Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Emperor Blu-ray Movie Review

The Least Emperor.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 9, 2013

My late father retired as a Major General in the United States Army and had been a much decorated hero in World War II, rising quickly from Captain to Lt. Colonel, and when he died one of the really cool pieces of military memorabilia I inherited from him was the complete set of plans for the never realized land invasion of Japan, something that was supposed to happen in 1945 and which my father would have been part of the command structure to complete, but which of course was made moot by the devastating dropping of the two atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Buried in the pages of "background" accompanying maps of the proposed invasion are some passing references to capturing Japan’s ruling elite, including Emperor Hirohito. It’s obvious that the Allies did not want a martyr in this theater, though it’s unclear whether these plans were developed before or after the discovery that Hitler had committed suicide in April of that year (my hunch is these were done long before that event). The situation was quite a bit different in Japan than in Germany, for as much as Hitler was lionized, even deified, in his native country, the Japanese actually had a long tradition of recognizing their Emperors as divine beings, God’s vessels on Earth. With Hitler dead from the get go of the defeat of the Germans, there was no doubt that his underlings would be arrested and tried for war crimes. But what should happen to the Japanese, especially Emperor Hirohito? These were pressing questions as the Pacific Theater battles dwindled after the atomic bombs were dropped, and they serve as the focal point of Emperor, a film that could have been a viscerally exciting examination of cultural differences and the aftermath of an incredibly horrific conflagration, but which plays out as a kind of stately reenactment without any real human interest, despite the questionable addition of a fictional love story involving Fellers and a Japanese national. Tommy Lee Jones is on hand as MacArthur, but the film is really about General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox), the man tasked with deciding what to do about a supposedly “divine” ruler of a defeated people.

Emperor makes the same mistake too many other “based on a true story” films do, namely emphasizing the “based” over the “true”. Bonner Fellers was a fascinating historical figure in his own right, one whose earlier wartime transmissions were regularly intercepted by the Axis powers, which led to some devastating loss of forces (this was not Fellers’ fault, as he fought to have his missives be better encrypted, which his superiors refused to do). He was also an ultra-right conservative, a kind of “junior MacArthur”, who went on to be a mover and shaker in the John Birch Society. Of course none of those elements fits in with Emperor’s desire to recast Fellers as a handsome young hero played by Matthew Fox, one who is seemingly the only American in post-War Tokyo with any empathy for the Japanese, courtesy of his on again, off again relationship with pretty young Japanese woman Aya Shimada (Eriko Hatsune).

The film also paints MacArthur as a self-obsessed tyrant who is intent on becoming President of the United States. While that’s certainly not that far from the truth, it ignores a variety of shading details, painting MacArthur as a master puppeteer who is using Fellers and his knowledge of Japan and the Japanese as a scapegoat to take the heat for finding Hirohito and his family devoid of any responsibility for the horrors of the war. The truth, in fact, is a good deal more interesting, as MacArthur was only too aware of what the stakes were should Hirohito be found guilty of war crimes, and he was not at all shy about voicing those concerns. (The film has Tommy Lee Jones’ character make a few passing statements in private, while some supporting characters state that MacArthur’s opinions are merely being trotted out for show, in order to save face at a later date.)

Emperor ping pongs between a sort of quasi-procedural as Fellers attempts (not always successful) to interview various Japanese higher ups to determine what the Emperor knew and when he knew it, and a series of flashbacks which slowly delineate the history of his affair with Aya. Scenarists Vera Blasi and David Klass, adapting a book by Shiro Okamoto, don’t seem to know what kind of film they’re writing. Is this a star-crossed romance playing out in a historical maelstrom? Or is it in fact a hard bitten recreation of a precarious moment in post-War Japan, when things could have easily spiraled out of control if the Americans did not proceed with extreme caution? I’ve frankly never read the Okamoto book (it doesn’t even appear to be available in an English language version) and so can’t speak with authority as to whether it, too, fictionalized certain elements of the story, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much better this film might have been had it stuck strictly to the military angle, perhaps utilizing the Pulitzer Prize winning Embracing Defeat by John W. Dower, as source material.

The fact is this subject is so rife with material it’s a shame that it’s been watered down with unnecessary subplots in this version. When this film sticks to something approaching the facts, it’s a fascinating cinematic document. As a work of fiction, it’s often laughably inept. The problem with Emperor is that it tries to humanize the wrong character—Bonner Fellers. The film would have done much better to have followed the example set by another “emperor”, namely Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, by humanizing the emperor himself. One of the few times this film really has some visceral impact is when the Hirohito emerges from behind his silk curtain and timorously engages with MacArthur. That scene has the sort of crackle that much of the rest of this film sadly lacks.

Emperor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Emperor is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Director Peter Webber established his visual bona fides with Girl With a Pearl Earring, and he stages much of this film with the same sort of majesty and sense of scale. Colors are intentionally muted in the contemporary sequences, graded to a sort of slate gray most of the time. That leaves the flashbacks to the burgeoning romance between Fellers and Aya as the really vivid part of the film, often filled with an astoundingly bright palette that dabbles in gorgeous greens and yellows. Fine detail is exceptional in close-ups. The CGI is rather soft looking quite a bit of the time. The film starts out with some archival footage of the bomb being dropped on Nagasaki, and that's obviously very ragged looking in comparison to the rest of the film. Contrast, black levels and shadow detail are all consistent throughout this presentation.

Emperor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Emperor's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is spectacularly effective quite a bit of the time, starting with some ominous low end rumbling as we watch the atom bomb being dropped on Nagasaki, and then moving on to a glut of really nicely done foley effects (listen to how the first shot of MacArthur's plane includes a really well done pan from the rear channels forward). Ambient environmental noises are utilized quite well throughout the feature, including small moments like the whimper of a child in a devastated ruin. Dialogue is always clear and clean. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is fairly wide.

Emperor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Peter Webber and Producer Yoko Narahashi. This is quite a winning commentary, buoyed by Webber's irreverent sense of humor and Narahashi's sense of history. Narahashi was a prime motivating force behind the picture (her real life grandfather was one of Japan's ruling elite and is portrayed in the film), and she is also a Japanese director of some note, having worked with many of the film's Japanese cast previously. The two speak quite a bit about Auckland, where the bulk of the film was shot.


• Revenge or Justice: The Making of Emperor (1080p; 15:03) is an above average making of featurette that offers some heartfelt interviews with various participants. The international cast had its own share of cultural differences which are discussed here.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 6:42)


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (1080p)


• Historical Photo Gallery (1080p) has photos of the actual real life people involved in the story.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:26)

Emperor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm a sucker for historical epics, and I can even tolerate a good star-crossed romance given the right circumstances, but Emperor is too wishy-washy to ever decide what exactly it wants to be. The film has some great moments, mostly to do with the efforts to decide how to dispose of Hirohito's fate, but they're saddled with the baggage of the forlorn romance between Fellers and Aya. The film is quite beautifully designed, with great production details and well done costumes, but Fox is kind of bland in the lead role, while Jones probably is having a bit too much fun chewing the scenery this acerbically. Still, there may be enough here to warrant at least a rental, at least if the expectation bar is set appropriately low, especially considering the fact that this Blu-ray looks and sounds stupendous.