Post Description

Verenigd Koninkrijk / Frankrijk / Italië
Drama


geregisseerd door Bernardo Bertolucci
met John Lone, Joan Chen en Peter O'Toole

Peking, 1908. De driejarige Pu Yi wordt op de Drakentroon geplaatst als 'Heer van Tienduizend Jaren', keizer van bijna de helft van de toenmalige wereldbevolking. Ondanks dat is hij het eenzaamste jongetje van de wereld. Drie jaar later wordt China een republiek, maar dit wordt voor Pu Yi verborgen gehouden. Het leven in de Verboden Stad verandert niet. Wanneer de jongen 18 is en gehuwd met twee jonge vrouwen, wordt hij in 1924 uit de Verboden Stad verbannen. Geholpen door zijn vriend en mentor, de Schot sir Reginald Johnson, vlucht hij met zijn gezin naar Tientsin...

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Criterion Collection # 422

DVD Release Date: February 26, 2008

criterion.com/films/254


Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Description
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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 without the walls of the Forbidden City. Recreating Ching 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.


READ:
The Last Emperor, or The Manchurian Candidate
by David Thomson
criterion.com/current/posts/556


Format: NTSC

DVD Size: 7.68 + 7.64 + 7.50 + 7.19 GB -- Exact Untouched Copy

Runtime (main feature): 163 minutes (theatrical version) + 219 minutes (television version)

Type: Color

Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1

Sound (main feature): English DD2.0

Subtitles: optional English


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4-DISC SET FEATURES
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DISC 1:
THEATRICAL RELEASE
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# All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.
# Audio commentary with director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark People and composer-actor Ryuichi Sakamoto.


DISC 2:
TELEVISION VERSION
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# All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer of the extended television version.


DISC 3:
SUPPLEMENTS. PART 1
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# "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 (7:59).
# "The Chinese Adventure of Bernardo Bertolucci", a 51-minute documentary that revisits the film's making.
# A new 45-minute documentary featuring Storaro, editor Gabriella Cristiana, costume designer James Acheson, and art director Gianni Silvestri.


DISC 4:
SUPPLEMENTS. PART 2
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# 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 (25:03).
# A new interview with cultural historian Ian Buruma examining the period of the film (45:02).
# Theatrical trailer.


Gespot in: a.b.dvd.criterion