The life of Puyi, named Emperor at age 2, who ruled until China's period of imperial dynasties was brought to an end by revolution.
Bernardo Bertolucci had early success as a teenage novelist and poet, and worked with Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini as an assistant before directing his own works. His major breakthrough came with The Conformist (1970), an exploration of fascism with bold, innovative visuals that won various festival and critical awards.
Controversy came in the form of Bertolucci's 1972 film Last Tango In Paris, resulting in bannings and obscenity charges, but also more acclaim and awards. His political 1976 epic 1900, about the rise of communism in Italy, is likely what won him favor with the Chinese government, which chose between two story proposals and provided the director the opportunity to shoot the first feature film inside the 250-acre Forbidden City.
Independent producer Jeremy Thomas, unable to partner with a studio on the project, raised $25 million for the production, only securing distribution from Columbia Pictures once shooting was completed. In addition to the imperial palace location, filming also occurred in other regions of China, Chinese studios, and studios in Rome. The film required 19,000 extras, including member of the Chinese army.
The cast is made up mainly of English-speaking Chinese actors (some of whom had already appeared in Hollywood productions) including Joan Chen, John Lone, Victor Wong, and Dennis Dun. Director Kaige Chen (Farewell My Concubine) also has a small role. Most notable is the presence of screen legend Peter O'Toole (Lawrence Of Arabia), as the Emperor's Scottish teacher.
The cinematography is by frequent collaborator Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, Reds), who envisioned the story in four distinct sections, each with its own color motif. The musical score is by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and Chinese composer Cong Su.
The film was a critical and eventual financial success. In addition to Italian and British award for Best Film, it won all 9 Academy Awards it was nominated for, with the biggest total of any film in almost 30 years. It received Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography (Storaro's third win), Score, Screenplay, Editing, Costume Design, and Art Direction.
Running time is approx. 2½ hours.
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