Emperor

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Emperor

PG-13

Released Mar 8, 2013

1h 46m

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

31%

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89 Reviews

46%

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5,000+ Ratings

Following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Gen. Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) must determine whether Emperor Hirohito should be hanged as a war criminal.

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Critics Consensus

Despite a typically strong performance from Tommy Lee Jones, Emperor does little with its fascinating historical palate, and is instead bogged down in a cliched romantic subplot.

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

metro.co.uk

The history is sketchy, the central questions unresolved, the romance is tepid and [Matthew] Fox is a weak, uninteresting lead.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 6, 2017

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Emperor will do well enough. But if you want a more nuanced take on the same events, check out Alexander Sokurov's extraordinary The Sun

Rated: 3/5

Oct 11, 2013

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Hokey monologues about the finger of historical blame are interspersed with perfume-ad flashbacks to idyllic days of love; you half expect Andrew Lloyd Webber to descend from on high to provide a few touching show tunes.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 6, 2013

Full Review

Katie Smith-Wong

Flick Feast

Emperor is ultimately let down by the uninspiring plot and mostly weak performances.

Rated: 1/5

Nov 21, 2019

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

While this sounds like a deliriously ripe scenario for intrigue and melodrama, Webber's film contains neither, instead deciding to saddle it with a deadening war time romance.

Aug 8, 2019

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Amon Warmann

CineVue

The solid performances fail to elevate the tedious storytelling.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 5, 2019

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Andy M

Interesting topic for a film. If you have a special interest in WW2, Japanese history or Historical movies in general then it's worth a watch. However don't expect to be on the edge of your seat or even to be all that entertained. The film has a B story line about General Fellas' pre war relationship with a Japanese national, very boring and ultimately didn't seem to enhance the film in anyway, it almost seemed like they added it in to pad the movie out. Ultimately it's wasn't a bad film. Just a bit dull.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/18/24

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Bulgantamir B

I liked the main idea of the movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/06/24

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Бавуу Э

Following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Gen. Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) must determine whether Emperor Hirohito should be hanged as a war criminal.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/06/24

Full Review

Bahad j

I felt like the characters in this movie could feel the happiness and difficulties that they faced in real life.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/05/24

Full Review

Bryce R

If you love history than this movie is for you!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/21/24

Full Review

Rian N

It just alright. Learned something new about the Japan history with Emperor.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/31/23

Full Review

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Peter Webber

Director

Matthew Fox

Bonner Fellers

Tommy Lee Jones

Gen. MacArthur

Eriko Hatsune

Aya Shimada

Nishida Toshiyuki

Gen. Kajima

Masayoshi Haneda

Takahashi

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Synopsis

Following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Gen. Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) must determine whether Emperor Hirohito should be hanged as a war criminal.

Director: Peter Webber
Producer: Gary Foster, Russ Krasnoff, Yôko Narahashi, Eugene Nomura
Screenwriter: Vera Blasi, David Klass
Distributor: Lionsgate Films, Roadside Attractions
Production Co: Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Smoking (Historical)|Brief Strong Language|Violent Content)
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 8, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 15, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.3M
Runtime: 1h 46m

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