The Last Emperor

Available for over a year

An epic exploring Chinese history. Paul Gambaccini on the story behind 1988 Best Picture winner, The Last Emperor. It was the film which opened up the recent history of China to the West and swept the Oscars - winning all 9 of its nominations. Paul hears from its director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark Peploe, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. With contributions from film writers Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and David Thomson. Paul Gambaccini takes a long hard look behind the scenes of films which have scooped the Best Picture Award. He reports on the artistic, political and personal decisions that lie behind the winners, laced with some pretty good gossip too. Producer: Marya Burgess First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.