. Worse than over-the-air analog broadcasts. I was so horrified at the quality of the picture I can't speak to the value of the additional footage, or even to the sound quality. I was simply unable to watch such awful treatment of a great cinematographer's work.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic - now even more so
Review: Based on the true story of Aisin Gioro "Henry" Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, the theatrical release of THE LAST EMPEROR left me with a lot of sympathy for a real-life "poor little rich boy." The director's cut, however, truly surpasses the original release - which is saying something considering the number of Oscars the theatrical version ran off with. Further embellishments include more details of life in the Forbidden City, the corruption of Nationalist China and of Manchukuo, and the mental ordeal of prisoners in Communist China. If you haven't seen THE LAST EMPEROR yet, don't let the length of the film scare you; just grab some snacks and get comfortable, because you won't be able to pull yourself away from this film. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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