The Last Emperor

1987 · directed by Bernardo Bertolucci · 163 min

24,811 feet · Prominence

547th of 15,261 films scored

Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw57

$44m worldwide in 1987 — $128m in today's money.

As released$44mIn 2026 money$128mRank2,288 of 8,589In 198727 of 130

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

Critics 81, awards 96. Half each, so Praise lands at 90.

Critics81 → 41Awards96 → 48

Oscars9 won Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound

Golden Globes2 won Director, Screenplay

BAFTAs1 won Film2 nominated Direction, Actor

How Praise works

Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. 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 · 636 of 3,430 films judged

55Twister (1996)

55Road to Perdition (2002)

55Last Tango in Paris (1972)

55Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

55The Conjuring (2013)

55Straight Outta Compton (2015)

55The Last Emperor (1987)

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, which places it at24,811 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.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Peter O'Toole21,752 ft