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Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
3/06, 8/13, 1/20
3/06:
Proclaimed as one of the most outrageous and controversial films of its era, Last Tango in Paris, which
is better known as Hey, Marlon Brando Is Fucking Me in the Ass with a Slab of Butter, is a boring,
pointless, and unsexual film.
It's not Brando. It's not the girl. And it's not the concept. Rather, the direction, along with the dialogue
which is damn bad, is what killed the movie. It just goes nowhere. In fact, Marlon Brando had no idea what
the story was all about. Neither did I. This is very out of left field for him, but he does a nice job of
getting through it amidst the chaos and meaninglessness.
All in all, Last Tango in Paris is overrated.
8/13:
After giving Last Tango in Paris another chance, I still stand by my opinion.
It's not a good movie overall. Marlon Brando has his moments, but he seems to have recycled a lot of stuff from
The Godfather. There are so many times that it's obvious he's looking
up or down to read off the cue cards. It lacks a story, and the pace is slow. The butter rape scene is the
tipping point for me to tune out. It's when I realized the film was about the degradation of the female sex.
Honestly, what's so potent about that?
All in all, Marlon Brando wrote in his autobiography that he had no clue what Last Tango in Paris was
about, and I concur with him wholeheartedly.
1/20:
While everybody wants to attack Last Tango in Paris for the rape scene, I want to focus on how terrible
the film is.
It's hard to watch, often putting me to sleep. 95% of the dialogue is crap. Whenever Marlon Brando and Maria
Schneider are together, they're great, but when she's with her other boyfriend, the scenes are pointless. Oddly,
Maria Schneider is constantly naked, but Marlon Brando never shows his genitals. What a hypocrite.
Pauline Kael called Last Tango in Paris: "A landmark in movie history." Um...how? It's just two lost
characters who happen to degrade each other and ultimately themselves. The anal rape scene is a perfect example.
But I get why she said it: this is Marlon Brando at his most naked self. The film can be described as
semi-biographical for him based on his difficult relationship with his father.
By the way, the two oil paintings on canvas at the beginning were done by Francis Bacon, and they're
Double Portrait of Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach and Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne.
All in all, despite Marlon Brando's moments of excellence, Last Tango in Paris is a bad movie.