Penetrate the moody, sensual world of Last Tango in Paris, and prepare yourself for "the most controversial film of its era" (Leonard Maltin). Nominated* for two Academy Awards(r)Director (Bernardo Bertolucci) and Actor (Marlon Brando)and exuding a sexual energy unlike any film before or after, this is the scintillating classic that shocked a nation...and "altered the face of an art form" (Pauline Kael). He (Brando) is a 45-year old American living in Paris, haunted by his wife's suicide. She (Maria Schneider, Jane Eyre) is a 20-year-old Parisian beauty engaged to a young filmmaker. Though nameless to each other, these tortured souls come together to satisfy their sexual cravings in an apartment as bare as their dark, tragic lives. Caught up in the frenzied beat of a carnal dance they cannot seem to stop, these unlikely lovers take their passion to erotic heightsand depthsbeyond anything they could ever have imagined.

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What's really stuck with me is Marlon Brando's performance. I thought to myself back then, "That didn't look like acting." I read his bio and found out that he WASN'T acting. What you're seeing is an emotional breakdown on film: his weeping is just too raw and severe; he broke his hand when he punched a door during the mother-in-law scene (an action not in the script); the farm tales he tells were from his own childhood; and, perhaps most devastating of all, he rages at his dead wife's body in the film--but he's really dredging up his real-life anger for his alcoholic mother.
Afterward, he was quoted as saying, "I'll never act like that again." And then went on to do THE GODFATHER.
(Another weird detail: Maria Schneider, the young French girl in the film, is the daughter of a former roommate of Brando's.)

It may feel "foreign" in places to an American audience, but this film's scenes of desire, desperation and despair are universal.

14 of 15 found the following review helpful:

A beautiful cinematic experience without flawAug 14, 2006
By Tom Benton
The reputation of Bernardo Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN PARIS precedes it. Film critic Pauline Kael famously proclaimed it to be "the most powerfully erotic movie ever made", while the NC-17 rating and a few sour reviews led some to believe that the film was nothing more than high-class pornography. This is one of the greatest tragedies in film history, because, you see, LAST TANGO IN PARIS is one of the very finest films ever made.

True, the film does have four or five scenes of sexuality, some of it a little intense, but nowadays it seems rather tame. The NC-17 rating is silly. Were the film released today, I believe it would grab an R. My point is that, contrary to what reviewers, the MPAA, and even the plotline may tell you, this film is not about sex.

Marlon Brando plays a 45-year-old American living in Paris. His wife recently committed suicide. At the start of the film, Brando goes for a walk through Paris to escape from the confines of his blood-splattered apartment. He happens to be walking the same path as Jeanne (Maria Schneider), a young Parisian dating a filmmaker. The two unknowingly follow each other, as though commanded by fate, to an apartment building, where an apartment has recently been put up for sale. Jeanne, overjoyed, looks the apartment over - only to find Brando sitting in the corner silently. Their brief encounter ends with the strangers having passionate sex against the wall, beginning a relationship that will have an extraodinary effect on each of their lives. The two strangers decide that they will meet regularly at the apartment, but that their relationship will be based strictly on sex. Brando emphasizes that there will be no names mentioned in their time together; the outside world will simply cease to exist.

Brando's character, it turns out, is named Paul. Paul resembles a somewhat kinder Stanley Kowalski from A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Whether due to his wife's suicide or simply his nature, Paul acts a little eccentricly. He is usually in a good and playful mood around Jeanne, even when - especially when - Jeanne is not. He always manages to cheer her up. However, outside of their apartment, Paul is often angry, clearly on the edge, torn apart inside by his wife's death. I do not exaggerate when I say that no one but Marlon Brando could play this character. Brando puts equal emphasis on both sides of the character, and in typical Brando fashion he BECOMES the character. I would say that, without a doubt, this is one of the very finest - if not THE finest performance - of Brando's entire career.

Schneider deserves a lot of credit as well. She does a marvelous job of bringing out the confusion and youthful innocence in the character of Jeanne. Ultimately, we sympathize as much with her - perhaps more so - than we do with Brando's character. Schneider also has some wonderful on-screen chemistry with Brando.

Remember when I said that LAST TANGO IN PARIS is not about sex? Well, what it is really about is life and relationships. Through her sexual encounters with Paul, Jeanne becomes closer to him than she does to her own fiance. Paul learns many surprising facts about his wife after her suicide. In what is possibly the film's most moving scene, Paul talks to his wife's body. "Even if a husband lives 200 f-----g years, he'll never discover his wife's true nature," he says. "I may be able to understand the secrets of the universe, but ... I'll never understand the truth about you."

I feel that Bernardo Bertolucci, who directed and co-wrote the film with Franco Arcalli, has not received the credit that he deserves. His directing, in particular, is extraodinary. He gets the greatest performances possible from his cast. He knows the perfect angles to shoot the scenes at, which results in some wonderful cinematography from Vittorio Storaro. There are times when LAST TANGO IN PARIS seems like a very cold film, but through every moment it is bursting with life and vitality.

Much of the film's vigor comes from Gato Barbieri's magnificent music. It's an utterly beautiful score led by dazzling saxophone solos performed by Barbieri himself. It is entirely without flaw. Barbieri's score is undoubtedly one of the greatest in movie history.

My purpose in this review has been to convince you that LAST TANGO IN PARIS is not what it seems. It is such a great pity that the film has become only a minor classic, its reputation made foul by the controversy which emerged after the film's release in 1972. The truth is that LAST TANGO IN PARIS is the reason cinema was invented. It is true art, and in my humble opinion one of the very finest films ever made. Viewing it is a profoundly emotional experience. All I can say to you is to ignore everything you've heard about the film, and to simply watch it. From the opening to the shocking conclusion, LAST TANGO IN PARIS is a true cinematic masterpiece.

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