An Italian film director sets out to recreate an epic Chinese story as an independent film and entirely in English and goes on to win nine Oscars. Sound unlikely? Well, in most cases it probably would be, but Bernardo Bertolucci did just that with The Last Emperor in 1987 as he set out to tell the story of a 3-year-old boy who became Emperor of China with 400 million people as his subjects on an unlikely path to becoming a gardener in Peking. The success of the film is almost as unimaginable as the story behind it and Criterion has set out to ensure you know EVERYTHING there is to know about this movie and its place in history with a Blu-ray edition that takes three (of the four) DVDs worth of material and places it all on one disc. Speak ill of the high-definition format no more as the thought of three discs of material on one is worth it alone.
Back in November 2008 Criterion debuted The Last Emperor in a four-disc DVD set. The only part of that set not available on the January Blu-ray release is the extended television version, which runs 218 minutes compared to the 165-minute theatrical cut which makes up this Blu-ray. Personally I believe The Last Emperor to be an adequate length as is and have never seen the additional 53 minutes of the television version and have no desire to. If you were debating between the DVD and the Blu-ray I wouldn’t worry much if I were you. If anything I would say The Last Emperor could stand for a little trimming, but not much.
In terms of video presentation I understand some purists are upset the film is being presented in a 2.00:1 aspect ratio as opposed to the 2.35:1 and 2.2:1 aspect ratios the film was originally screened in. I don’t care much for these quibbles as long as the film is how the director and cinematographer intended it to be presented. This specific issue has been addressed by Criterion and this release was approved and handled by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro so I think we are getting what was intended. Now in terms of video comparison, DVDBeaver has put together a visual comparison of the picture right here which is probably the best direction to point you in since I have only watched the Criterion DVD edition but do not own it. I will say this is a film made for high-definition with its golden hues and bright reds, but I did notice some noise in the picture, especially in the blacks – most notably in the scene where Reginald Johnston (Peter O’Toole) first arrives. It’s nothing I would concern myself with if I was you, but in comparison to the rest of the film this one scene was quite striking. The audio is perfectly fine as Criterion continues to present their Blu-ray titles with DTS-HD sound.
Where this release gets hefty is in its supplements and I really wish they had gone for a 2-disc release as opposed to a single disc, which would have allowed for even less compression of the film as the wealth of documentaries could have been stored on a second disc. After all, it isn’t as if most people are going to get done with a nearly three-hour film and quickly jump over to watch the hour-long documentaries immediately afterwards. That is, unless you are a DVD/Blu-ray reviewer.
As was featured on the four-disc set, this one comes with A LOT. Let me give you the list quickly then touch on a few of them as the majority of these are self explanatory, but definitely interesting for anyone remotely interested in this film and its creation:
- 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 Cristiani, 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
- A booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson
I guess, technically, I lied as the 16-page booklet included in the Blu-ray release is not the same as the 96-page booklet that accompanied the DVD release, which makes for one more difference. This one includes only the Thomson essay while the DVD edition includes 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. If that’s important to you then I guess you have more to consider when deciding between the two.
If I was to point out my favorite features of those listed above I will say the commentary is great as it was recorded in 2003 and 2007 and even though all the men are not in the same room together it is spliced together extremely well with only a couple of rough spots. Bertolucci’s opinion is all over the rest of the features so the additions of Thomas and Peploe really stand out. However, Bernardo does talk about how Sean Connery was originally his first choice for the role of Johnston, but he says Connery ultimately discouraged him from using him and he went with O’Toole.
The Italian Traveler is certainly interesting as Bernardo tells a story of his relating to Verdi (his favorite composer) as well as makes a stop at the family’s estate and plays a little Verdi from the front gate on a small cassette deck. It’s quite funny. He revisits the stomping grounds of Last Tango in Paris and Gerard Depardieu even makes an appearance as the two remember Novecento (1900). The 1989 interview with Jeremy Isaacs is wildly unique with some left field questions Bertolucci fields like a pro and for all its awkwardness the interview with composer David Byrne may be the most interesting as you not only get the interview but also demo tapes of Byrne’s work as well as a look at his notes, which I found to be the most impressive. Too bad more attention isn’t paid to the composers as was in this segment, I would love to have a feature like this on several of my favorite films.
As always, Criterion has put together an impressive package and fans of this film or those experiencing it for the first time will be rightfully impressed by the work put in which leaves the film to speak for itself. Personally I think this is one of those films that gets better the more you see it and as with all of Criterion’s releases, if you listen to all the supplementary material you are going to see things and keep your eye out for things you missed, which makes watching the film that much more entertaining.
The story of Pu Yi is a fascinating one and the decision to jump back-and-forth in time was a perfect way of telling this story. I begin to lose interest every time I watch it just before he is kicked out of the Forbidden City, from that point forward, however, I think this film couldn’t have been any better. In deciding whether or not to recommend this title I am a bit torn. From a visual perspective I think this film is a must have, but the film itself has those up and down moments I am not sure how often I will return to it. However, when building a collection it doesn’t hurt to have a film of this caliber on your shelf. I guess what I am saying is that I leave this one up to you, but I wouldn’t consider it a blind buy if you have not yet watched it. It’s available on Netflix, give it a test run and see what you think. If you like it, add it to your birthday wish list.
