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The Last Emperor

1987 · directed by Bernardo Bertolucci · 163 min
24,696 feet · Prominence
590th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw57

Lifetime worldwide gross $44m, re-releases included; about $128m in 2026 money.

Rank2,448 of 11,051In 198728 of 162

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise90

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics81 baseAwards98 signal → +9 lift

Oscars9 won Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound
Golden Globes3 won Best Picture, Director, Screenplay1 nominated Lead acting
BAFTAs1 won Film3 nominated Direction, Actor, Craft and other
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy55

Judged directly: Nine Oscars, largely faded.

Verdict55 of 100IMDb7.7 from 119kWikipedia38k views a monthAge39 years

On the listsCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 764 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 57 praise 90 legacy 55averages 67, placing it at24,696 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ John Lone

In these careers — elevation for this film

John Lone19,255 ftPeter O'Toole18,752 ftJoan Chen18,408 ftRuocheng Ying18,080 ft