- published: 04 Jul 2014
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An emperor (through Old French empereor from Latin: 'imperator') is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother (empress dowager), or a woman who rules in her own right (empress regnant). Emperors are generally recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings. In Europe the title of Emperor was, since the Middle Ages, considered equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope, due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of Western Europe. The Emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as "Emperor".
Both kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. In so far as there is a strict definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler, and typically rules over more than one nation. Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be completely free of such restraints. However monarchs heading empires have not always used the title—the British sovereign did not assume the title until the incorporation of India into the British Empire, and even then used it only in a limited context. For purposes of protocol, emperors were once given precedence over kings in international diplomatic relations; currently, however, precedence amongst heads of state – whether they be Kings, Queens, Emperors, or Presidents – is determined by the duration of time that each one has been continuously in office.
The Emperor of China (Chinese: 皇帝; pinyin: Huángdì) was the title of any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of the Qin dynasty that unified China in 221 BC, until the abdication of Puyi in 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China. The emperor was also referred to as the "Son of Heaven" (Chinese: 天子; pinyin: tiānzǐ), a title that predates the Qin unification, and recognized as the ruler of "all under heaven" (i.e., the whole world). In practice not every Emperor held supreme power in China, although this was usually the case.
Emperors from the same family are classified in historical periods known as dynasties. Most of China's imperial rulers have commonly been considered members of the Han ethnicity, although recent scholarship tends to be wary of applying present day ethnic categories to historical situations. During the Yuan and Qing dynasties China was ruled by ethnic Mongols and Manchus respectively. The orthodox historical view sees these as non-native dynasties that became sinicized, though some recent scholars (such as those of the New Qing History school) argue that the interaction between politics and ethnicity was far more complex. Nevertheless, in both cases these rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to assume the role of traditional Confucian emperors in order to rule over China proper.
Actors: Denis Akiyama (actor), Dwayne Hill (actor), Dwayne Hill (actor), Damon D'Oliveira (actor), Gigi Morin (miscellaneous crew), Gigi Morin (miscellaneous crew), Alex Karzis (actor), Robert Smith (actor), Robert Smith (actor), Daniel Hawes (producer), Daniel Hawes (producer), Samantha Espie (actress), Doug Sinclair (writer), Margie Shields (miscellaneous crew), Mike Drach (actor),
Plot: When the United States finally conquers Canada by "asking nicely," Dale is thrown into the job of American presidency thanks to the machinations of the shadowy Hangelberg Group. However, when this simple puppet turns out to be harder to control than they first thought, sinister "measures" must be taken.
Keywords: comedy-of-errors, conspiracy, mansion, ninja, political-humor, presidential-comedy, satellite, satire, secret-society, us-canada-warActors: Aaron Pope (miscellaneous crew), Barry L. Caldwell (miscellaneous crew), Jonathan Silverman (actor), Ted Hartley (producer), Scott Chernoff (actor), Ted Hartley (actor), Kip Pardue (actor), Clark McCutchen (miscellaneous crew), Peter Wulff (miscellaneous crew), Cathie Filian (actress), Cathie Filian (costume designer), Jack Fitz (actor), Mark Derwin (actor), Petra Wright (actress), John M. Davis (composer),
Genres: Drama,Actors: Jason Piette (producer), Bob Bellion (producer), Leticia Dolera (actress), San Fu Maltha (producer), Paul Ruven (writer), Bob Bellion (miscellaneous crew), Rosana Pastor (actress), Jimmy de Brabant (producer), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (actor), Michael Cowan (producer), Alex Marshall (producer), David Rogers (producer), Emily Kyriakides (miscellaneous crew), Jean-Claude Schlim (producer), Chris Bearne (actor),
Plot: At an undisclosed location and time an Empress has seven years to provide her Emperor with an heir to his throne. If she does not succeed during this time, the Emperor is free to marry a different girl. The Emperor's devoted chamberlain helps the Emperor to choose the right girl. This throws the four people into a power struggle.
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance,Actors: André Farwagi (producer), Marc-Olivier Louveau (producer), Marc-Olivier Louveau (writer), Marc-Olivier Louveau (director), François Nguyen (actor), Raymond Khamvene (actor), Daniel Aing (actor),
Genres: Action, Short,Actors: William Chang (costume designer), Roy Cheung (actor), Eric Kot (actor), Jeffrey Lau (actor), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (actor), Wen Lo (miscellaneous crew), Kar Wai Wong (producer), Jeffrey Lau (director), Jeffrey Lau (writer), Frankie Chan (composer), Athena Chu (actress), Chen Chang (actor), Wei Zhao (actress), Wing-ming Wong (editor), Jan Lamb (actor),
Plot: In Ming Dynasty China, two pairs of siblings are destined for each other. But fate throws countless obstacles in the path of their happiness. One pair is high-born: the young Emperor and his sister Wushuang, both confined to the Imperial Palace and very much under the thumb of their mother, the Empress Dowager. The other pair is decidedly lowborn: the wanderer Li Yilong (known as King Bully for the way he terrorized the town of Meilong in his youth) and his sister Phoenix, who still runs a restaurant in Meilong. When both the young Emperor and his sister Wushuang contrive to leave the Palace and head south, they meet the loves of their lives in Meilong. But Wushuang has disguised herself as a man, and the Emperor is incognito. Numerous confusions, complications and misunderstandings ensue: genders and gender-roles are reversed, class differences prove hard to negotiate and identities and egos block the promptings of desire. It takes the interventions of a goddess to get everyone back on the right road. But it may be already too late to heal the wounds of disappointment and separation.
Keywords: chinese, cross-dressing, emperor, fortune-teller, palace, period-piece, princess, spoofActors: Terry Klassen (actor), Don Brown (actor), Don Brown (actor), Terry Klassen (actor), Michael Dobson (actor), Michael Dobson (actor), Michael Dobson (actor), Michael Dobson (actor), Paul Dobson (actor), Paul Dobson (actor), Paul Dobson (actor), Paul Dobson (actor), Brian Drummond (actor), Andrew Francis (actor), Terry Klassen (actor),
Genres: Animation, Family,Actors: Jing Wong (producer), Carina Lau (actress), Tiffany Chen (producer), King-Tan Yuen (actress), Tat-Ming Cheung (actor), Lik-Chi Lee (actor), Tats Lau (actor), Stephen Chow (actor), Kar-Ying Law (actor), Manfred Wong (actor), Vincent Kok (actor), Yat-fei Wong (actor), Cheung-Yan Yuen (actor), Shun-Yee Yuen (actor), Stephen Chow (writer),
Plot: Set in Imperial China, Stephen Chiau plays Fat, a guard in the Forbidden City. But unlike his colleagues he doesn't know anything about Kung Fu or other martial-arts, because he uses his time to make futuristic inventions. So when the emperor is kidnapped and the world most beautiful geisha comes to town Fat has to use his brain to get things done.
Keywords: action-hero, brawl, china, chop-socky, comic-hero, emperor, fistfight, guard, hero, kung-fuActors: Charlotte Rampling (actress), Friedrich W. Bauschulte (actor), Max von Sydow (actor), Friedrich von Thun (actor), Miguel Herz-Kestranek (actor), Bruno Dallansky (actor), Ernst Stankovski (actor), Josef Kemr (actor), Fritz Muliar (actor), Károly Mécs (actor), Zdenek Rehor (actor), Claude Rich (actor), Jean-Louis Richard (actor), Michael Schönborn (actor), Elena Sofia Ricci (actress),
Plot: At the battle of Solferino Joseph von Trotta, a lieutenant in the Slovenian infantry, is wounded while saving the life of the young Austrian Emperor Franz-Joseph I. The Emperor rewards him by elevating him in society to a position quite out of keeping with his social rank, and which entirely alienates him from his farming background: Joseph gets promoted to the rank of captain, and is made a member of the nobility. Years later Joseph von Trotta accidentally finds a description of the battle that changed his life in a text-book belonging to his son Franz. Enraged at the over-emotional, patriotic and sentimental way in which the Emperor's rescue at the hands of "the Hero of Solferino" is depicted, he lodges a complaint at the Imperial Court. During an audience, the Emperor, displaying a certain degree of resignation, attempts to convince him that myths are both justifiable and necessary. Joseph, however, discovers "that it was nothing else but craftiness that assured the existence of the world, the power of the law, and the majesty of monarchs. He lost all belief he had ever had in the Emperor." Embittered, Joseph leaves the army and retires to his country estate in Bohemia. Consistent with his actions, he forbids his son Franz von Trotta from taking up a military career. The latter, in his capacity as a provincial prefect, develops into a typical duty-conscious civil servant who never thinks of questioning the monarchy and its existence. Franz then brings up his own son Carl Joseph in a strict, military manner, and forces him to take up a career as an officer against his will. The weak and sensitive grandson Carl Joseph von Trotta bears no trace of the strength and wilfulness of his grandfather. Rank and position are hollow-sounding concepts to him. When his beautiful mistress, wife of sergeant Slama, dies while giving birth to a child that could have been his, and his closest friend, the regimental doctor, Dr. Demant, is killed in a senseless duel because of an alleged love-affair with his wife, Carl Joseph - in an act of self-punishment - has himself transferred to an infantry unit on the Russian border. There he falls victim to alcohol and becomes embroiled in debt trying in vain to escape his depressions and irrational feelings of guilt. His friend Count Chojnicki only manages to drag him out of his melancholy and despair on one single occasion, when he has a mistress brought to him. Carl Joseph spends several carefree weeks in Vienna with Valerie von Taussig, but once he's back in the depressing frontier town he very soon reverts to his old ways. Meanwhile, nationalist and democratic forces are bringing the old Austro-Hungarian Empire to its knees. During the armed suppression of a factory-workers' strike that takes place as the violence continues to escalate, Carl Joseph von Trotta is severely wounded. After his convalescence he is determined to resign his commission. Then during an orgiastic summer party at Schloss Chojnicki, the news arrives of the assassination of the Austrian heir to the throne and his wife in Sarajevo. Soon afterwards, war breaks out, and Carl Joseph, whose resignment has not yet been granted, is sent to the front. There, heroically and without a trace of fear, he walks to his death as, without any protection or covering fire, he goes off to get water for his thirsty soldiers. With this unselfish deed for his nameless men Carl-Joseph once more remembers the roots of his humble origins.
Keywords: aristocracy, austro-hungarian, based-on-novel, male-frontal-nudity, military, one-word-title, royalty, tv-mini-series, uniform, vienna-austriaActors: Bharat Bhushan (actor), Chandrashekhar (actor), Manmohan Krishna (actor), Shyam Kumar (actor), Om Prakash (actor), Leela Chitnis (actress), Kumkum (actress), Nimmi (actress), Jaikishan Dayabhai Pankal (composer), Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi (composer), Satyanarayan (miscellaneous crew), Rajinder Singh Bedi (writer), Indira (actress), S.B. Nayampalli (actor), Ram Singh (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: The only son of the Royal Astrologer, Narsin (Om Prakash) namely Gopal (Bharat Bhushan) is not interested in astrology but in music and songs, much to the dismay of Narsin. Gopal's talents are well-known and he could become the Emperor's Chief Musician if he wins in the contest. His rivals live next door, and in order to win the approval of the emperor (Chandrashekhar), they poison Gopal's drink, and Gopal loses his voice completely. His mom (Leela Chitnis) is sorry at the loss of his voice. A young dancing girl, Gopi (Nimmi) takes interest in Gopal, and through her help and a hard knock on the head, he recovers his voice. But Gopal's challenges are far from over, and he will be called upon to prove his worth, as well as his association with Gopi.
Keywords: based-on-novelActors: Charles L. Kimball (editor), René Cardona (actor), Roberto Cañedo (actor), Manuel Dondé (actor), Edmundo Espino (actor), Ramón G. Larrea (actor), Manuel Noriega (actor), Pedro Vargas (actor), Conchita Gentil Arcos (actress), Elodia Hernández (actress), Miguel Contreras Torres (producer), Miguel Contreras Torres (writer), Joaquín Pardavé (composer), Miguel Contreras Torres (director), Rafael Baledón (actor),
Genres: Drama, War,when all is dark
there are no points of reference
and we no longer navigate
by the stars
we just end up somewhere
...nowhere...
where lights are dim
and shades of black are grey
time appears like a golden calf
while the moments slip away
a search for the freedom in the future
when the hours fall behind
I can always die
another day
desperately I seize tomorrow
all out of my reach
that is what I learned
this is what I teach
corruption seems to flourish
while promises decay
where lights are dim
and shades of black are grey
where lights are dim
and shades of black are grey
from the moment of arrival
we are led astray
with nothing but a distant cry
from deep within a soul
a wordless voice
to guide us on the way
desperately we name the voice
and make the cries our own
as if to deny the fact
that we are all alone
in solitude we mingle
disillusioned we fall prey
where lights are dim
and shades of black are grey
I can always live