I re-visited this scene while listening to his music. This comment brought me to tears; people are leaving them on even old and obscure videos like this. I feel lost, I was proud just knowing I woke up under the same sun as him. One of the biggest musicians of all time. Rest in Peace Mr. Sakamoto.
yep. Didn't know he'd passed on :( still have the score. I was rather young when I saw the theatrical on videotape. Still have the Extended (the actual movie. the cut one makes no sense) on VHS double tape unique holder
This scene gave me chills. Puyi, despite his immense wealth and status, was always a prisoner to someone or something. First a prisoner to the forbidden city, then a prisoner to the Japanese, and finally a prisoner to Mao’s Re-Education camps. It is ironic that at his lowest point status-wise and money-wise, he is the freest he has ever been. And the grasshopper finally escaping represents that.
the grasshopper escaping onto the red guard boy is also a representation of the true giving up of the old age of China, which died with Puyi, and passed to the young boy, which represents the future of China, for better or worse, china is now no place for Puyi. very profound
0:10 Pu Yi: "As I stood before the throne that I had once sat upon as a child, worshipped and adored, I found myself looking back on my life and all the events that had led me to this moment. I realized that for all of the power I supposedly possessed as the Son of Heaven and the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, I truly had nothing and was nothing. From the moment I was taken from my mother to the Forbidden City, I had no control of my own life, no agency, no means by which I could chart my own destiny. I lived according to the whims and commands of others because I never had the chance to choose otherwise. But now, as I stand here, I feel this strange sense of inner peace which I have never felt before. I feel...free. Free to live my life as I choose to live it, answering to no one but myself. I only wish that I had discovered this freedom sooner. Who knows what I could have done and what I could have become."
This masterpiece never grows old. The grasshopper at the end, I think it was a metaphor of Puyi. The scene that the grasshopper jump out the wood container, means Puyi finally get rid of all the fighting and politics(明爭暗鬥), which as an emperor, it' s like a curse, especially for a child emperor in the end of a dynasty.
Another interpretation is the grasshopper represents the ancient undying power of the imperial dynasty, which was now passing in a peaceful and loving manner to the youthful Republic of China, represented by the young boy. In China grasshoppers are symbols of good fortune and abundance, a totem for the blessing of prosperity.
Feather of Truth I agree with this, but I think the grasshopper is the passing of the spirit of China, which is the center of the world. Just as before, China rises now to become the center of the world.
The cricket was the emperor trapped in a prison, which is what he's been all his life. This is why the emperor disappears after the cricket is set free.
Actually I always thought it was the other way around. Puyi gives the container to the little boy, little boy opens it and turns around to find Puyi gone. Where did he go little boy thinks and then the cricket emerges, free of its imprisonment as much as Puyi is now free too.
You all probably dont give a shit but does anybody know of a trick to get back into an instagram account..? I was dumb forgot my account password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
I thought it was interesting that the tour guide simply said of Pu Yi: "He was three years old. He died in 1967." and that's all the tourists would learn about him. I think that was the point of the movie, to inform Westerners and remind the people of China of this important forgotten period of history.
rsheldon86 that’s the fate of almost all humans in the world. Better than he fate of most, actually. Those two lines will be remembered longer than 99.99% of all lives ever.
@@OmegaTrooper Quite! Even Confucius, Alexander of Macedon, and all the other “greats” shall eventually be forgotten. Such is the nature of time. Rgds., G.M. Bar.
it makes me deeply sad when remembering that once, he was revered as the Son of Heaven, and now, he became a simply humble old gardener, visiting his previous throne that he used to sit upon, becoming a museum artifact
Anthony von Hughes it isn’t just Americans you prejudiced person. It is a rude but necessary attention getting mechanism. Perhaps you imagine all Americans are wealthy enough or don’t care enough about their pets to be disabled from travelling because their first priority is to a family member that may not be human. Perhaps you are jealous of those who have been successful enough to receive a very inadequate taste of what antiquity was like? I dislike tourism because it is as cheap, shallow and laughable as that silly « Yankee Doodle » Horn (which isn’t actually so bad, loud or blaring) though there are many places I would dearly love to see. My three dogs (formerly four) are enough for now. Go make fun of me, trolls, have your insensitive troll parties.... my dogs are more love than many people will ever know. (Perhaps I am the jealous one, perhaps not)
I have a strange connection to this movie. My mother was expecting me when this movie came out and she watched it in a theatre in India. For some reason I've always felt an inexplicable interest in Chinese history and even fell in love with a Chinese man exploring that interest. I was finally able to visit the forbidden City a few years ago and it was magnificent and my trip to China very enjoyable on the whole.
Titanic is a great film, but you are not exactly reaching into the deepest well of comparison when you point to a single film, no matter how great it may be.
Really love the expression of Mr.Puyi/Lone at 0:10. The look of content (his eyes and subtle smile) and peace after what he went through and experienced. I felt that he was actually finally happy, free from all the burden , duties and traditions that he needs to hold as the emperor. One of the best endings to a movie in my books.
Love how the cricket symbolizes freedom at last when the cricket is set free from the container where it was lock away all those years in the final scene of the movie .
When this film was shot in the Forbidden City late in the 1980's, China was still poor and semi-isolated from the Western Countries included the USA. A sister of mine and her husband visited Beijing Shi, the capital of China, at that time and the hotel employees told her that a year or a couple of years before an Italian film crew headed by famous Italian movie director Bernardo Bertolucci had stayed in the same hotel. Crowds of Chinese people, not used to see western faces in their city, would gather on the sidewalk to catch a glimpse of the westerners. Bertolucci filmed on location and it was the first time that Chinese authorities allowed westerners to film in the Forbidden City.
The irony is. I grew up even in 1998 it was isolated. I have never seen a foreign face. It's sad that China has changed. perhaps it could return to that past some day.
@@williamzhao2521 if you want to see the old china. I recall from some mission impossible producer that they was using some chinese village for the movie shot. It was said that this village wasnt changed that much for centuries. Unfortunatelly I forgot the village's name. You may trace from there if you wanted too.
My grandparents were among the first wave of Western tourists to visit China after it had reopened itself to the rest of the world. They acquired a souvenir from the visit there: an ivory stamp of our family name in Chinese. We still have it.
This is the Hall Supreme Harmony where the filmmakers filmed his scenes The last filmmaker to have filmed here was italian Bernardo Bertolucci. He was 46 years old He died in 2018 2:53 RIP
I saw this movie while in the Air Force and it left such an impression on me that two years later I took 2 semesters of Chinese history. All thanks to this wonderful movie who made me want to learn more about this fascinating country.
1:55 - The first time I watched this movie, when they panned up to the top of the steps and Pu Yi is gone, I lost it. This is my #1 favorite movie of all time. The soundtrack from Sakamoto and Byrne is genius.
This last scene, is so touching. The last emperor of China, telling to a little boy that he used to be the emperor , who doesn´t belive it, untill the old man gaves him his pet grasshopper in a wooden box. It´s a clear metaphore of the real life of Pu Yi, and the grasshopper jumping out the wood container, is the Pu Yi´s soul final liberation, of his troubled existence. Bertolucci was such a genius. This is one of the greatest movies ever done, and this is the best ending scene ever. =( .
That's true. In fact at least 15 million people in Asia and around the world can trace their lineage to Genghis Khan. He really 'got around' if you know what I mean.
I know your comment is from 3 years ago, but Im gonna add: being emperor of China had various meanings throughout pu yi's life. Once, it means confinement, the other's acknowledgment and glory, but at some point he knows what it means to all China, and came to understand why court retainers lock him out of outside world, event though it's wrong. Who was once a cocky young man, now became a compassionate adult, taking blame for all horrible things that happened to manchurian and his people, as much as he's not solely responsible for it, and gain respect from prison guard, and then passing the legacy as spirit friend, even just for one witness
So many emotions in this scene. When Pu Yi suddenly gets the mischievous look on his face and suddenly has vitality as he goes to retrieve the grasshopper and then disappears without a trace it makes life feel so circular
In the end of the film he lets the cricket free which symbolizes that he too is free that’s why he disappeared, his soul and spirit were free from his last life, his last visit to the forbidden city...
This is bringing tears to my eyes..I am Chinese and I always thought Puyi was an ignorant and arrogant coward. This movie changed my mind. He was just a normal person born in the wrong place and wrong time. He wanted to change, but it was too late. Bravo, to the crew of this incredible film.
@@williverson3405 the dude is pro-Han, anti-Manchu. the past could have been better, but really, no point in hating manchus of today. not much else to say.
This is one of those endings that make the difference between a film and great film. I remember seeing The Last Emperor and feeling utterly drained, I struggled to find what made it any more than a sad autobiography. There is little emotion throughout the movie other than frustration- the man was born into a life that wasn’t his, but where is the meaning behind it? Why go through such grand efforts to tell a story like this? There's clear plot, no characters you can connect to, even the emperor is hard to like. This film isn’t a pleasant experience. But when he revisits his throne, the smile on his face can make you forget the 2 hours of pain you just sat through. As for the cricket being freed, it’s hard to describe what I felt. It was as if, for a few moments, I was relieved of all the stress in my life. I finally understood the point of the movie. I remember sitting in shock as the credits rolled.
Deeply poignant ending to a movie I first saw as an 8yo. The scene before this, isnt that the one where he buys a ticket to go inside this very palace he once ruled? Unforgettable!
It's not sad finally 溥仪 knows what's the most important things the childhood, the normal, pure heart, there is no war, no struggle, no desire,like at start a little children who has no idea what's emperor.
The only thing really sad was the life of Wanrong in her final days, which wasnt shown. Puyi deserved her fate and the torture she went through for everything he put her through.
it's hard not to feel the swell of emotion from such a grand ending the cricket is obviously symbolic of the EMPEROR'S final freedom from his past and the end of an era to one of the great civilizations of the ancient world !! beautiful soundtrack!!
The suddest, but the most beautiful, ending of all time. As a lid of the cage was opened by the boy for releasing a cricket, the emperor was missing, i.e. he abdicated the throne. By a little boy, his reign got perfection at last.
I believe this scene takes place on the 17 October 1967. The Day Puyi died. He arrives at sunset (marking the end of life) and this is his spirit returning home and finding peace (symbolized by the cricket leaving its cage)
One of the best movies based on fact I've seen. What happened to the last Emperor was tragic - taken from his parents at such a young age to satisfy and aging Empress' desire to leave an heir on a decrepit throne was plain evil in my eyes. He led what some might have called a good life, but was it? In the end, he was just another old man with some good memories, and many terrible ones.My heart went out to him. John Lone played his role to the hilt - I would love to have seen him in similar roles.
I think he did, he saw the beauty of his power which is his story. In the original, there's a scene where he has an epiphany and he says they'll save China with a story.
@@Emy-fv5ny The old lady at the start of the film was the Dowager Empress Cixi, at that time she had held the real power in the imperial court for forty years and ruled through a series of puppet emperors. Puyi's dad Zaifeng was the brother of the emperor she mentioned as having died (who she almost certainly had poisoned), Cixi and Zaifeng hated each other but he was the senior male member of the imperial house. She picked Puyi over his father because then Zaifeng would have to share a long regency with his wife the Empress Youlan who was also Cixi's niece. If Zaifeng was emperor he'd have all the power and could sideline Youlan to rule on his own
"THIS IS THE HALL OF THE SUPREME HARMONY , WHERE THE EMPEROR WAS CROWNED , THE LAST EMPEROR TO BE CROWNED HERE WAS " aisin gioro PU-YI" ,HE WAS 3 YEARS OLD , he DIED in NINETEEN SIXTI Sevennnnnnnnnnn!!!! ..and then my tears come out!
so good to know I´m not the only one who cries a lot every time watch this last scene. My film I love the most ever ! Absolutely brilliant and touching !
This to me is one of the best scenes I have seen in any film and one of the prime evidence of Bertolucci's genius. Just enough subtlety to make it open to interpretation without being too vague. The theme by Ryuichi Sakamoto completes it perfectly and it is hard to imagine the scene working with any other piece of music.
I’m amazed to this day that so much has happened in the last century! The Czar of Russia was toppled, the Sultan of Turkey, the Shah of Persia, the Emperor of China. So much can change within a century! This is just the type of movie that gives the example that no human can be immune to change…no matter what families they are born into!
For so many reasons- historical, cinematic, personal- this is one of my favorite film endings of all time. The way it injects a hint of chinese mysticism into an otherwise straightforward history, the music, the timing... absolutely perfect. Right up there w/ "Gangs Of New York" for me as a tearjerker ending.
***** No, I mentioned that it was also an ending to a film that was personally moving to me. Did my comment imply that I held the films in any way equal? Of course "The Last Emperor" is a superior film.
In quoting my original comment, you left off the words "for me". These words were included to indicate the expression of a personal view. In this case, that personal view is that I found the endings to both films very moving. This was not a comparison of the relative merits of the two films, just as saying that I found a Mozart Sonata and a Pink Floyd song moving is not an attempt to place Mozart and Pink Floyd as artistically equal.
Now, If I had said, "'The Last Emperor' and "'Gangs Of New York' are the the two most moving films ever made", I could understand your original gripe. Hell, even if I had said "'The Last Emperor' and 'Gangs Of New York' are my two favorite films" shouldn't bother you, because even if you disagree with my taste, who gives a crap if they are? I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming from your user name that you are a fellow film buff. I'm sure a lively debate on the merits of our favorite or least favorite films would be possible if my assumption is correct.
If my assumption is not correct, and you are simply picking a fight whilst bored or trolling, feel free to ignore all this. I suspect you will anyway! ;)
Un capolavoro impareggiabile, il più bel film mai visto. Grazie Bernardo Bertolucci,riposa in pace, hai consegnato alla storia del cinema un film indimenticabile.
I'm glad I finally got to watch this film. What an emotional roller coaster! I don't know what's sadder, seeing the beautiful young Empress transform into an opium addict or the Emperor sneaking in his own throne room trying to reminisce his past.
I feel like there should be an Academy award for "most satisfying last scene". If there were, this surely would have won. So much symbolism is crammed in, without being contrived, and it just flows beautifully into the end credits. I feel like David Lynch does this amazingly with the end of season 3 of Twin Peaks. And Silence of the Lambs is also awesome in this respect. Anyhoo, knowing how to wrap a movie/show is such an impressive skill!
I CRIED MY EYES OUT after this...This was huge at the time and the soundtrack was...OMG!!! So sad...so sad...the bubble...the death it caused because of the mental bubble he was raised in. Unforgettable shit...his reality check still could never erased the LIVES his ignorance cost. He knew it too...the sadness is overwhelming...BEAUTIFUL piece of work. 😢👏👏❤️
The song from the horn she holding and using is " Yankee doodle dandy went to town," this is the Hall of Supreme Harmony where the Emperors were crowned.
+Myron Martin funny thing is having grown up in China during the late 80's and 90's, that's exactly the kind of tune you'll hear from those made-in-China loudspeakers... as a matter of fact, another popular one is "Dixie"! As weird and out of place as the scene may seem, it is actually something straight out of my childhood... gave me a laugh when first seeing it.
That's such a great transistion of time- the boy looking at the cricket, then, the tourists entering, the tour guide triggering that bull horn... it makes you realize how time flies fast, and how it stands still for no one.
Peace. This was one of my favorite films and I actually visited Beijing in 2013. My first stop was the Forbidden City. Years before, in 2003, I found a woman who visited and she learned that Puyi was actually buried with the other emperors. Great film.
