"Director's Cut" versus "Theatrical Cut"
This review is not so much a review of the movie or this release in particular. It would seem that there will be no shortage of glorious reviews of this movie and I would just be adding my voice to the gale winds of appraise. I write this to clear up the common mis-perception that the longer cut of this movie is a director's cut.

The previously released longer cut of The Last Emperor which was released on DVD and subsequently labeled as a "Director's Cut" is in fact a longer, made for television mini-series version that was made to satisfy a particular distribution/production deal. Bertolucci himself has gone on record to say that the actual version of the film that he envisioned is the one that went out to theaters, thereby making the shorter "Theatrical Cut" the actual director's cut.

Being the huge fan of this movie that I am, I can't help but want more of this movie, but I'd be lying if I said that the shorter version isn't great just as it is. The movie does not lose any of its magic without the added content. I've given this review a 4 star rating because of the completist in me. If there are two versions of a movie out there. I would enjoy the option of playing the version that I want. Criterion did so with their DVD release, but failed to do it with their Blu-ray release. Welcome to double-dip country. As of this writing, I still have not determined if I shall fall prey to their marketing ploy since I have been waiting so long for a good transfer of this film.

Previous reviews incorrect.
The shorter version of the film is the director's preferred version of the film. The longer version was a version he had cut for television distribution, and while its a shame that the extended version will not be included, rest assured that the shorter version is the director's cut of the film.

Not Director's Cut on Blu-Ray DVD
I agree with the last reviewer. There's gonna be much controversy with this Blu-Ray release because the last release on standard DVD was so spectacular. The Blu-Ray release seems to only contain the 165 min. version as opposed to the 219 min. Director's Cut. It would make sense for Criterion to release both versions with all the extras since they normally contain all the bells and whistles.

Not everything that shines is gold
I was swept out of my feet when I saw the movie more that 20 years ago. I bought it on VHS format. When it was released on DVD I dumped the VHS and bought the DVD format, then there was a second version of the movie and here comes the sad part. It was the original director's cut of 218 minutes (read 3 hours and 38 minutes). Dump the short version and buy the complete movie. Never regretted it. And what do I see now? The Last Emperor on Blu-ray? Far out! But there's a catch. Despite the bunch of documentaries, bonus material and interviews and so on, and so on, The Criterion Collection's edition on Blu-ray offers us a 164 minutes version of the movie. That's almost an hour less than the Artisan DVD edition I own. I don't get it. If Blu-ray offers us high definition quality and 8 hours of time, why not have the whole movie on Blu-ray DVD? There's plenty of room for whatever else they want to put in. I don't know if director Bertolucci agreed or not on that, but whoever decided to mutilate and desecrate the movie in this edition is a shame and tasteless ignorant (unless it is a mistake in printing the running time information). That's why I rate it only 3 stars. If you ask me for the movie itself, it is a 5 star 2 thumbs up movie not only for the director's superb work, but also for the cast, costumes, photography, locations, script, everything. You want to know what's the movie about? There's more than enough information about it everywhere. Read some of the reviews in Amazon for instance and for the time been buy the 218 minutes DVD edition of the director's cut.

A Visual Gem
I saw "The Last Emperor" a few years back and the movie has staid with me in many a positive way. I was truly amazed at the quality of the sets, the costumes and and the color throughout the movie. I had the feeling that we were seeing scenes shot in the Forbidden City itself. The tale is one that deserved telling because it gives us the story of China in the 20th Century.

The prime focus of the story, obviously, is the last emporer of China, Pu Yi. We are given ample time to see the Old China through the many facets of his seclusive life in a setting of grandeur. Every aspect of every scene shown reinforces the imagery of a world of imperial power totally seperated from the hundreds of millions subjected to his rule. When rebellion reached the gates, it was time to take the best offer and leave. However, a grandiose lifestyle dating back to one's earliest memory is not replaced by a modest town house. We watched the dethroned emporer drift into an aimless life of spoiled affluence. During the Japanese invasion, the conquering army installs Pu Yi as a sort of puppet emporer to give a semblance of authority to their control. Ultimately, Pu Yi falls victim to the Communist regiem that fells no need to treat the fallen emporer any different form any othe Chinese individual in need of re-education. In a sense, Pu Yi comes to represent everything wrong with the Old China and everything wrong with the New China. All of this takes place with occassional shifts in time between past and present.

The question arises as to what category this movie fits into; an historical drama or a morality play on how the mighty have fallen. In a way it is a combination of both. The visual experience of history in "The Last Emporer" is often breath-taking and the contemplation of the life of Pu Yi impacts us in a similar manner. Yet we may come away asking ourselves just what is the message of this nearly three-hour movie. I, for one, was not able to immediately answer that question. However, it seems that everything I have read or viewed about 20th Century China since has brought me back to "The Last Emporer". As I looked up this movie to write this review, I discovered that Bertolucci has released a "director's cut" edition of "The Last Emporer" that has added an other hour to the movie. This movie impressed me so much that i will just have to get that edition to see what I missed. What I got the first time around was simply outstanding.