MOVIES - May 2, 1988

The Beijing Film Studio is working overtime to complete the Chinese-language version of “The Last Emperor,” originally scheduled to open in China at the end of June. But producers now say it may be five months before Chinese viewers get a look at the film that swept this year’s Academy Awards. The delay may reflect increasing criticism of the film’s historical accuracy and the side-stepping of cultural protection policies that allowed Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci unparalleled access to the Forbidden City. A spokesman at the film studio said said some film-industry leaders want to put off release until Oct. 1, the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.