The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.^[1]

Plot[link]

In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end. The book deals with the end of time in the old Narnia and sums up the series by linking the experience of the human children in Narnia with their lives in their original world.

The story is set during the reign of the last king of Narnia, King Tirian, great-grandson of the great-grandson of Rilian, son of King Caspian X. Narnia has experienced a long period of peace and prosperity begun during the reign of King Caspian X. A centaur, Roonwit, warns Tirian that strange and evil things are happening to Narnia and that the stars portend ominous developments.

An ape named Shift has persuaded a well-meaning but simple donkey called Puzzle to dress in a lion's skin and pretend to be the Great Lion Aslan. Shift, using Puzzle as his pawn, convinces the Narnians that he speaks for Aslan. Once the Narnians are convinced that Aslan has returned, Shift orders the Narnians to work for the Calormenes, and to cut down Talking Trees for lumber. The money will be paid into "Aslan's" treasury, held by Shift, on the pretext that it will be used for the good of the Narnians.

King Tirian and his friend Jewel the Unicorn at first believe the rumours of Aslan's return, but realize the lie when they hear Shift telling the Narnians that Aslan and the Calormene god Tash are one and the same. When Tirian accuses the ape of lying, the Calormenes overpower the king and bind him to a tree. He calls on Aslan for help and receives a vision of Digory Kirke, Polly Plummer, Peter Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Eustace Scrubb, Lucy Pevensie and Jill Pole, though he does not know who they are. The people in the room also see him and, though Tirian can't speak to them, they guess he is a messenger from Narnia. A few minutes later by Narnian time, Jill and Eustace arrive in Narnia. They release the King and rescue Jewel and Puzzle. A band of dwarfs are also rescued, but because their faith in Aslan has been shattered, they refuse to help, claiming "the dwarfs are for the dwarfs." Only one dwarf, Poggin, is faithful to Tirian, Aslan and Narnia. Tirian and his small force prepare to fight the Calormenes.

All the animals are killed (many by the dwarfs, who attack both sides) and Eustace, Jill and Poggin are thrown into the stable where the false Aslan was kept. Tirian, earlier on, had thrown Shift into the stable and Tash, who now haunts the stable, swallowed the ape whole. Tirian, left alone and fighting for his life, drags Rishda Tarkaan, the leader of the Calormenes, into the stable. Much to the Calormen leader's surprise and terror, Tash appears, and snatches him up under an arm. Peter, Edmund, Eustace, Lucy, Jill, Polly, and Digory appear before them, (Susan does not appear in Narnia because she has stopped believing in it, thinking of it only as some silly childhood game) and Peter orders Tash to leave. Aslan appears, and as they watch at the stable door, all of the people and animals, including those who had previously died, gather outside the barn and are judged by Aslan. Those who have been loyal to Aslan or the morality upheld by Narnians join Aslan in Aslan's Country. Those who have opposed or deserted him become ordinary animals and vanish to an unmentioned place.

The vegetation is eaten by dragons and giant lizards. Father Time calls the stars down from the skies into the sea, which rises to cover Narnia. The Sun expands and draws in the moon. Father Time then puts it out, freezing Narnia. Peter closes the door, and Aslan leads them to his country, telling them to go further in to Real Narnia. (Digory alludes to Plato whose Allegory of the Cave describes multiple levels of reality.) They move up a waterfall to some gates, and are greeted by Reepicheep and meet other good characters from the earlier novels. They find they can see a real England. Aslan reveals that the English friends of Narnia and the Pevensies' parents have died in a train crash (Susan is the only survivor). The series ends with the revelation that it was only the beginning of the true story, "which goes on forever, and in which every chapter is better than the one before."

References[link]

Narnia portal

• Caughey, Shanna (2004), Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles, Benbella Books, ISBN 1-932100-63-6 

Further reading[link]

• Downing, David C. (2005). Into the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-7890-6. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Last Battle

• The Last Battle Summary page for publications of this title at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

v t e The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Horse and His Boy The Magician's Nephew The Last Battle Film · Soundtrack · Game Film · Soundtrack · Game Film · Soundtrack · Game Characters and creatures Aravis • Aslan • Mr. and Mrs. Beaver • Bree • Caspian • Centaurs • Coriakin • Digory • Drinian • Edmund • Emeth • Eustace • Frank and Helen • Hwin • Jill • Lady of the Green Kirtle • Lucy • Maugrim • Miraz • Peter • Polly • Puddleglum • Rabadash • Ramandu • Ramandu's Daughter • Reepicheep • Rilian • Seven Great Lords of Narnia • Shasta/Cor • Shift • Susan • Tash • Tirian • Trumpkin • Mr. Tumnus • White Witch Universe Narnia (world) • Anvard • Archenland • Aslan's Country • Aslan's How • Cair Paravel • Calormen • Charn • Lantern Waste • Miraz's Castle • Narnia (country) • Telmar • Underland • Wood between the Worlds Adaptations ITV TV serial • Animated TV film • BBC TV serial (Season 1 • 2 • 3) Film series Cast list • Critical response • Music • Character Portrayals • Accolades Related Dawn Treader • Deplorable Word • First Battle of Beruna • Second Battle of Beruna • Hundred-Year Winter • Religion • Tisroc Category • Portal

Last Battle may refer to:

• The Last Battle, a 1956 novel by C. S. Lewis
• The Last Battle, a 1966 book about the Battle of Berlin by Cornelius Ryan.
• Last Battle, a 1989 Sega video game
• Armageddon, in Christian theology, the final battle between God and Satan
• Dagor Dagorath, or the Last Battle, in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium
• Le Dernier Combat (English title: The Last Battle), a 1983 French film directed by Luc Besson
• Tarmon Gai'don, or the Last Battle, an event in The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures.^[3] Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese Communist authorities.

The film stars John Lone as Pu Yi, with Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, and Chen Kaige. It was the first feature film for which the producers were authorized by the Chinese government to film in the Forbidden City in Beijing.^[1] It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.^[4]

Plot[link]

The film opens in 1950 with Pu Yi's re-entry into the just-proclaimed People's Republic of China as a political prisoner and war criminal, having been captured by the Red Army when the Soviet Union entered the Pacific War in 1945 (see Soviet invasion of Manchuria) and been in their custody for the past five years. Puyi attempts suicide, which only renders him unconscious. In a flashback, apparently triggered as a dream, Puyi relives his first entry, with his wet nurse at his side, into the Forbidden City.

The next section of the film is a series of chronological flashbacks showing Puyi's early life: from his royal upbringing, to the tumultuous period of the early Chinese Republic, to his subsequent exile, his Japanese-supported puppet reign of Manchukuo, and then his capture by the Soviet army — all of which are intermixed with flash-forwards portraying his prison life. Under the “Communist re-education program” for political prisoners, Puyi is coerced by his interrogators to formally renounce his forced collaboration with the Imperial Japanese invaders for war crimes during their occupation of China during the war. Finally, after a heated discussion with the camp commandant and upon watching a propaganda film detailing the wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese, Puyi recants his previous stance and is set free and rehabilitated by the government in 1958.

The concluding section of the film ends with a flash-forward to the mid-1960s during the Mao cult and the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. By now, Puyi has become a simple gardener who lives a peasant proletarian existence. On his way home from work, he happens upon a Red Guard parade, complete with children playing pentatonic music on accordions en masse and dancers who dance the rejection of landlordism by the Communists. His prison camp commander, his only friend during his incarceration, is forced to wear a dunce cap and a sandwich board bearing punitive slogans, and is one of the political prisoners now punished as an anti-revolutionary in the parade.

Puyi later visits the Forbidden City as an ordinary tourist. There he meets an assertive little boy wearing the red scarf of the Pioneer Movement. The young Communist orders Puyi to step away from the throne. However, Puyi proves to the boy that he is indeed the Son of Heaven, proceeding to approach the throne. There, Puyi discovers the 60 year old pet cricket he kept as a child and gives it to the child. Amazed by the gift, the boy turns to talk to Puyi, but the emperor has disappeared.

The film ends with a tour guide leading a tour in front of the throne, where the guide sums up Puyi's life in a few, brief sentences, concluding that he died in 1967.

Cast[link]

• John Lone as Puyi (adult)
• Joan Chen as Wanrong
• Peter O'Toole as Reginald Johnston
• Ying Ruocheng as Detention Centre Governor
• Victor Wong as Chen Baochen
• Dennis Dun as Big Li
• Ryuichi Sakamoto as Amakasu Masahiko
• Maggie Han as Eastern Jewel (Yoshiko Kawashima)
• Ric Young as Interrogator
• Vivian Wu (credited as Wu Jun Mei) as Wenxiu
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Chang
• Jade Go as Ar Mo
• Fumihiko Ikeda as Colonel Yoshioka
• Richard Vuu as Puyi (3 years old)
• Tijger Tsou as Puyi (8 years old)
• Wu Tao as Puyi (15 years old)
• Fan Guang as Pujie (adult), Puyi's younger brother
• Henry Kyi as Pujie (7 years old)
• Alvin Riley III as Pujie (14 years old)
• Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager Cixi
• Hideo Takamatsu as General Hishikari Takashi
• Hajime Tachibana as Japanese Translator
• Basil Pao as Zaifeng, Prince Chun, Puyi's father
• Henry O as Lord Chamberlain

Production[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Bernardo Bertolucci proposed the film to the Chinese government as one of two possible projects - the other was an adaptation of La Condition Humaine by André Malraux. The Chinese preferred this project. During filming of the immense coronation scene in the Forbidden City, Queen Elizabeth II was in Beijing on a state visit. The production was given priority over her by the Chinese authorities and she was therefore unable to visit the Forbidden City.

Producer Jeremy Thomas managed to raise the $25 million budget for his independent production single-handedly. At one stage, he scoured the phone book for potential financiers.^[5]

Thomas later remembered his experience shooting the film:

It was a very long and difficult period to set it up, full of nightmares, it was like a dark tunnel, to shoot for six months in China, not being able to stop, but out of it came this beautiful thing, and I have totally forgotten all the nightmares. I just think about what an extraordinary experience it was to be in China at the beginning of open doors, to be allowed to make that film there, with a filmmaker like Bertolucci, with whom I have managed to continue a wonderful relationship and friendship for more than twenty years now and six movies. So that was a big point for me in my life and career.

When you make films in different places, you need to find the mercenary warriors to help you make the film, because no man is an island. The best technicians came to work on the film, like Vittorio Storaro and the designer Fernando Scarfiotti, and James Acheson the costume designer. So a group of professionals plus a tremendous amount of support from Italy, because the Italian government and the Chinese were very close. So there was a bonding between the Italians and Chinese. In fact the British Council and British Embassy were rather hands off when we arrived there, they came to claim it later but... If an Emperor can become a gardener then what better, and one day they will tell this story. And then we came and we told that story. Of an Emperor, son of Heaven, ruler of a quarter of the world, one man, and he died as a gardener. So this was an irresistible and grand epic idea. It was terrifying but it happened.

The difficult thing about the success of that film was that it was a difficult film to emulate, and I have never been to that pinnacle of a certain type of film. And I doubt if I ever would or could make a film like that again. I don’t know how one would have made those films in the independent arena today. There were no digital shots, it was before digital, and filmed with real people.^[6]

19,000 extras were needed over the course of the film. The Chinese army was drafted in to accommodate.^[6]

Soundtrack[link]

While not included on the album soundtrack, the following music was played in the movie: "Am I Blue?" (1929), "Auld Lang Syne" (uncredited), and "China Boy" (1922) (uncredited).^[7]

Release[link]

The film was originally released by Columbia Pictures, although they were initially reluctant, and producer Jeremy Thomas had to raise a large sum of the budget independently. Only after shooting was completed did the head of Columbia Pictures agree to distribute The Last Emperor in North America.^[1] Columbia later lost the rights when it reached home video through Nelson Entertainment, which released the film on VHS and Laserdisc. Years later, Artisan Entertainment acquired the rights to the film and released both the theatrical and extended versions on home video. In February 2008 The Criterion Collection (under license from now-rights-holder Jeremy Thomas) released a four disc Director-Approved edition, again containing both theatrical and extended versions.^[8] Criterion released a Blu-ray version on 6 January, 2009.^[8]

The Last Emperor had an unusual run in theatres. It did not enter the weekend box office top 10 until its twelfth week in which the film reached #7 after increasing its gross by 168% from the previous week and more than tripling its theatre count (this was the weekend before it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture). Following that week, the film lingered around the top 10 for 8 weeks before peaking at #4 in its 22nd week (the weekend after winning the Oscar) (increasing its weekend gross and theatre count by 306% and nearly doubling its theatre count) and spending 6 straight weeks in the weekend box office top 10.^[9] Were it not for this late push, The Last Emperor would have joined The English Patient, Amadeus and The Hurt Locker as the only Best Picture winners to not enter the weekend box office top 5 since these numbers were first recorded in 1982.

Awards[link]

At the 60th Academy Awards, the film won nine Oscars:^[4]

• Best Picture (Jeremy Thomas)
• Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci)
• Best Art Direction (Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Bruno Cesari and Osvaldo Desideri)
• Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro)
• Best Costume Design (James Acheson)
• Best Film Editing (Gabriella Cristiani)
• Best Original Score (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su)
• Best Sound (Bill Rowe and Ivan Sharrock)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci)

Historical omissions[link]

In Japan, the Shochiku Fuji Company edited out a thirty-second sequence from The Last Emperor depicting the Rape of Nanjing before distributing it to Japanese theatres, without Bertolucci's consent. The Rape of Nanjing — in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army — is an event disputed by the Japanese government, and a diplomatic stumbling block with China. Bertolucci was furious at Shochiku Fuji's interference with his film, calling it "revolting". The company quickly restored the scene, blaming "confusion and misunderstanding" for the edit while opining that the Rape sequence was "too sensational" for Japanese audiences.^[10]

Jeremy Thomas recalled the approval process for the screenplay with the Chinese government: "It was less difficult than working with the studio system. They made script notes and made references to change some of the names, then the stamp went on and the door opened and we came."^[6]

Alternate versions[link]

The film's theatrical release ran 160 minutes. An extended version currently available on DVD runs 218 minutes; cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and director Bernardo Bertolucci have confirmed that this version was created for television and does not represent a "director's cut".^[11] The television cut includes more footage from the stifling palace of Manchukuo. An entire character cut from the theatrical release is the drug-addled opium pusher appointed Minister of Defence by the Japanese, who becomes a sort of demon when he surfaces in Pǔyí's prison camp, whispering the awful truth to Puyi at night. In addition, the extra footage shows more detail about the way in which Pǔyí was unable to take care of his own needs without servants.^{[citation needed]}

The Criterion Collection 2008 version of 4 DVDs adds commentary by Ian Buruma, composer David Byrne, and the Director's interview with Jeremy Isaacs (ASIN: B000ZM1MIW, ISBN 978-1-60465-014-3). It includes a booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by Bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard.

See also[link]

	China portal
	United States portal
	Film portal

• List of historical drama films of Asia

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Last Emperor at the Internet Movie Database
• The Last Emperor at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Last Emperor at AllRovi

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2008)

Case Ian Punnett (aka The Watchman)^{[citation needed]} (born March 3, 1960 in Wilmette, Illinois) is an American radio broadcaster.

Punnett hosts a morning show, Ian and Margery, with his wife on KTMY in Minneapolis-St. Paul,^[1] and was the regular Saturday night host of the widely syndicated paranormal-themed Coast to Coast AM, created by Art Bell. On December 3, 2011, Punnett announced that due to increasingly acute tinnitus, he would temporarily step down as regular Saturday night host of Coast to Coast AM, being replaced by John B. Wells: effective January 2012, Punnett would host the show one Sunday per month.

Life[link]

Punnett graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was a student columnist for the Daily Illini. After college, under the pseudonym "Ian Case" (his first and middle names transposed), he co-hosted rock morning radio shows on WXLP in the Quad Cities called Ian Case and the Coach and then Ian Case and The Duke with Mike "The Duke" Donegan on then-rock music station WKDF in Nashville, Tennessee in the early-to-mid-1990s. In between his Quad Cities stints, Punnett was also morning man on WMJY in Long Branch, New Jersey.

Punnett went on to talk radio at WGN in Chicago in 1994, then went to Atlanta, Georgia in 1997 to host a nightly talk show on WGST under his real name, Ian Punnett. He returned to the WKDF morning show in 1998, though he remained in Atlanta and broadcast the show from his home studio (while co-host Mike "Duke" Donegan broadcast from the station's Nashville studio). Punnett would occasionally slip up and announce his real name instead of the pseudonym, which inadvertently became a running gag. That show's run came to an end in early 1999, shortly before WKDF switched to a country music format.

In Minneapolis-St. Paul, Punnett hosts the morning show (6-10 am) on KTMY-FM. The show is known as Ian & Margery, and is co-hosted by his wife, Margery (a former TV producer who has worked for CNN as well as for The Oprah Winfrey Show) who does her part of the show from a studio in their home while getting their two teenage boys off to school. Punnett has a Masters of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and has been ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. Since 1998, Punnett has intermittently hosted Coast to Coast AM.

On August 1, 2007, Punnett helped report the Minneapolis bridge collapse on CNN.

Coast to Coast AM[link]

In 1998,^[2] Punnett began occasionally hosting Coast to Coast AM. In April 2000, Punnett became the regular Sunday-night host for Coast to Coast. He was the first person other than Art Bell to be "given" a night of the week in his or her name. In December, 2001, Punnett left Coast to Coast AM with Ian Punnett to do mornings in the Twin Cities for Hubbard Broadcasting and to concentrate on finishing seminary. His replacement for Sunday nights was George Noory who would eventually take over the entire show when Art Bell retired again a few years later. Although Punnett occasionally acted as a guest host, he did not rejoin Coast to Coast AM on a full-time basis until June 2005 when Art Bell, who had been doing the two weekend shifts again, announced that he wanted to host just one night a week in order to spend more time traveling with his wife, Ramona. Coast to Coast AM with Ian Punnett once again returned to the weekly line-up, this time on Saturdays.

On January 21, 2006, after the death of Ramona Bell, Punnett announced that Art Bell, the creator and original host of Coast to Coast AM would be returning from retirement to host each Saturday and Sunday night. Punnett then moved to Coast to Coast Live with Ian Punnett, a new, four hour program, on January 28, 2006. The new show occupied a slot (6 pm-10 pm PST/9 pm-1 am EST), the same period that previously broadcast repeats of older Coast to Coast AM episodes (Coast to Coast AM begins at 1 am ET/10 pm PT). Many existing Coast to Coast AM affiliates automatically carried Punnett's new program from its first night, and in subsequent months several new affiliates came on board. As of June 2007, its affiliate count stood around 200. Since his affiliation with C2CAM (especially during his tenure with Coast to Coast Live), Punnett developed a loyal following of his own. He always opened the show with the "reminder" to "hostile invading aliens" hovering just beyond Earth's atmosphere to "eat the Canadians first", saying they are "much tastier" than Americans. After the retirement of Art Bell in July 2007, Coast to Coast Live was discontinued, with Punnett once again becoming host of the Saturday night edition of C2CAM. Show episodes with themes pertaining to cryptozoology or government conspiracies (favorite subjects of Coast to Coast AM) were generally designated to Punnett and slotted for Saturday nights.

On December 3, 2011, Punnett announced that due to increasing problems with his tinnitus, that he would have to step down as regular Saturday night host of Coast to Coast AM, being replaced by John B. Wells: effective January 2012, Punnett would begin hosting the show one Sunday per month.

Religious Views[link]

Punnet does not believe the King James Bible to be a literal translation, but rather a paraphrase, that demons don't exist, that Muslims should not be judged by their belief in the Quran nor Christians by their belief in the Bible, that there are friendly Christians and Muslims and that both are equally violent, that Christian fundamentalism is not good nor any fundamentalism, that homosexuality is not forbidden by the Bible and that so long as you're good, that regardless of your religion, you can go to Heaven. Ian also, on 9-5-2008, impersonated Jesus on Coast to Coast AM for the entire show. There was some controversy over this.^[3] Ian also believes the Bible to contain errors as was implied by two statements he made on Coast to Coast AM, one show on which alleged contradictions in the Bible were pointed out, and another in which during what the hosts call "open lines," defended "good" Muslims.^[4]

Political views[link]

Punnett, as revealed by his religious views, is a liberal and against conservatism. On an August 13, 2011 episode of Coast to Coast AM, he expressed support for the United States Armed Forces and, like Art Bell, does not believe in the 9/11 truth movement or (like both Art and George Noory) the theory that Osama bin Laden died years before the Navy Seal raid, defending the United States government to a caller who claimed that the Navy Seal operation that allegedly killed bin Laden was a coverup. ^[5] Punnet also does not believe that 9-11 was an "inside job." See 9/11 Truth movement.

Personal life[link]

Prior to becoming a father, pastor and host for Coast to Coast AM, Punnett held many jobs before beginning his new career as a morning disc-jockey at a local radio station. According to a radio industry executive, Ian's zaniness was inspired by people like: Wolfman Jack, Soupy Sales and Howard Stern. His ratings went through the roof, and his general manager loved Punnett. Punnett would do skits, tell jokes and would sing along with the records he played. After five years, Punnett decided to enroll in a seminary and eventually host Coast to Coast AM.

In 2010, Punnett also published a children's book, Dizzy the Mutt with the Propeller Butt. His second children's picture book Jackula the Vampire Dog was published in 2011.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Punnett Coast to Coast AM Biography
• Coast to Coast Live with Ian Punnett