Last Tango in Paris
"Last Tango in Paris" is a 1972 film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, featuring Marlon Brando as Paul, a grieving American man, and Maria Schneider as Jeanne, a young French woman. The film unfolds in Paris, where Paul and Jeanne engage in a brief, anonymous affair in a vacant apartment, driven by their deep emotional scars and desires. The story explores themes of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships while delving into Paul’s tortured psyche and Jeanne’s innocence.
Upon its release, "Last Tango in Paris" garnered significant attention and controversy due to its explicit sexual content, earning an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Critics, including Pauline Kael from The New Yorker, praised the film for its erotic depth, with some considering it a landmark in cinema. Despite its art-house label, the film was commercially successful, becoming one of the top-grossing films of 1973. It also sparked widespread debate, resulting in a record number of protest letters when it appeared as a cover story in major magazines. The film's legacy continues to evoke discussion and analysis regarding its provocative themes and powerful performances.
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Subject Terms
Last Tango in Paris
Identification Motion picture
Last Tango in Paris was an important film during the decade for both its depiction of explicit sexual activity and its tortured portrait of human relationships.
Date Released in 1972
Director Bernardo Bertolucci
Key Figures
Bernardo Bertolucci (1940- ), film director
Last Tango in Paris was filmed on location in Paris by the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci and was a joint Italian, American, and French production. The cast includes the legendary American actorMarlon Brando as Paul and the young French actor Maria Schneider as Jeanne. Paul is a middle-aged American who is despondent over the recent suicide of his French wife, Rosa. Jeanne is a twenty-year-old French woman who is about to marry her filmmaker boyfriend. Paul and Jeanne meet accidentally in a vacant Paris apartment that is for rent. Out of desperation, they begin a three-day anonymous affair. Paul is a tortured soul who has sadomasochistic tendencies. The apartment becomes a sanctuary for the couple. While Jeanne is the innocent in the relationship, Paul has scars that he wishes to cleanse. When Paul finally expresses a need to know Jeanne outside the confines of the apartment, she becomes frightened and shoots him with her father’s revolver. Unfortunately, the cocoon of the apartment could not save either of the characters from themselves or from the cruel world outside.
Last Tango in Paris jarred American audiences for its critical examination of the nature of love and the fragility of human relationships. The film was first shown in the United States at the 1972 New York Film Festival. The influential film critic of The New Yorker, Pauline Kael, stated that the film had a “jabbing eroticism” and went so far as to claim that Last Tango in Paris “must be the most powerfully erotic movie ever made.” Because of the explicit sexual nature of Last Tango in Paris, the film was given an X rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) board in 1973.
Impact
Although considered an art house film, Last Tango in Paris did relatively well at the box office and was one of the top-grossing films of 1973. The New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics named Marlon Brando the Best Actor of 1973 for his portrayal of Paul. He also received a 1973 Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film was such an important media topic of its time that it became the cover story of both Time magazine and Newsweek. Time received more than twelve thousand protest letters against having Last Tango in Paris as a cover story, a record number for the magazine. Some American communities refused to allow the film to be shown. Ultimately, the collaboration of Bertolucci, the veteran Brando, the newcomer Schneider, and the rest of those involved with the making of Last Tango in Paris had produced a motion picture about which critics and filmgoers alike would argue for years to come.
Bibliography
Bertolucci, Bernardo. Bernardo Bertolucci: Interviews. Edited by Fabien S. Gerard, T. Jefferson Kline, and Bruce Sklarew. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2000.
Lev, Peter. American Films of the ’70’s: Conflicting Visions. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.
Lewis, Jon. Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle over Censorship Saved the Modern Film Industry. New York: New York University Press, 2002.
Tonetti, Claretta Micheletti. Bernardo Bertolucci: The Cinema of Ambiguity. New York: Twayne, 1995.