This weekend, Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew Fox team up in Peter Webber’s Emperor, a rather listless historical war flick, which charts the investigation of Emperor Hirohito and his role in WWII. The film got us thinking about other movie emperors, who’ve varied in race, gender, and even planet of origin. From the animated to the animalistic, the perfect to the perverse, this list is one royally diverse bunch.
Ian McDiarmid in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Though his character didn’t come to full fruition until George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, during which he at last revealed himself as the odious Darth Sidious, Emperor Palpatine first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, cloaked all in black and in dire need of a facelift. Though far more fearsome than his apprentice Darth Vader, the two still share one thing in common: both were voiced by actors other than those who embodied them, with Palpatine’s speech supplied by Clive Revill, and Vader, of course, voiced by James Earl Jones.
Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator (2000)
After murdering his father, the noble Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), in a fit of Freudian rage, sniveling Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) assumes power as the Emperor of Rome, pitting him against the titular barbarian, played growlingly by Russell Crowe. While also being cowardly, murderous, and more than a little incestuous, Commodus also beat Roger Ebert in perfecting the “thumbs down.”
Lee Marvin in The Emperor of the North (1973)
Also known as Emperor of the North Pole, this film is in fact a hobo drama based in part on the works of Jack London. Set largely on railway cars, the story gets its name from a joke among bums post-Depression, and refers to he who’d become the most powerful. Vying for the slot are A-No. 1 (Marvin) and Cigaret (Keith Carradine), who first need to face off against the vicious conductor Shack (Ernest Borgnine). Cigaret makes a valiant effort, but A-No. 1 snuffs him out.
Jet Li in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
In the third installment of the Brendan Fraser-led Mummy franchise (which many will remember spawned the unfortunate Scorpion King), Jet Li unseats Imhotep as baddie number one, playing Emperor Han, a corrupt leader from ancient China whose resurrected in the ’40s. With control of the elements, Han’s a formidable match for Fraser and his onscreen wife, played by Maria Bello after Rachel Weisz dropped out.
William Dennis Hunt in Flesh Gordon (1974)
Initially rated X, Flesh Gordon featured Jason Williams in the starring role of the man with the epic codpiece, and porn star Candy Samples joined the cast as horny Chief Nellie, but the standout might have been William Hunt as Emperor Wang the Perverted, who, from his planet Porno Mango, shoots a sex ray at Earth and renders the whole population lustful and perverse. Who’ll help Flesh save the day? Perhaps Flexi Jerkoff (Joseph Hudgins) or the very nelly Prince Precious (Lance Larsen).
Marlene Dietrich in The Scarlet Empress (1934)
In Marlene Dietrich’s expressionistic collabo with lover Josef von Sternberg, the ’30s stunner portrays Catherine the Great, who ventures from Germany to Russia to marry into the royal family, wedding the Grand Duke (Sam Jaffe) and befriending Empress Elizabeth (Louise Dresser). Cunning and libidinous, Catherine freely has her way with men, and before long, she claims the throne for herself, cementing her famous moniker.
Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2 (1999)
Archnemesis to the lovable Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and “sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance,” the Evil Emperor Zurg is only passingly referred to in the first Toy Story installment. But he gets a great deal of play in Toy Story 2, serving as one of the sequel’s key antagonists and eventually proving to have a very Star-Wars-ian link to Buzz. A bit of trivia: Zurg is voiced by Pixar regular and the movie’s screenwriter, Andrew Stanton.
Malcolm McDowell in Caligula (1979)
A deplorable leader if ever there was one, Malcolm McDowell’s Caligula is a hedonistic monster, and in this Gore Vidal-penned, Penthouse-financed cult/snuff classic, his madness and (forgive us) juices are encouraged to flow freely. Appropriately inheriting the throne from a a ruler (Peter O’Toole) ridden with syphilis, this emperor has an affinity for humiliation and cruelty, not to mention fisting, orgies, and bestiality.
Emperor Penguin in March of the Penguins (2005)
No, narrator Morgan Freeman wasn’t the only star of this Oscar-winning doc phenomenon, which captured the world’s attention and launched a fleet of imitators. The true headliner is that gorgeous flightless bird, whose tuxedo markings and familial struggles (however anthropomorphized) have never been better showcased. Just remember: this beaut is also to blame for the inescapable penguin fever that followed, from Surf’s Up to Happy Feet. Giveth and taketh, my friends.
Issey Ogata in The Sun (2005)
In The Sun, a film closely related, yet far superior, to Emperor, Issey Ogata portrays Emperor Hirohito, who, here, spends the close of WWII recalling his past while stashed in a bunker. He soon catches up with General MacArthur (Robert Dawson), and, while touring his nation’s rubble, muses over his own future. An underseen triumph, the film concludes Aleksander Sokurov’s trilogy, which also included Taurus and Moloch.
Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis (1951)
In the role that landed him a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, Peter Ustinov portrays Emperor Nero, the corrupt successor to Emperor Claudius in this Technicolor epic by Mervyn LeRoy. Adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1896 novel, and co-starring Deborah Kerr and Robert Taylor, Quo Vadis has plenty to boast, but it’s Ustinov who nabs the spotlight, committing all sorts of misdeeds like burning Rome and sending folks to be killed in the arena. That’s entertainment!
Emperor Kuzco in The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Easily the most transgressive of Disney’s animated features, The Emperor’s New Groove is packed with oddball adult humor, while still not being in the tasteless realm of say, The Cat in the Hat. At the center is Kuzco (David Spade), a horribly vain and spoiled teenage emperor, whose morphing into a llama serves to change his selfish ways. The film is a hoot, and Spade is uncharacteristically great, but as Yzma, the decrepit villainess, the late Eartha Kitt handily steals the show.
Tami Stronach in The NeverEnding Story (1984)
A picture of angelic grace, Tami Stronach donned her pearl tiara for The NeverEnding Story, playing the Childlike Empress, the wee ruler of Fantasia (not that one). Just as Arwen (Liv Tyler) saw her Elfin grace dwindle in the shadow of the One Ring, this Empress falls fatally ill from the presence of The Nothing, a storm cloud of nastiness born of cynicism and disbelief. She must know how Santa Claus feels.
Edward Arnold in Roman Scandals (1933)
Eddie Cantor leads this playful Frank Tuttle musical, which sees the star play Eddie (err, Oedipus), a man from West Rome, Oklahoma who dreams he’s in ancient Rome and gets caught up in its classic intrigue. Among the events at hand is a very Caesarian plot to murder Emperor Valerius, played by Mr. Smith Goes to Washington star Edward Arnold (above, far right). Arnold kills the role, but more memorable is the parade of Busby Berkeley dance numbers, some of which include the late, great Gloria Stuart and even Lucille Ball.
John Lone in The Last Emperor (1987)
Technically, this film’s subject, final Chinese emperor Pu Yi, is portrayed by four actors, including Richard Vuu (Pu Yi at 3), Tijger Tsou (Pu Yi at 8), and Wu Tao (Pu Yi at 15). But Hong Kong-born John Lone is really the star of the Bernardo Bertolucci epic, which follows its hero as his world changes and Mao’s influence emerges. Spanning decades, the film sees its emperor shift from ruler to prisoner to gardener to tourist, and charts a nation’s transformation in the process.
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