Blu-Ray THE LAST EMPEROR
Stunning movie, but it's U.K. Blu-ray debut is soured by the paucity of features and lack of high-def director's cut.
In 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci(Last Tango in Paris and The Conformist) released the The Last Emperor, an epic biopic based on the life of Puyi who, as the title suggests, was the last emperor of China. The film follows Puyi from early childhood to the later years of his life, as he tries to regain the power and privilege he lost as a result of Chinas transition into a republic. It won nine Academy Awards in the year of its release (including Best Director and Best Picture) and is widely regarded as something of a classic, which is why its release on Blu-Ray this Monday was cause for consideration. The film itself is admirable, with some stunning shots and featuring many beautifully choreographed sequences in which hundreds of extras move in perfect unison. There are some remarkable individual scenes too: the tracking shot where Puyis back-up wife (the second consort) decides to leave in the rain is pure cinematic poetry. The musical score is always magnificent: sweeping and epic. 
Vittorio Storaros cinematography is luscious and colourful during the childhood scenes, becomes more muted and seedy during his time as a playboy, before becoming grey and dour in the prison sequences and in Puyis old age. The settings are absolutely spectacular at times with real locations used for much of the film (this production was the first to be allowed to film within The Forbidden City itself) and this really adds to the productions feeling of authenticity. At other times the film is altogether less elegant. For instance, this is one of those movies that sometimes tells you things rather than showing you. There are many pieces of poorly written, obvious exposition dialogue such as when an elderly matriarch says early on: They are waiting for me to die. Thats why they are putting my bed into the middle of the room, under the black pearl. Little Puyi, I have decided you will be the new lord of ten thousand years. Another sequence sees little Puyi told You have not seen your mother for many years your majesty (as if he doesnt know). This is necessary information clumsily handled, which another director may have imparted in a different more satisfying way. The film also suffers for being in the English language, as it often leaves the Chinese supporting actors sounding like they dont know what they are saying which can be distracting. 
The film comes to life when little Puyi gets a bit bigger and becomes a little less obnoxious, especially as the always-superb Peter OToole arrives on the scene and lends a bit of weight to proceedings. The film (even in its shorter theatrical cut) is pretty long (160 minutes), but this is entirely justified by the scope of the historical story, which is, for the most part, told with great economy. Sometimes in a film where history, politics and a large number of supporting characters are concerned, the viewer can get confused and find themselves wondering who everyone is and what they are trying to do. This is thankfully never the case in The Last Emperor as Bertolucci manages to get the balance of everything just right where it matters most. However, in terms of features and presentation, the Blu-Ray disc leaves a lot to be desired. For starters the American version has far more content. Admittedly it is a Criterion Collection release over there, but it is pretty rubbish that this UK version has all the same features as the 2004 two-disc DVD release and no more. These old features are all presented in the same standard definition format as they were on earlier DVD release and are of terrible visual quality. They include and hour long documentary which was made in 1987, which is interesting as it not only documents the making of the film, but it also gives us a look at China in the mid-80s and provides a lot of historical information relating to the real-life events which inspired the film. There is also a short documentary (7 minutes) in which Bertolucci scouts out some interesting Chinese locations prior to making the film. The original theatrical trailer is also included. There is also a commentary on the main theatrical cut of the feature with Bertolucci, as well as the producer Jeremy Thomas and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. It is quite dry and often silent, with Jeremy Thomas doing most of the talking, usually about the practicalities of the shoot on various locations. Those who like their commentaries with a bit of banter and a smattering of anecdotes will not want to sit through this one. 
By far the biggest oversight on this Blu-Ray release is that the directors cut (actually a 218 minute long version made for TV) is only provided in standard definition and looks absolutely awful compared to the glorious high-definition print of the theatrical cut. For fans of the longer version of the film who already own the DVD there is literally no reason to buy this lacklustre (and almost insulting) Blu-Ray offering, as all Optimum Releasing are doing here is going through the motions and taking advantage of collectors. If you don't already own the film on DVD then you may want to buy this as it is the best version currently available in the UK, but the paucity of features and the obvious lack of time and effort taken in their presentation mark this release out as a sadly missed opportunity. "The Last Emperor" on Blu-ray is available in U.K. at Amazon.