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EMPEROR

"Disappointing History"

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What You Need To Know:

EMPEROR is an historical drama about General MacArthur’s decision on whether to execute or pardon the Japanese emperor after World War II. The story focuses on General MacArthur’s orders to one of his generals, Bonner Fellers, to investigate the emperor’s involvement in Japan’s brutal war crimes and its decision to go to attack the United States. Fellers lived in Japan before the war. So, he’s considered an expert on the people and their culture. The movie personalizes the story by also showing General Fellers’ search for the Japanese schoolteacher he met before the war. Should the Japanese emperor be executed for war crimes? And, will Fellers find the girl he once loved?

The flashbacks to the love story between Fellers and the fictional Japanese woman slow down the main story. Also, the acting in EMPEROR could be much better, especially Tommy Lee Jones’s portrayal of General MacArthur. The movie gets the facts about the Japanese emperor correct. However, it De-Christianizes the story of General MacArthur’s brilliant administration of Japan after the war. EMPEROR also has some foul language. So, extreme caution is advised.

Content:

(B, RHRH, PC, Ro, H, LL, V, AA, D, M) Light moral worldview with some historical accuracies but also some revisionist history and some politically correct thought about America’s control of the Philippines, which shows a Romantic, humanist liberal influence on the historical story being told; 11 obscenities (including one “f” word) and two GDs; light violence includes footage of dropping an atomic bomb on Japan in World War II, man gets into a fight in a bar, and disorder in the Japanese emperor’s palace at the end of the war; no sex, but some kissing and man lays head on woman’s lap during a picnic; no nudity; alcohol use and a scene of drunkenness; some smoking; and, some racial animosity and one officer tries to figuratively stab another officer in the back.

More Detail:

EMPEROR is an historical drama about General MacArthur’s decision on whether to execute or pardon the Japanese emperor after World War II. The movie could be more compelling and flow more smoothly. Also, although the filmmakers get some historical details correct, they de-Christianize the history and biographical details of General MacArthur and his decision. They also make a false, obnoxious comparison between Japan’s rape of countries like China and Korea and America’s occupation of the Philippines.

The story focuses on General MacArthur’s orders to one of his generals, Bonner Fellers, to investigate the emperor’s involvement in Japan’s brutal war crimes and its decision to go to war against the United States. Fellers lived in Japan before the war. So, he’s considered an expert on the people and their culture.

The movie personalizes the story by also showing General Fellers’ search for the Japanese schoolteacher he met before the war. Her father is a Japanese general, so he knows some of the background to the Japanese military’s thinking before and during the war. However, he hasn’t heard from his daughter, who was teaching in one of the cities that was bombed at the end of the war.

Should the Japanese emperor be executed for war crimes? Or, did he have nothing to do with the military dictatorship established by General Tojo? And, will Fellers find the girl he once loved alive or dead?

EMPEROR is correct about what Fellers found out concerning the Japanese emperor’s complicity in the atrocious behavior of Tojo’s regime. However, the movie plays down the Christian, biblical foundations of America’s heritage and its positive effect on MacArthur’s main strength – his talent for geopolitical thinking. MacArthur’s administration of occupied Japan was absolutely brilliant, infused with good old-fashioned American, Christian insights.

Also, Tommy Lee Jones gives a superficial portrayal of the famous general. The movie adds some salty language to MacArthur’s character to complement this problem. However, it does seem correct in its emphasis on MacArthur’s well-renowned obsession for personal publicity.

The love story between Fellers and the Japanese schoolteacher doesn’t match well with the story about Fellers investigating the actions of the emperor before and ruing the war. Thus, the flashbacks to their relationship before the war detract from the story about the investigation. The scenes between Fellers and the girl’s father after the war are less annoying, however, probably because they focus more on the one thing that drives the plot – the investigation into the emperor.

Besides the foul language and the De-Christianization of history, the other problem with EMPEROR is a scene where Fellers confronts a Japanese government official about Japan’s brutal occupation of parts of China, Korea and other places in Asia. The movie accepts at face value the official’s reply that for decades America occupied the Philippines, so Japan shouldn’t be punished for its actions during World War II. This is the kind of ham-fisted, irrational moral equivalence that shows how much dumbed-down modern education has become.

Besides this and the revisionist history, EMPEROR contains some foul language. So, extreme caution is advised.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.