The review, which ran for 3,500 words over several pages, had the desired effect.
"Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris was presented for the first time on the closing night of the New York Film Festival, October 14, 1972: That date should become a landmark in movie history comparable to – the night Le Sacre du Printemps was first performed – in music history." Shawn gave in and Kael went to work on what would become one of the most famous movie reviews ever published. According to Brian Kellow's recent biography of Kael, the properly cautious Shawn was initially reluctant, but Kael persuaded him this was more than just a movie. The New Yorker's faultlessly heat-seeking movie critic Pauline Kael was there, and after she saw the film she talked her boss and editor, William Shawn, into running a review months before the movie's actual opening. Nothing dampens a movie's legacy quite like controversy, and few movies crested a wave of controversy as tidal as Last Tango in Paris, which had its theatrical opening in New York 40 years ago this month.Īfter months of transatlantic static about the movie's allegedly explicit sexual content, featuring the 48-year-old Marlon Brando (freshly rejuvenated by The Godfather) and a 20-year-old unknown named Maria Schneider, Last Tango had its pantingly anticipated premiere on the closing night of the New York Film Festival in October, 1972. – Pauline Kael, reviewing Last Tango in Paris in The New Yorker I feel sick."The movie breakthrough has finally come." I'll never look at Bertolucci or Brando the same. Stomach-turning: Last Tango in Paris director Bernardo Bertolucci admits butter rape scene was non-consensual Outrage: 'Last Tango in Paris' contains an actual rape, not an acted scene. I will never look at this film, Bertolucci or Brando the same way again. People are saying that they will never see the movie again. On social media, film enthusiasts and celebrities alike have condemned the non-consensual nature of the scene. Last Tango in Paris, about a man who begins an affair after his wife commits suicide, is one of the most controversial films and upon its release shocked audiences because of its raw depictions of sex and rape. Thankfully, there was just one take,” said Maria, who passed away in 2011. After the scene, Marlon didn't console me or apologise. "I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci. "I should have called my agent or had my lawyer come to the set because you can't force someone to do something that isn't in the script, but at the time, I didn't know that. They only told me about it before we had to film the scene and I was so angry. The truth is it was Marlon who came up with the idea. Maria said: "That scene wasn't in the original script. Though the rape does not actually happen, in a 2007 interview with Mail Online, Maria said she “felt a little raped”.
It was a decision between Brandon and the director, the interview reveals, to keep the scene a secret from Maria so her reaction would be “as a girl, not an actress”.īertolucci admitted that not telling her the plan about the scene was a “horrible” idea but he does not regret the scene whatsoever. Last Tango in Paris has a rape scene, which at the time took people aback because of its raw emotions, but now it is making people angry after it has surfaced that the rape was non-consensual.ĭuring an interview film’s director, Bernardo Bertolucci admitted that the rape scene was shot without lead actress Maria Schneider’s consent because he wanted it to be as realistic as possible. A 1972 French-Italian movie is in the news for all the wrong reasons decades after its release.