Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Bernardo Bertolucci (story)
Bernardo Bertolucci (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 February 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | American Expatriate | Sex | Suicide | Grief

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9

1:20 AM

MAX

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Last Tango in Paris (UK)
Le dernier Tango à Paris (France)
Ultimo tango a Parigi (Italy) (dubbed version)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for some explicit sexual content.

Runtime:

136 min | Australia:129 min | USA:127 min (R-rated version) | USA:129 min (NC-17 version) | Italy:250 min (original cut) | Spain:124 min (DVD edition) | Norway:129 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2000) (uncut) | West Germany:18 (original rating) (cut) | Italy:(Banned) (1972-1986) | Singapore:(Banned) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 (re-rating) | New Zealand:(Banned) (original rating) | New Zealand:R18 (re-rating) | Norway:18 | Portugal:(Banned) (1973-1974) | Portugal:M/18 | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (1996) (uncut) | Sweden:15 | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (1997) | USA:R (cut version: 1981) | USA:X (original rating: 1973) | USA:X (re-rating) (1982)

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Les Productions Artistes Associés

Trivia:

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Dominique Sanda were both approached for the leading roles.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the scene in which he uses the butter, Paul rests alone on the floor on his left side. Next shot he appears on his back.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in Il était une fois... Le dernier tango à Paris (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Last Tango in Paris

There are those who see ...

Okay, so I am not supposed to say anything about other user's comments, but I should mention that reading those comments is what lead me to write this...I don't know if this is an enjoyable movie experience, but it is nonetheless a triumph of cinema.

This film has very little to do with sex. It also has very little to do with the tango, and we might want to add it has little to do with Paris. Someone once told me this movie is about an American businessman. Out of curiosity, are all American's traveling in Europe businessmen? I think not. First of all, he was a boxer, a bongo player, he married a wealthy woman, but nowhere did I see this man as working for some corporation. This man had little money, and he didn't need a 'serious' career.

This film is about abuse; a parable about the overly masculine father who sexually abuses his own son; a child abused by his alcoholic parents; a widower who is abused by his animalistic but deadly honest wife. This movie is about a religious zealot for a mother-in-law in constant denial who shows more interest in her daughter's corpse than in her life. This movie is about an idealistic no-longer teenager who perhaps finds true love the only time in her life, but pays a terrible price. It is as though she has bitten from the forbidden fruit and found that love is an illusion.

To say Brando is superb misses the point. I simply know no other actor that could have pulled this off. His facial expressions are uncanny. It is a most fitting bookend to Street Car Named Desire. One simply cannot deny the final elevator scene. But unlike Streetcar, Brando portrays a vivid understanding of the sensitivity towards women and towards human existence that few men are capable of grasping, and few women could probably appreciate. Brando is himself. But Brando is himself because he understands his character, not because he plays himself.

This movie is an existential parody of the nature of society. It is a bitter reflection of human frailty and vanity. It is a tragedy of a man who has actually found a way to transcend his own suffering, who has somehow managed to cut through the illusions that all of us carry day-to-day. But with that knowledge, he finds himself utterly alone (as so many users here seem testament.)