The Last Emperor OST - 09 The Last Emperor (Theme)

[fataltragedyy]

Illgaaazzz anadolu'nun sen yüce bir dağısııın

[vashonwashington]

100 years ago to this day Puyi abdicated from the dragon throne......

[edgehhh613]

@vashonwashington 106 years old

[98bigbutt]

Does anybody think that one day will the CCP will eventually fall like the USSR did?

[Sno0py87]

@98bigbutt if they keep killing thier nation and people, people will back fire and slay thier own rights because of the unfairness that is going on in mainland China, they are poor spirutally but mentally powerful, has anice balance doesnt it? pray for the people in africa who need it them most, they are so depraved of fortune that we steal from them and they become like pigs in disastories terriotoes.

[Samaverick88]

i feel like the cricket.. *_*

[cat2679]

do you know the name of the Sakamoto's assistant for this theme:

someone named hans zimmer !

[konradkobold]

I first listend to that music when I was still quite little for my parents had the soundtrack on CD. At that time I didn't even know there was a film and I was too little to watch it anyway. But my mother made a carneval costume like the boy on the cover is waering for me. Years later I watched the film, which I also enjoyed. But over the years I had forgotten about the soundtrack and just now, after watching a documentary about China I remembered about it.

[epidmtk]

tHe movie♥ & the tHeme make me cry

[Phi1618ish]

This music comes from the soul of the composer. I have actually cried listening to it.

His Majesty's Airship Rigid R100, His Majesty's Airship Rigid R101.

HMAR 100, HMAR 101

[Candidulus]

Brilliant... Sakamoto is simply billiant...

[TheDKW3]

0:15-0:50 is a very emotional and haunting part

[russem]

Yeah this is great.

[nocturnalserpent]

@lefthanderlefthander yes you are right in some sense but also you have to keep in mind that the chinese communist have also managed to distort alot of the traditional culture that the chinese once had, and alot of it is lost because of this political idea...its just not the same pretty much. if you talk to someone from taiwan and then you talk to someone from the mainland(china) you will get 2 different stories on this. there are many distortions about this that the ccp has put into place.

[nocturnalserpent]

furthermore when you talk why we as americans arent incorporating the pilgrim lifestyle into our society is because of various reasons...number one it is outdated and we have new technological advances that help with our daily activities. thats not so much about american culture, but if you want to talk about what is real american culture you should talk to the native american people who have been on this land for centuries i think that is real culture belonging to the inhabitants of this land

[lefthanderlefthander]

@nocturnalserpent Ever consider that China has the same reasons you just stated above? Traditions evolve all the time (I think someone in here say this already) and Chinese people still have many wonderful traditions and cultures, it's just not the same as in this movie so it's not obvious. Some of them maybe lost but a lot of traditions are also modernize to suit the present day. Isn't this the same for every country?

[nocturnalserpent]

@bluexxfire well from my experience up untill just recently i thought that the chinese culture that has been shown here in the united states was real untill i actually came across 3 chinese students working here for 3 months when they told me their side of the story thats when i began to look at things very differently...and indeed alot of the culture here and also that the ccp has set up is not original..you can refuse to believe that or not but alot of people will agree with me.

[TheKerpopplenaut]

It is almost as if Pu Yi was trapped in a museum exhibit.

[JordoF6]

Want to go to china respect from a half irish scot.

[nocturnalserpent]

so i agree with evanjames in saying that i believe china would have been more prosperous then it is if they had indeed left the emperor on the throne and kept their traditional culture and values still intact. because lets face it, there are too many people living in china now which is a result of poor leadership run by a communist leader, in which communism itself was just a bad idea brought to china in the first place, it has caused alot of damage, hardships,suffering and bloodshed.

[killer1177]

@nocturnalserpent Are you kidding? If China will not be a rising superpower today if it still had stuck with the Emperor. Look at how China lost Hong Kong to Britain, Macau to Portugal, and being cut up by Japan whilst it is with its emperor. The problem with China's monarchy is that the king only cares about his life and what goes on in the Kingdom, and not the living standards of the people. If not the Nationalists and Communists took over, China would still be a poor state.

[nocturnalserpent]

i myself am trying to find chinas REAL old culture, customs, traditions, lifestyle, information, and even medicine!! and even i am having a very difficult time finding these things, not many people know about them anymore or they just refuse to pay attention to these sort of things. right now i happen to work with 4 chinese exchange students from sichuan province and they no nothing about traditional chinese medicine or values etc etc. they are just concerned with iphone ipad, starbucks, etc

[WTFBTWLAVABO]

@nocturnalserpent Go to Taiwan they have managed to save these traditions which the CCP vanished.

[bluexxfire]

@nocturnalserpent

it's funny you should say that because why dont you consider your own customs/culture, etc? I can't assume you're American, but I will use Americans as an example. I'm pretty damn sure we are also obsessed with iphones/ipods, etc. No way are we even incorporating any part of the pilgrim lifestyle in our everyday lives.

Besides, when you say REAL customs, how do you know what's real and what's not? Customs can evolve over time. Maybe you're just not looking hard enough.

[nocturnalserpent]

everyone is so much wraped around various things like the iphone and ipad that they cannot see what richness they have sitting infront of them, china however can be excused because it was practically erased from their peoples minds and society by their leaders. only to partially make a good comeback but still with no identity of how should i say the "old ways" and customs of doing things.

[nocturnalserpent]

i agree with both EvanJamesInglis and dcat11114u. both of your points pretty much reveil the result of this lost culture, tradition, ways of doing things and people today. whats funny is most of the world wether they lost their traditional values and ways of doing things or not are transitioning into a modern culture shaped by american/western values....which i find in itself pretty sad and disapointing especially from a people with such rich culture as china.

[KoreanMale12]

reminiscent of the last emperor's entire life as I listen to this music from 0.00- 1.25.

Great music after watching the movie, this music gets me even more.

[ei0906]

日本昔話・・といきそうな感じもあるが、回想するイメージがうま­い。ラストシーンで老人になって植木屋になった愛新覚羅溥儀が紫­禁城の玉座に座るシーンはよかった。

ちなみの私の祖母の叔父は万映の奉天の所長で坂本龍一の演じた甘­粕大尉と同僚で李香蘭の映画の映画監督だった。敗戦し自決する時­に家族で青酸カリを飲もうとした瞬間に当局に検挙され、家族は助­かり日本に帰国。甘粕だけ一人青酸カリ自殺をしたらしい、その時­使った茶碗が家にあったんだって・・・

[SmiderCH]

@ei0906

I dont know what it means, but its amazing!

[cursedapple22]

@ei0906 speak english

[cursedapple22]

@ei0906 wait what is that a sad story? ok never mind , don't want to know

[ei0906]

@cursedapple22 This is kind of sad story,I wrote my ancester konws ture Last Emperor and people of Old japanese army

[austintimpe]

@ei0906 Eigo-ga hanasemasu-ka?

[goinoful]

@ei0906 だからなんやねんｗ



[TheNewYork2LA]

@ei0906 hi can u tell me exactly what this translates to as it seems to have the top likes...

[JFelipe6]

One of the best (if not the BEST) soundtracks I've ever heard. And I've listened to many soundtracks...

:)

[oxplocks]

That man could only be truly free when he died T ^ T

[oxplocks]

Ese hombre sólo pudo ser verdaderamente libre en la hora de su muerte T^T

[boikof1]

Ryuichi Sakamoto is the most fantastic musician all over the world.

[AtThEg00dlife]

i love the part at 3:55. it just builds and builds and builds. Amazing!

[lsmoulton]

Ryuichi Sakamoto is something else........absolutely glorious !!!!!!!!!!!

[4774patrick]

Simply ageless in its portrayal for beautiful music.

[judenihal]

In Nihal's Lil Flip Sunshine cover he wrote for his crush Lee, he sampled in this song in.

[judenihalmusic]

This musical piece is so beautiful, theres this song called Sunshine by Lil Flip which has a looped chord which sounds like this piece, I love both songs, this song is so sad and beautiful, the 80's has always been making good music, from Pop, to Disco/Funk all the way to this, at the start of 2004 (except sunshine by lil flip and some other songs), music has just become trash they don't even need to be named here. They mostly lie in Rap. Compared to those songs, this is uncomparable.

Nihal

[ladykylie]

I love this movie too much, I cried of anger and admire and mix feeling watching it. I don't care people says this movie was in English which they think wasn't right, to me this is the movie understand the whole picture of ancient to modern China compare to any Chinese movie I have watch, and beside Mandarin wasn't the official Chinese language until recent decades. yes the movie is in English but this is still the best. All the details just more than amazing.

[judenihalmusic]

@ladykylie you perfectly expressed how I felt when I first watched this movie. Its sad how the Last Emperor was told that he would be all powerful forever and then he becomes nothing, and then this beautiful sad music plus the sad story makes me also cry, I love and admire your comment. This movie is also amazing as well.

[canadaempireloyalist]

@ladykylie

But he was not even the real last emperor. (unless you insist on calling this pigtail wearing Manchu lord "Chinese emperor"). The last emperor of China, Emperor Yongli of Ming was murdered by Manchus barbarians in 1661. Puyi was no more the last emperor of China than George VI the last emperor of India. (And of course, no less, since the conquerors always arrogated to themselves fancy titles to assert the legitimacy of their colonial rule.)

[johnLA1961]

@canadaempireloyalist Rough,but true.the Forbidden City was built by Mongol invaders.

[andyboytaiwan]

@canadaempireloyalist I agree with you. Cheers.

[andyboytaiwan]

@canadaempireloyalist I agree with you. cheers

[vracharismo]

The movie was one of the first, if not the first western production in China during the communist era. Back in 1986. and 1987. while The Last Emperor was being filmed, China has just began it's wide opening to the world outside and no one was sure what was to come. Maybe some in the west expected and hoped that Red China will collapse within it's troubled system, thus becoming a perfect bay for capitalist experiments. Yet, to their misery, it became more powerful than it's ever been.

[Zerga2000]

I love that song soooo much !! i can listen to it many times. if you wanna listen a other song like this one ,surch for the movie " Ip Man " Ost...very nice too, enjoy it !!

[98bigbutt]

The Music reminds me of Soul Blade from PS1.

[llJAFYll]

@98bigbutt *facepalm

[98bigbutt]

This is one of the most beautiful soundtracks I've ever heard.

[raindependentlabel]

It awakens some sort of nostalgia in me. I'm speechless every time I take a listen.

[martn2420]

I always get chills at 1:00

[dbruin85]

China's empire should be restored, a constitutional monarchy implemented, and the Dragon Throne reborn! If England can do it, why can't the Chinese? Communism is outdated...

[otacs2]

@dbruin85 Who is going to be the next emperor?

[dackjack]

@otacs2 jackie chan!! lol jking

[otacs2]

@dackjack Long live the emperor! Haha

[heero171]

@dbruin85 The Manchu imperial line is dead, what nonsense to call for the one thing they need the least even if a decadent were living in exile somewhere. They actually need to WANT democracy and accept that without an iron fisted Communist bureaucracy there will be uncertainty and responsibility on their part to workout society's problems. Up until the first Chinese republic, China has been fragmented and divided so asking for this transition has to come from the Chinese people.

[dbruin85]

Ten thousand years to the Son of Heaven, Hsuantong (Pu Yi) Emperor!

[themysteriouscrumpet]

I once talked with a Chinese guy who said this movie was "cute". I hardly think the story of a man who was unwittingly tricked into presiding over his nations genocidal destruction at the hands of a ruthless fascist empire and was forced to spend his final days as a prisoner of one of history's most brutal totalitarian dictatorships is "cute."

[KankukanAikido]

@themysteriouscrumpet Chinese people don't understand nothing. Their culture is like that...

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@KankukanAikido They never struck me as being quite so apathetic about their history before (although a Chinese government-sponsored English language history book I once found in my school library did not once mention a single person dying because of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.)

[House26995]

3:28 Where Is Armo...

[longlifeluke]

poesia...per un film eccellente!

[heliotrope34]

stunning, amazing, beautiful and soooooo moving, particularly from 1.55 to 3.10..... just so beautiful.... the essence of the fascinating Chinese civilisation

[MovieMusicTM]

@heliotrope34 written by a Japanese composer. lol

[JFelipe6]

This is a Masterpiece!

[dcat11114u]

@VitalMusic217 If you watch the movie closely again, Puyi wasn't truly a piece of shit since he really wasn't aware that he's giving permission to the Japs in mass exterminating his own people.He's just being tricked by the bastards but if he had known I don't think he would sign it. He's just simply too naive and too ambitious to be an emperor again since that's all he was since birth and didn't know any better. I just wished some of his cronies snap him out of it and it was a great film!

[grizarath2]

@dcat11114u He was a puppet Emperor, he had no real power to change anything. And at any rate it's difficult to control a nation with over a billion citizens.

[rainer1980]

Everything before 1:56 is just building momentum. Everything after that frame is just epic and tragic.

[longlifeluke]

no comment .... so amazing ...

[prillac]

mom: that kid looks like hes frowning

me: yup he looks very troubled

mom: well think about it he has the whole empire on his shoulders

me: ....no... i think its the hat

[mbigmoneyhomiegdog]

the last emporer of vietnam went through the same in the 1960's. However he was treated well by the commies!

[kiralyp]

I was born the same day as he (7th of February), but more than 80 years later :)

[micblaze85]

Bravo

[y2kenag]

@EvanJamesInglis I've come into contact with chinese from china. Believe me, they are not out of touch as many have believed. They know what happened. Its juz that whatever had happened had happened. There isnt much to argue about now that the CCP is in charge.

[samnangbest]

The music, the film itself alway take me to experience the bittersweet life of puyi and the emotion of begin a king without power to a humble cetizen who seem to be forget but remember by everyone. I like the ending with a music as well as an extraodinary acting from john lone and the memorable directing from the director. This is the most touching film.

[Sno0py87]

@samnangbest awesome wya o desrice thier culture man

[101ELCID]

I saw this movie in the cinema in Spain when i was 7, it maid a great impression on me

[sinbakamitansa]

คนที่เล่นเป็นองค์ชายชุนคือใครค­รับ

[leethal59]

@EvanJamesInglis are you serious

[LeeClaxton]

I woz related 2 da empra ov chyner PM me 4 tipz n adviss

[RafiqaS]

so beautiful it just takes me to another world whenever I listen to this you can feel so much emotion pouring out through this music

[cjsmit77]

Kind of a shame this movie never received much acclaim in the US because culturally, musically and cinematic-ally it was probably one of the greatest movies ever made.

In a truly ironic way its much like the life of the movie's main character, filled with unlimited promise that is tragically never realized

[itsmecassiej]

i love this music

[Sladden1337]

When I hear this song I allways think that someday in the future, everything will be gone and I will loose everything, as he did. It almost make me cry

[Scitech101]

Pu Yi is one of the best anti heros there is.

[dimaolra]

Barcelona'92 Opening ceremony??????

[afpfaria]

Fantastic music!

[scifi75]

Having never visited China but rather reading the history, hearing the music, and seeing movies about the country, it is a place of great beauty, pride, history and sadness. I would not pass up an opportunity to visit this place and meet it's people. As to The Last Emperor, you can't help but feel frustration and pity for Pu Yi. He was one man caught up against endless tides of change and he thought, foolishly at times, that he could force change. He failed.

[VivaLaTrumpet]

This movie was quite sad at times, even though the emperor was a huge jerk just about all his life. It was unfortunate that people were once raised to believe they had a god complex, and weren't allowed to go outside the walls of their home to the outside world.

[PaperCzar]

この映画私が生まれた年に見ましてね・・。　3歳のとき私、見たんですよ。

[larrynod]

I'm going to be living in China for a year starting this summer, and I want so much to visit the Forbidden City, not because of all the emperors that lived there, but because I want to see the place where this movie was filmed. It's crazy!

[infiniteV115]

Can someone help me find the song that was playing in the scene when Puyi was chasing after the car in which the empress was being driven away? (The baby was just born, and she was being taken to a health clinic.) I believe the song was in 10/8.

[nabnutsy]

@infiniteV115 that ost is called ''the baby was born death''  i think, i'm not sure

[infiniteV115]

@nabnutsy Nope, that's not it. More specifically, if you have the movie file, it starts at 2:10:46 and ends at 2:11:54. I also just noticed that it's done entirely with strings.

[nabnutsy]

@infiniteV115 i think i've founded for you, it's called the ost ''where is armo'', it's a bit softer than in that scene. if's not that aswell, maybe you should download the album

[infiniteV115]

@nabnutsy Nope, that's not it either. The main melody of where is armo is also found in the song I'm looking for, but it's not the same song. The song I'm looking for begins with escalating strings in 10/8, followed by string bass, followed by the melody of where is armo. (Everything is in 10/8 btw, but the escalating strings provide the rhythm).

[nabnutsy]

@infiniteV115 your right about that, i also thought it was diffrent. maybe you should download the ablum via torrent. i don't think that ost can be founded here on youtube

[DaSneak2008]

wow

[Manbi]

@georgemmark Daaaaaang. The power of film I guess.

[Reagrupament1714]

A punt de plorar. Art en majúscules!

[adangme]

Wow...this song is packed with soo much emotion!

[druha10304]

sorry i love it , it makes everyone cry

[druha10304]

bullshit

[doglyfe4444]

when was this movie released?

[adangme]

1987

[ace11rothstein]

@doglyfe4444 1987

[georgemmark]

I was about 10 when my mother rented the movie on vhs I was abhorred with the scene where pu yi was forcefully taken from his mother to the forbidden city. When they told this was the way it actually happened I took the tape and smashed it in anger. Got smacked because of it. After almost 20 years that scene still stokes strong emotions

[felsner1]

Wow... Intense recollections.

[MrPoloVW]

AisinGioro PuYi ended his life in well conditions, I mean, every last emperor of a Chinese Imperial dynasties end either killed or commit suicide. If you don't trust me please look for Zhu You Jian, last Emperor of Ming who ended his life by committing suicide, or the 'Child Emperor' of Song dynasty who escaped from Capital HangZhou and ended by being killed by mongols in HongKong. I recognize that s unfair to a innocent child to support all that Emperor XuanTong suffered.He didn't deserved it..

[JoyCeLy4ev]

Master piece that i have never heard before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OnimushaRK]

JoyCeLy4ev when did you watch The Last Emperor?

[jesseniafra]

Está película es muy triste me encanta... es bellisíma....la música Mmmmmmmmmmm

[jesseniafra]

Esta pieza músical si es el Tema original.BELLISÍMA....SENCILLA­MENTE BELLISÍMA... MUA MUA GRACIAS

[drakeparker007]

mesmerising

[cnnzhang]

An ordinary person stuck in an extraordinary position during extraordinary time of dramatic changes. This wonderful music tells it all.

[Mspendragon72]

MY GOD...THIS SCORE IS HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL. The tears just come running from somewhere deep inside my soul. Thank you soo much. I buying it as soon as possible

[MANILABOY6631]

I had this soundtract on casette in 1988, then when the CD came out I bought it again.

[judenihal]

does anyone know where TRACK 1 IS?

[heero171]

I always cry when I hear this piece, a emperor falls to become a humble gardener while the world around him decends from one nightmare to another. In the end, he learns that power and servitude are usually one in the same.

[LajonWithSpoon]

One of the best scores I've ever heard.

[PaperCzar]

@LajonWithSpoon　私が生まれた年にできた映画で、3歳の時にみたんですよ。

（投稿がうまくできないので、ここで投稿させてもらいました。）

[johnnyvu]

Absolutely beautiful. Love this movie.