The Last Emperor was the 1987 epic biographical film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci about China’s last emperor.
The film tells the life story of Puyi, who became emperor of the Qing dynasty as an infant in 1908. It follows his childhood in the Forbidden City, his forced abdication after the 1911 revolution, his later period as a Japanese-backed ruler of Manchukuo, and his imprisonment and political rehabilitation after World War II.
John Lone played the adult Puyi, while Peter O’Toole portrayed his Scottish tutor, Reginald Johnston. The screenplay by Bertolucci and Mark Peploe was adapted from Puyi’s autobiography, From Emperor to Citizen. The production received permission to film inside Beijing’s Forbidden City, making it the first Western feature to do so.
The Last Emperor was a major awards success. At the 60th Academy Awards, it won all nine Oscars for which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is sometimes confused with films about other Chinese historical figures, but Puyi is its central subject.