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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. It's 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.
There's no 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 all 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 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 of it. 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.