Academy Award for Best Picture

1987

The Last Emperor

Release dates

October 23, 1987 

(Italy)

November 18, 1987 

(New York City, New York Premiere)

November 19, 1987 

(Los Angeles, California Premiere)

December 1, 1987 

(USA)

Starring

John Lone

Joan Chen

Peter O'Toole

Ruocheng Ying

Victor Wong

The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures. Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese Communists.

The film stars John Lone as Puyi, with Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, and Chen Kaige. It was the first feature film for which the producers were authorized by the Chinese government to film in the Forbidden City in Beijing. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.