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Last Tango in Paris

Last Tango in Paris

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $11.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Materpiece that needs an overhall
Review: faded color and millions of artifacts are only some of the problems this DVD. Hopefully it will be remastered soon!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great film, period!
Review: Remember, you are not judging Brando's character, you are evaluating the film as a film! If you can not tell the difference between the two, you should quit watching films from now on. You should focus on the film's technical and narrative devices, and, of course, the moral behind this sad story. If you still don't get anything...well, I hate to say this, but... have you ever thought about going back to jr high?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: trash masquerading as art
Review: Don't waste your precicous time on this pretentious tripe. The acting is self-conciously artsy and overwrought. Brando's character is an abusive jerk, while Schneider's character just can't get enough of it. Spare me the nonsense please! If nudity is your bag, rent a Playboy video instead; you'll thank me for keeping you from losing 2 hours with this mess.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Maybe the most overrated film of all time?
Review: Perhaps I may be speaking blasphemy to all the serious devotees of this prententious film ( I do respect you all though), but "Last Tango in Paris" gets my vote as the most overrated film in cinema history (with "2001: A Space Odyssey" running a very close second.)

Like "2001", Last Tango did break new ground cinematically and for that reason these two films do deserve at least some respect. For its time, "Tango" was in its own way a cultural milestone in terms of its frankness and explicit sexuality. And because "2001" and "Last Tango" broke down many barriers, they did allow for many superior films to follow in their respective wakes. But I do agree with the other reviewers who place "Hiroshima Mon Amour" as far more complex and revealing work. "Woman in the Dunes" is also a superior film dealing with very similar subject matter.

However, like the another "X" rated pioneer "Midnight Cowboy", I just don't think "Tango" has aged well. Although "Cowboy" does hold up to better scrutiny.

I find "Tango" neither illuminative, profound, original, erotic, or really compelling as a narrative. I found myself not connected in any way, or really caring at all for any of the characters. Many critics have continued to laud the film as brave. I'm sorry, I see nothing brave in photographing two hours of gravenous self pity.

Stories ultimately are about the audience and not the characters, and no, I am not in denial when I say this film is not about me. "American Beauty", a far superior film (which even contains humour- something this film doesn't know exists!) on all levels speaks to many of the same issues here and in a far more compelling (and entertaining!) manner.

Marlon Brando grunts and sweats under his weary life as though everything is terribly important. In doing research on the film, I discovered that most of the dialouge is (not suprising considering its painfull meandering) mostly improvised. Marlon as "Paul" is really talking about "Marlon" the actor and dredging up an endless barrage of psycho-babble. It is no wonder that Marlon has turned his back on acting after this mess. I'm afraid far too many impressionable artists have tried to emmulate what passes as "emotional truth" here and therby destroyed their God given talent as Marlon did. What we get to see here really amounts to nothing more than a filmed therepy session. When the "shocking" ending finally unspooled, I found myself cheering that my ordeal was over.

That really is sad for Brando certainly is (or whatever the appropriate tense)the single most influential actor of the 20th Century.

The world does need a mature examination of the politics of sexuality and the high stakes carnality plays for. Since this film earned world wide critical acclaim and cult status, it set a crude sort of benchmark for taking things to the extreme sexually on screen. This isn't always a good thing.

Besides "American Beauty" other films which deal with the same themes but far more successfully are "Leaving Las Vegas" and the tragic science fiction classic "Seconds". This film unfortunately doesn't reach the humanity of those other pieces.

It certainly is worth watching though, so you can form your own opinion and gain a sense of pop cultural literacy, but for purchase? I don't know. Proceed at your own risk.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Brando turns in a rivetting performance
Review: It opens with two canvasses by Francis Bacon which set the meditative mood for the entire length of the film. How can you expect a modern American audience to appreciate a classic like this? It's about the deep themes in life, love, loss, death and sexuality. It's a slow film. There are no big explosions or high tech weaponry.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Brando and a stick of butter!
Review: Before watching this movie I heard nothing but great things about this film. I heard people say it Bernardo Bertolucci's best film. I heard people say it's Marlon Brando's best performance ever! And I've even heard people say, it stands as one of the greatest films ever! I'm mixed between this movie. On one hand I can say, it's an intriguing piece of work, with wonderful directing by one of my favorite directors, Bertoluuci. It has great photography by Vittorio Storaro, and has memorable acting with memorable lines. On the other hand, I can see why one wouldn't like this film. It's not a family movie. It's not a "feel good" film either. It does seem to drag a bit. And the score by Gato Barbieri seems misplaced. But, trying to judge the movie fairly, I would have to say that people should try and make an effort to see this movie. It does offer many enjoyable moments. And it has also stood the test of time by staying with us after all these years. The screenplay by Arcalli and Bertolucci does get slow at times and can be boring at moments, but believe it or not, it does contain heart. It's about a man who has just lost his wife, and to me, seems as if, without her, life has lost it's meaning. Despite the fact she was cheating on him. So he meets Jeanne (Maria Schneider) and begin an unforgettable affair with a stick of butter and dead rats lol. The scene where Brando is paying his respect to his wife is considered a standout, and one can see why. But to say this is Brando's best film, I have to disagree. I personally like "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Godfather". But I think Bertolucci fans will be pleased with this movie as will many others. If your a bit skeptical about seeing this movie, I'll offer you a warning. Don't watch this movie and expect a fast paced, heartfelt, or romantic movie. And don't watch it when your in a "good" mood. The movie will just bring you down with it's "depressing" storyline. Still though, it remains, I feel, as one of Bertolucci's best directing efforts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My #1 Film Of All Time!
Review: I saw this movie in the '70s, after it first came out. It immediately zoomed to number one on my list. It hasn't budged from that spot whenever I periodically see it again. Marlon Brando is simply incredible and this surpasses all of his other films, which is saying a lot. Director Bernardo Bertolucci let Brando improvise a great deal of the script and Brando fell back upon his own life to do it, including memories that dated back to his life with his own parents. He wound these memories into the fictional life of Paul, who at middle age finds himself in a time of madness following his wife's suicide. Paul attracts a young woman by his very unhingedness and she immediately becomes obsessed with him, both romantically and sexually, while he becomes sexually obsessed with her. There are some brilliant soliloquies in the film, which Brando delivers, the best being the one he delivers sitting beside the open casket of his wife. Brando was in his late '40s when he played Paul. He was paunchy, his hair was thinning, he was crazy and you don't doubt for a moment this woman in her 20s falling madly for him. Yes, it is sexually explicit but you will never mistake this for a porno film as it had to be one of the most serious films ever made about love, sex, death, loss and the human condition. If you've missed it up until now, don't let another day go by without seeing it! Maria Schneider plays the young woman well throughout but was never seen much after this movie. I only wish I could give this grounbreaking film many more stars than Amazon provides since it shouldn't have to share a position with any other film!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brando makes this film worth seeing
Review: I give Last Tango in Paris five stars solely on the strength of Marlon Brando's performance. When he's not on screen, you miss him - - although that's the case in his films when he's "on," like he is here. The scene where Paul's sitting next to his wife's body - - amazing! That must be, like, textbook stuff for all actors since. I especially dug how he worked his own life into the script - like where Paul's talking about his family. And it was really cool how he worked his film characters in there too, i.e., "he was a boxer, but he didn't do so well..." Clever, clever, clever.

One of the (many) things that makes Brando such an incredible actor is the way that so many of his performances seem to be intertwined. Like, you'll see something in one of his films, that reminds you of one of his others. In Last Tango, the scene where he's playing with the lampshade made me think of the paper lantern over the light bulb in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best of Brando
Review: This film is worth seeing for Brando's performance alone, even if you're not a Brando fan (which I'm not, as a rule). He is absolutely riveting in every scene, and makes the most difficult and uncomfortable scenes look so realistic through his artistry and mastery of the art of acting. There's a scene towards the film's end--I won't give it away--that's basically a monologue done with such power and intensity it's downright frightening in its realism. (A similar scene is done by Tom Cruise in "Magnolia" and I can't help but think that Cruise studied Brando's art to create an equally powerful (and painful) performance).Ironically, Brando's role seems a deceptively simple one, and one that could easily have been botched by a lesser actor, but he injects such force into the performance you'll never forget it. See the film, by all means, for an incredibly cathartic experience.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Extremely disappointing
Review: This movie fails horribly at living up to its reviews. They seem to be based solely on technical merit; it is indeed shot well. Unfortunately, that does not make it worth watching; the plot is lacking, the sex alternates between disappointing and disturbing, and the characters are despicable. Don't waste your time.


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