The Great Within: The Forbidden City Richard Harvey’s Score for a Film by Francis Gerard For 500 years, from the early days of the Third Ming Ruler, Yong Le, to the final abdication of Puyi, The Last Emperor; the Forbidden City was home to the most powerful men on earth. Rulers of the East, these men had the power of life and death over their subjects; flattered by concubines, eunuchs and courtiers, surrounded by countless treasures and tributes that flowed to this centre of earthy power, but entirely cut off from the world. Francis Gerard’s fascinating 2004 film about this amazing and mysterious walled city is complemented by a beautiful and exotic album by Richard Harvey, laced with delicate oriental themes, and a must-have for any film music fan.