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Last Tango in Paris
- Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
- Starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Darling Legitimus, Catherine Sola, Mauro Marchetti, Dan Diament, Massimo Girotti
- Genre: Dramas
- Rating: NC-17
- Theater Release: 01/27/1973
- Video Release: 04/07/2009
- Run Time: 2hr 9min
Synopsis
Originally famed for its sexual frankness, Bernardo Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN PARIS has managed to endure due to its sophisticated storytelling and brave lead performances. Marlon Brando incorporated details from his own life into the character of Paul, the globetrotting American who finally settled into a marriage and proprietorship of a fleabag hotel in Paris. But when his wife commits suicide, Paul goes into an existential tailspin. One day, while wandering through an apartment that is available for rent, he encounters Jeanne (Maria Schneider), a lovely Parisian girl (she's 20 to Paul's 45) who is also viewing the apartment. The two become intimate and have a heated affair, carried on without names, in the apartment where they first met. While Paul clearly hopes to forget about his wife, Jeanne is simply overwhelmed by her fiancé (Jean-Pierre Leaud, in a somewhat Bertolucci-satirizing role), a filmmaker who wants her to be his subject and inspiration. Nothing is taboo in their relationship, but confrontation comes when Paul breaks the spell of impersonality. Brando's monologue beside his dead wife has sent many a film student into a paroxysm of pleasure in this groundbreaking erotic drama from acclaimed director Bertolucci (THE CONFORMIST, THE LAST EMPEROR).
Originally famed for its sexual frankness, Bernardo Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN PARIS has managed to endure due to its sophisticated storytelling and brave lead performances. Marlon Brando incorporated details from his own life into the character of Paul, the globetrotting American who finally settled into a marriage and proprietorship of a fleabag hotel in Paris. But when his wife commits suicide, Paul goes into an existential tailspin. One day, while wandering through an apartment that is available for rent, he encounters Jeanne (Maria Schneider), a lovely Parisian girl (she's 20 to Paul's 45) who is also viewing the apartment. The two become intimate and have a heated affair, carried on without names, in the apartment where they first met. While Paul clearly hopes to forget about his wife, Jeanne is simply overwhelmed by her fiancé (Jean-Pierre Leaud, in a somewhat Bertolucci-satirizing role), a filmmaker who wants her to be his subject and inspiration. Nothing is taboo in their relationship, but confrontation comes when Paul breaks the spell of impersonality. Brando's monologue beside his dead wife has sent many a film student into a paroxysm of pleasure in this groundbreaking erotic drama from acclaimed director Bertolucci (THE CONFORMIST, THE LAST EMPEROR).
Production Notes
The original MPAA rating (in 1973) was X; the film was resubmitted for an R rating in 1981 and rerated again as an X in 1982.
The film was named to the Japanese Kinema Jumpo list of 1973's Ten Best Films.
Bernardo Bertolucci received Italy's Silver Ribbon as the Best Director of 1972-1973.
Marlon Brando was named Best Actor of 1973 by the New York Film Critics and by the National Society of Film Critics.
Maria Schneider received Italy's David di Donatello Award for Best Actress of 1972-1973 for her work in LAST TANGO and DEAR PARENTS.
The paintings used in the opening credit sequence are by 20th-century British master Francis Bacon.
Screened at the 1972 New York Film Festival.
"I have a prostate like an Idaho potato."--Paul (Marlon Brando) to Jeanne (Maria Schneider)
"Get the butter."--Paul (Marlon Brando) to Jeanne (Maria Schneider)
The original MPAA rating (in 1973) was X; the film was resubmitted for an R rating in 1981 and rerated again as an X in 1982.
The film was named to the Japanese Kinema Jumpo list of 1973's Ten Best Films.
Bernardo Bertolucci received Italy's Silver Ribbon as the Best Director of 1972-1973.
Marlon Brando was named Best Actor of 1973 by the New York Film Critics and by the National Society of Film Critics.
Maria Schneider received Italy's David di Donatello Award for Best Actress of 1972-1973 for her work in LAST TANGO and DEAR PARENTS.
The paintings used in the opening credit sequence are by 20th-century British master Francis Bacon.
Screened at the 1972 New York Film Festival.
"I have a prostate like an Idaho potato."--Paul (Marlon Brando) to Jeanne (Maria Schneider)
"Get the butter."--Paul (Marlon Brando) to Jeanne (Maria Schneider)
Reviews
"...The look, feel and sound of the film are evocative..." (Chicago Sun-Times)
"[Brando gives] one of his most ferocious and feeling performances." (Rolling Stone)
"Brando communicates a great sense of erotic abandon..." (Entertainment Weekly)
"Brando is astonishing." (Premiere)
"Given Vittorio Storaro's lush photography and Gato Barbieri's rich jazz score, there was no mistaking it for anything but art..." (A.V. Club)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]ere Brando's unpredictability is electrifying as the anguished, self-loathing Paul alternates between charm, petulance and bitter wit." (Total Film)
"...The look, feel and sound of the film are evocative..." (Chicago Sun-Times)
"[Brando gives] one of his most ferocious and feeling performances." (Rolling Stone)
"Brando communicates a great sense of erotic abandon..." (Entertainment Weekly)
"Brando is astonishing." (Premiere)
"Given Vittorio Storaro's lush photography and Gato Barbieri's rich jazz score, there was no mistaking it for anything but art..." (A.V. Club)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]ere Brando's unpredictability is electrifying as the anguished, self-loathing Paul alternates between charm, petulance and bitter wit." (Total Film)
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