Penetrate the moody, sensual world of Last Tango in Paris, and prepare yourself for “the most controversial film of its era” (Leonard Maltin). Nominated for two Academy Awards® Director (Bernardo Bertolucci) and Actor (Marlon Brando) and exuding a sexual energy unlike any film before or after, this is the scintillating classic that shocked a nation… and “altered the face of an art form” (Pauline Kael).
He (Brando) is a 45-year old American living in Paris, haunted by his wife’s suicide. She (Maria Schneider, Jane Eyre) is a 20-year-old Parisian beauty engaged to a young filmmaker. Though nameless to each other, these tortured souls come together to satisfy their sexual cravings in an apartment as bare as their dark, tragic lives. Caught up in the frenzied beat of a carnal dance they cannot seem to stop, these unlikely lovers take their passion to erotic heights and depths beyond anything they could ever have imagined. –MGM
Known both for sweeping epics and for helping to bring eroticism into general release with Last Tango in Paris, Bernardo Bertolucci is one of the pre-eminent international directors of the latter half of the twentieth century. The son of poet, film critic, and anthologist Attilio Bertolucci, he was born on March 16, 1940 in Parma. Surrounded by an atmosphere of comfort and intellectualism, Bertolucci began making 16 mm films as a teenager. In addition to making two short films about children, he also gained a certain amount of respect as a writer, winning the Premio Viareggio (one of Italy’s top literary awards) for his first book, In Search of Mystery. Going on to study at the University of Rome, Bertolucci started his film career as an assistant director to Pier Paolo Pasolini. After working on Pasolini’s Accatone, he left the University in 1961 and embarked on his own independent film study.
Bertolucci made his directing debut the following year with La Commare Secca (The… read more
"...I was all dressed up to go out and take this girl to a basketball game. And I started to go out and my father said, "You have to milk the cow." And I asked him, "Would you please milk it for me?" And he said, "No, get your ass out there." So I went out, and I was in a hurry and didn't have time to change my shoes, and I had cow shit all over my shoes, and on the way to the basketball game it smelled in the car."
This movie will remain in my memories since this was the last movie that I saw in my old apartment. It was sensual alright but I cannot use words such as "shocking" or "provocative" under the circumstances of the current standards of cinema. Movie portrays feelings of emptiness and loss perfectly. The various and unpredictable reactions that comes from human nature was even more applaudable. Don't expect too much.
Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris simultaneously mocks and mourns the human yearning for love and companionship. The movie is a requiem for unrequited love, and a testament to the proclivity of humans to surrogate love with lust when trapped in a maelstrom of despondence, chagrin, and compunction. The full review is present at: http://apotpourriofvestiges.blogspot.com/2011/12/last-tango-in-paris-1972.html
A kaleidoscopic sample of film music: impossible fantasies, lush atmospheres, epic operas, sophisticated seductions.
The event of the week in film criticism is the arrival of a new issue of Senses of Cinema, featuring a transcript of a talk Tsai Ming-liang
Reuters breaks the shocking news: "French actress Maria Schneider, most famous for her role as Marlon Brando's lover in Last Tango in Paris
Movie Magazine International San Francisco
Last Tango in Paris, Italy – 1972, Movie Review… read review
(Saturday / February 20, 2010 / 7:00pm)
Marlon Brando can act! Wait, did I say that right? I think I did. The greatest actor of his generation, Brando soars all the way to the top on this one… read review
beautiful movie, it’s so notorious for sex scenes but when people focus and make a huge deal about that, they often overlook the beautiful aspects of the movie—the cinematography, the beautiful score… read review
Bold and daring, a densely introspective film that plumbs the enigmatic depths of the wounded human soul and its infliction of pain upon others. Through frank, uninhibited sexuality and scenes of raw… read review