Emperor

Play trailer

Emperor

PG-13

2013

1h 46m

History

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

31%

Tomatometer

88 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Amon Warmann

CineVue

The solid performances fail to elevate the tedious storytelling.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 5, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

laura g

They added an entire fictional romance . Made Fellers look stupid or incompetent. There was no need for the romance. It would have been better to stick with the investigation of those who committed war crimes and the Emperor's role in the war.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/12/25

Full Review

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

Full Review

Bulgantamir B

I liked the main idea of the movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/06/24

Full Review

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

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Peter Webber

Director

Matthew Fox

Bonner Fellers

Tommy Lee Jones

Gen. MacArthur

Eriko Hatsune

Aya Shimada

Nishida Toshiyuki

Gen. Kajima

Masayoshi Haneda

Takahashi

Emperor: Official Clip - 10 Days

2:55

Emperor: Official Clip - It's Not Black and White

2:58

Emperor: Official Clip - Meeting the Emperor

2:47

Emperor: Official Clip - Tatemae and Honne

1:54

Emperor: Official Clip - Another Way

1:20

Emperor: Official Clip - Complete Devotion

1:47

Emperor: Official Clip - Bring Me the Emperor

2:34

Emperor: Official Clip - A New Mission

2:05

Emperor: Official Clip - A Web of Power

1:01

Emperor: Official Clip - I Need Your Help

1:40

View more videos

Walking With the Enemy

46%

59%

Walking With the Enemy

Watchlist

Copperhead

21%

45%

Copperhead

Watchlist

Son of God

17%

73%

Son of God

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Son of God

Anonymous

47%

53%

Anonymous

Watchlist

Phoenix

98%

78%

Phoenix

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Phoenix

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now