The Last Emperor (album)

The Last Emperor
Soundtrack album by Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne & Cong Su
Released	December 8, 1987
Studio	Onkio Haus, Kato Studio, Aoyama Studio, and CBS/Sony Roppongi Studios (Tokyo) Abbey Road Studios, CTS Studios, Odyssey Studios, and Lillie Yard Studio (London) Electric Lady Studios (New York City)
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	50:17
Label	Virgin Records
Producer	Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne
Ryuichi Sakamoto chronology
Neo Geo (1987) The Last Emperor (1987) Beauty (1989)
David Byrne chronology
Sounds from True Stories (1986) The Last Emperor (1987) Rei Momo (1989)

The Last Emperor is the soundtrack album for the film of the same name. It features nine pieces composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, five by David Byrne, one from Cong Su, and a few incidental pieces of source music. The album won the Best Original Score award at the 1987 Academy Awards,^[1] and won the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media award at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989.^[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"First Coronation"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	1:46
2.	"Open the Door"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	2:54
3.	"Where Is Armo?"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	2:26
4.	"Picking Up Brides"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	2:39
5.	"The Last Emperor – Theme Variation 1"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	2:19
6.	"Rain (I Want a Divorce)"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	1:49
7.	"The Baby (Was Born Dead)"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	0:55
8.	"The Last Emperor – Theme Variation 2"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	4:28
9.	"The Last Emperor – Theme"	Ryuichi Sakamoto	5:54
10.	"Main Title Theme (The Last Emperor)"	David Byrne	4:01
11.	"Picking a Bride"	David Byrne	2:00
12.	"Bed"	David Byrne	5:00
13.	"Wind, Rain, and Water"	David Byrne	2:18
14.	"Paper Emperor"	David Byrne	1:49
15.	"Lunch"	Cong Su	4:54
16.	"Red Guard (Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman)"	The Red Guard Accordion Band	1:20
17.	"The Emperor's Waltz"	The Ball Orchestra of Vienna	3:06
18.	"The Red Guard Dance"	The Girls Red Guard Dancers	0:39

Personnel

Production Ryuichi Sakamoto – composer, producer, performer David Byrne – composer, producer, performer, arranger, mixer Cong Su – composer, performer Gavyn Wright – conductor Aki Ikuta – associate producer Hans Zimmer – associate producer, programmer Hiro Sugawara – programmer Kayo Itose – production secretary Ray Williams – music supervisor Kōji Ueno – arranger Lau Hong Quan – arranger Yuji Nomi – arranger

Technical Hayden Bendall – engineer Mike Jarratt – engineer Shinichi Tanaka – engineer Clive Martin – engineer Ian Sylvester – engineer Michio Nakagoshi – engineer Shigeru Takise – engineer Greg Fulginiti & Greg Calbi – mastering Glen Rosenstein – mixer Steve Nye – mixer Mark Roule – mixer

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3]	93
US Billboard 200[4]	152

Impact

The film "brought Sakamoto's work to international attention, and as a direct result of its success he went on to work with Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci.’’^[5]

References

1. "The 60th Academy Awards - 1988". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 4 December 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
2. "1988 GRAMMY WINNERS : 31st Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 284. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. "Ryuichi Sakamoto - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
5. Cooke, Mervyn (25 September 2008). A History of Film Music. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-26486-7.