The Last Emperor

The Last Emperor, one of the most award-winning films in the history of cinema with the largest cast, is an epic story: 60 years through the eyes of Pi Yi, the last emperor of China, who ascended the throne at the age of 2. Shot over 2.5 years and starring more than 19,000 people, the film is an elegant and aesthetically sumptuous production. It also bears traces of Bertolucci's cinema: From the scenes shot in the courtyard of the Forbidden City with thousands of extras to the three bodies making love vaguely under silk sheets. The Last Emperor is also the first film in Bertolucci's Oriental Trilogy. This series was completed with Tea in the Desert and The Little Buddha, which he would make in the following years.