Emperor parents guide

Emperor Parent Guide

"Emperor" is commended for portraying this oft overlooked post WWII period, even if it does gloss over some points of history that should not be forgotten.

Overall B

After Japan surrenders to the US military, ending WWII, General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) must enter the country looking like a liberator, not a conqueror. Stepping into the shoes of the former Emperor, MacArthur looks to his advisor on Japanese culture (Matthew Fox) to avoid any missteps.

Release date March 7, 2013

Violence C+
Sexual Content B
Profanity C-
Substance Use C

Why is Emperor rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Emperor PG-13 for violent content, brief strong language and smoking (historical).

Run Time: 104 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

In Emperor it’s 1945 and Japan surrenders, effectively bringing World War II to a close, after the United States drops two atomic bombs on the island country. But while Allied Forces are cheering the victory, the island country is on the brink of anarchy. With the task of assisting Japan to rebuild and restructure as a healthy democracy General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) journeys to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Amongst MacArthur’s substantial entourage is General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox), a man who had pre-war experience living in Japan and also had a relationship with Aya, a Japanese girl (played by Eriko Hatsune) he had earlier met in the US. Upon their arrival MacArthur assigns Fellers to the onerous task of investigating Emperor Hirohito’s (Takatarô Kataoka) involvement with the notorious crimes against humanity that Japan committed during the war. The outcome will ultimately determine if Hirohito lives or dies—and the decision will undoubtedly forever affect the tenuous relationship between the two countries. The single star general reluctantly accepts the task but is also distracted by the prospect of trying to locate Aya and determine if she survived the nuclear attacks.

Emperor is, sadly, a movie that didn’t have a lot of confidence behind it. The studio promoted it with Tommy Lee Jones as the star. Certainly Jones’s character, General MacArthur, is critical to the story but the role of protagonist and storyteller falls on the shoulders of lesser-known actor Fox. It is through his character’s eyes that we learn of the complex relationships between the officials of the Japanese military and government rulers. That situation, along with the love interest (which is likely far more fiction than fact) forms the backbone of the story.

Parents can expect to see the post-war destruction with people eking out a living amongst the ruins of the city. There is talk of Japanese leaders avoiding arrest by committing suicide and we see one man just after the act with his head resting on a blood-covered desk. Depictions of smoking and drinking also abound in this period film, along with infrequent profanities (including a single sexual expletive).

Depending on your own political views of Hirohito, you may or may not appreciate the sympathy this film elicits for a ruler whose minions were responsible for heinous war crimes comparable to the German Nazis. However Emperor is commended for portraying this oft overlooked post WWII period, even if it does gloss over some points of history that should not be forgotten.

Release Date: 8 March 2013 (Limited)

Directed by Peter Webber. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Matthew Fox, Kaori Momoi. Running time: 104 minutes. Theatrical release March 7, 2013. Updated

Emperor
Rating & Content Info

Why is Emperor rated PG-13? Emperor is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violent content, brief strong language and smoking (historical).

Violence: Mass destruction is seen after nuclear bombs are dropped. Actual wartime footage of the bomb dropping is included. Black and white photos of a Japanese soldier about to decapitate a man are very briefly seen. Discussions of men taking their own lives to avoid arrest are heard. A gunshot is heard and a man is seen with his head lying on a blood-covered desk after taking his life. Another character shoots himself behind an obscure glass window, with blood spurting onto the glass. A man is hit by a rock, leaving a small bloody wound on his forehead. A man, after consuming multiple drinks in a bar, engages in a fight with other men who are making derogatory remarks toward him.

Sexual Content: Prostitutes are depicted. A man and woman kiss passionately.

Language: A single sexual expletive is heard along with other infrequent profanities.

Drugs/Alcohol: Many scenes depict smoking. A few scenes depict drinking, sometimes to the point of drunkenness. An intoxicated man starts a fight in a bar.

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Emperor Parents' Guide

Recent interviews and discovery of records reveal that Japanese nationals were involved in heinous war crimes including experiments carried out on live men, women and children involving surgical mutations and testing of chemical and biological agents. A 1995 article in the New York Times reveals that the US Army granted immunity from war crimes prosecution to the doctors involved.

What responsibility would the Emperor hold for these crimes? Do you think he should be accountable even if he wasn’t aware of what was happening?

Learn more about General MacArthur and his role in Japan’s surrender.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Emperor movie is August 13, 2013. Here are some details…

Emperor releases to home video non August 13, 2013, with the following extras:

- Revenge or Justice - The Making of Emperor” featurette

- Audio commentary with director Peter Webber and producer YĆ“ko Narahashi

- Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery

- Historical Photo Gallery

- Deleted Scenes

Related home video titles:

The lives of historical military leaders have been the bases for other movie scripts including Patton and Lawrence of Arabia. Japan’s World War II invasion on Pearl Harbor (that brought the US into the battle) is dramatized in Tora! Tora! Tora!.