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About
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Theatrical
Apr 15, 1988
Box Office
$44.0M
Budget
$23.8M
Return
1.8x
Theaters
2
Director
Writers
Producers
Music
Studio
Soprofilms, TAO Film, Yanco, Recorded Picture Company
Keywords
buddhism
suicide
china
suicide attempt
war crimes
becoming an adult
isolation
war on drugs
opium
experiment
drug addiction
world war ii
revolution
emperor
arranged marriage
manchuria
dynasty
reeducation camp
biography
coup d'etat
autobiography
based on true story
teacher
beijing, china
dowager
decadence
communism
1920s
1940s
1950s
1910s
1930s
forbidden city
japanese occupation of china
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Quotes
See all →Curiosity About Historical Figures and Modern Life
Puyi, age 15
Who is this George Washington?
Reginald Johnston
A famous American, Your Majesty. A revolutionary general, the first American president.
Puyi, age 15
Ah, like Mr. Lenin in Russia?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Burden of Responsibility and Manipulation
Jin Yuan
Perhaps you think we're here to teach men to lie in a new way? Why did you sign every accusation made against you? I didn't stop you from killing yourself to see you like this! Someone who will sign anything to please his enemies... to please me! You knew about a lot of things in Manchukuo... even the secret agreements. But you couldn't possibly have known about the Japanese biological warfare experiments in Harbin! Could you? So why did you sign these papers?
[Puyi continues working as if trying to ignore the Governor; Puyi continues working]
Puyi
I was responsible for everything.
Jin Yuan
You are responsible for what you do! All your life you thought you were better than everyone else. Now you think you're the worst of all!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Cast
Full credits →J
John Lone
Pu Yi (Adult)
J
Joan Chen
Wan Jung
P
Peter O'Toole
Reginald Johnston (R.J.)
R
Ruocheng Ying
The Governor
V
Victor Wong
Chen Pao Shen
D
Dennis Dun
Big Li
R
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Amakasu
M
Maggie Han
Eastern Jewel
R
Ric Young
Interrogator
V
Vivian Wu
Wen Hsiu
C
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Chang
F
Fumihiko Ikeda
Yoshioka
T
Tao Wu
Pu Yi (15 years)
L
Lisa Lu
Tzu Hsui
H
Hideo Takamatsu
General Ishikari
H
Henry O
Lord Chamberlain
C
Chen Kaige
Captain of Imperial Guard
C
Constantine Gregory
Oculist
Y
Yu Li
Second High Consort
Z
Zhang Tianmin
Old Tutor
