The Last Emperor

Drama, History

John Lone	Emperor Pu Yi/Henry
Joan Chen	Empress Wan Jung/Elizabeth
Peter O'Toole	Reginald Fleming Johnston
Ruocheng Ying	Governor of Foo Shoe Detention Center
Victor Wong	Chen Pao Shen
Dennis Dun	Big Li
Ryuichi Sakamoto	Amakasu
Maggie Han	Eastern Jewel
Vivian Wu	Wen Hsiu
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	Chang

Director	Bernardo Bertolucci
Producer	Jeremy Thomas; John Daly
Writer	Mark Peploe; Bernardo Bertolucci
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Musician	David Byrne; Ryuichi Sakamoto; Cong Su

Pu Yi (John Lone) is the final ruler of a dynasty that ruled China. He was only three when he was proclaimed ruler and was raised in isolation inside the Forbidden City. But as he matures, he chooses to leave the ruling of the country and explore a decadent lifestyle with all the wealth he possesses. Not understanding the dangers of the world with the protection of his position as ruler, makes Yi vulnerable. Not understanding the political landscape, he make friends with the Japanese. This affords him his freedom but leads to the demise of his country and his own affluence. His deterioration into a common man struggling to subsist parallels the Japanese takeover of China, occupying it for many years in the twentieth century.