Last Tango in Paris (1972)
"Ultimo tango a Parigi" (original title)

A young Parisian woman begins a sordid affair with a middle-aged American businessman who lays out ground rules that their clandestine relationship will be based only on sex.

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Bernardo Bertolucci (story), Bernardo Bertolucci (screenplay),

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maria Michi

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	Paul
Maria Schneider	...	Jeanne
Maria Michi	...	Rosa's Mother / La mère de Rosa
Giovanna Galletti	...	Prostitute / La prostituée
Gitt Magrini	...	Jeanne's Mother / La mère de Jeanne
Catherine Allégret	...	Catherine (as Catherine Allegret)
Luce Marquand	...	Olympia
Marie-Hélène Breillat	...	Monique (as Marie-Helene Breillat)
Catherine Breillat	...	Mouchette
Dan Diament	...	TV Sound Engineer / L'ingénieur du son
Catherine Sola	...	TV Script Girl / La script-girl
Mauro Marchetti	...	TV Cameraman / Le cameraman
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Tom - un cinéaste, le fiancé de Jeanne (as Jean-Pierre Leaud)
Massimo Girotti	...	Marcel
Peter Schommer	...	TV Assistant Cameraman / L'assistant-opérateur

Storyline

While looking for an apartment, Jeanne, a beautiful young Parisienne, encounters Paul, a mysterious American expatriate mourning his wife's recent suicide. Instantly drawn to each other, they have a stormy, passionate affair, in which they do not reveal their names to each other. Their relationship deeply affects their lives, as Paul struggles with his wife's death and Jeanne prepares to marry her fiance, Tom, a film director making a cinema-verite documentary about her.

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | suicide | sex | love | american expatriate | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for some explicit sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

France Italy

Language:

English French

Release Date:

7 February 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last Tango in Paris

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$1,250,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 2,704,423 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Les Productions Artistes Associés, Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min 127 min (R-rated) 129 min (NC-17) 250 min (original cut) 124 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When informed that director Ingmar Bergman had said that the film only made sense if it were about two homosexuals, Bernardo Bertolucci responded that he accepted all criticisms of his film as valid.

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Goofs

In the final scene, as the camera pulls away from the balcony, you can clearly see a crew member and a lighting array reflected in the glass panel of the right balcony door.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Paul: [with his hands over his ears at the overwhelming sound of a passing train] Fucking GOD!

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Connections

Referenced in Caroline in the City: Caroline and the Younger Man (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Last Tango in Paris"
(Ballad)
Composed by Gato Barbieri

User Reviews

Maria Schneider's face summarises this film perfectly

Schneider's looks can dutifully encapsulate my true emotions to this film. Occasionally she looks sexy and encaptivating, other times she can look too pale and a little bland. That's exactly how Bertolucci's helping of sexual cravings had me feeling after this film.

Habitually, Bertolucci's work eclipses genius - he is one of the few directors in world cinema that has an eye for definitive detail. He can capture such beautiful images, with such great vision, emotion, colour and panache that the viewer's sentiments are guided like few others in film-making. Like aforementioned, Schneider's face would be the perfect simile for this particular film. One scene the viewer is startled by the raw depth of the film, although slightly troubled by the explicit sex, but then all the viewer is treated to in the next scene is a terse and awkward moment which seems to have no correlation with the one that preceded it.

Naturally Brando's performance did help boost this film greatly, but that seems the film's very weakness - whenever he is off-camera it seems to struggle too much, it loses its power and prestige and becomes a little incoherent. This film undoubtedly has some powerful and poignant scenes that really can convey genuine sentiment and exude a tangible originality too; but it never really seems to shake off the loss of Brando's presence altogether.

For admirers of Bertolucci its a must, but for more neutral cineastes it would be advisable to have a more cautious approach when watching this film - to enjoy it, it would be paramount to expect this film to be an edifying, not an entertaining experience; its not a frivolous subject matter in any sense