The Last Emperor poster

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The Last Emperor

1987 · Movie · 163 min

Every rating

Platform pages last read 29 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

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64–96 out of 100

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Lowest is Criticker on 64, highest is Google on 96.

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The story of Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China, who ascended the throne at the age of three. The narrative follows his life from his isolated and cloistered childhood in the Forbidden City, surrounded by immense wealth and thousands of servants, through his abdication, his life as a puppet ruler, and finally his years as a political prisoner and ordinary citizen in the new Communist China.

Details

Based on
The First Half of My Life by Puyi
Released
4 October 1987
Country
China, France, Italy, United Kingdom
Language
English, Mandarin, Japanese, French
Runtime
163 min
Rated
PG-13
Budget
$23.8M
Box office
$44.0M
Awards
52 wins, 16 nominations

This title elsewhere

John Lone

John Lone

Pu Yi (Adult)

Joan Chen

Joan Chen

Wan Jung

Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole

Reginald Johnston (R.J.)

Ruocheng Ying

Ruocheng Ying

The Governor

Victor Wong

Victor Wong

Chen Pao Shen

Dennis Dun

Dennis Dun

Big Li

Maggie Han

Maggie Han

Eastern Jewel

Awards & nominations

See all 68 →

16 major awards won · 52 wins from 68 nominations across 27 ceremonies

Academy Awards 1987 Best Picture Jeremy Thomas Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Director Bernardo Bertolucci Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Art Direction Art Direction: Ferdinando Scarfiotti ; Set Decoration: Bruno Cesari and Osvaldo Desideri Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Cinematography Vittorio Storaro Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Costume Design James Acheson Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Film Editing Gabriella Cristiani Winner
Academy Awards 1987 Best Original Score Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, and Cong Su Winner
Show all 68 awards across 27 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.