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VHS : Last Tango in Paris (Widescreen Edition)In association with Amazon.comRating:  - A masterpiece, but misunderstoodThi is one of the best films made about grief--not sex, but grief. The entire drama must be seen through the prism of brando's wife's death. Powerful, moving, haunting, unforgettable. Rating:  - Superb, but not perfect.This film is a beauty. The directing and acting A-1. Brando in particular showing what he was capable of acheiving when he really tried. Watching Brando, one can only say "WOW!". Schneider isn't too bad herself and is quite a beauty. There are a few loose ends that never seem to get tied up and it's puzzling how it can be late at night inside a building but when they run outside, it's broad daylight. There are some exquisit scenes involving Brando and a few scenes tend to drag on a bit, but overall, this film is a must-see for any fan of great acting. Rating:  - what's the big deal?This has to be the most overrated movie ever made. Even by 1970's standards, I don't see what all the hoopla is about. Marlon Brando is just his usual brooding self. The girl is extremely beautiful, but even if she was naked through the entire movie, I cannot understand why anyone considers this a cinema masterpiece. Rating: - Bertolucci , Brando, and Breillat together in 'Paris' is reason enough to see this film.Last Tango in Paris ("L'Ultimo Tango a Parigi," "Le Dernier Tango à Paris") (1972) is among my three favorite Bernardo Bertolucci films. (The other two are 1900 and The Last Emperor.) These three films define Bertolucci's work when comes to sex (Last Tango), politics (1900; The Last Emperor) and cinephilia. Although upon its release the film caused a stir with its graphic depictions of sex, it should be credited for opening the door for contemporary, mainstream erotic filmmakers like Catherine Breillat (Anatomy of Hell; Fat Girl), who had a minor role in the film. Last Tango tells the story of a middle-aged American widower, Paul (Marlon Brando), who is drawn into a anonymous, purely sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) in her twenties. Their joyless sexual relationship is something they both need, and it exists only in an empty Paris apartment. One scene (the infamous "butter scene") depicts anal sex, and resulted in a four-month suspended prison sentence for Bertolucci in Italy. "That scene wasn't in the original script," Maria Schneider has stated. "The truth is it was Marlon who came up with the idea" (New York Post 7/23/07). Although this may not be Bertolucci's strongest film, it offers one of Brando's strongest performances, which is reason enough to see Last Tango. I first experienced this film when I was a young college student, and it sparked a life-long fascination with all things Parisian: Gitanes (unfiltered, because I heard those were also the kind John Lennon smoked), French women, the French language, Paris apartments, and French cinema. The film also features an orchestral-jazz soundtrack composed by Gato Barbieri. G. Merritt Rating:  - Bertolucci has done better...This is a good film that still retains some of its power, but I think Bertolucci has done better, much better. I can understand the shock waves that this film caused back in 1972, especially the casting of Brando in an X rated film. It has a lot to like about it. It has great performances (especially by Brando), great cinematography by Vittorio Storaio, a great music score (an underrated part of this film), and good supporting performances. Jean Pierre Leaud is hilarious as a pretentious poser filmmaker, and Catherine Breillat, the great French filmmaker, plays the sound person in Leaud's crew. She has one line "dogs are more faithful than people". She might have written it herself. But I watched it recently, and while I still like a lot of it, it wasn't as shocking or as fresh the first time I saw it, which made me a little sad. I am glad, however, that Bertolucci had a hit with this, as he got to make his incredibly ambitious epic, 1900. Bertolucci has made many better films than this one, like The Conformist, 1900, and The Last Emperor. Last Tango in Paris is a good film, but it's not Bertolucci's greatest. |
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