Last Tango in Paris

Rating:
Summary: Pass the Butter - THIS is Brando's Finest Moment
Review: Forget the Godfather - Marlon Brando's finest 2 minutes of cinema in his entire illustrious career can be found watching Maria Schneider SUBMIT to Marlon's stretching of her jeans - ohhhhhhh! I always make sure I have fresh butter in my fridge. You should too.

Rating:
Summary: Awful!!!
Review: I've been told to see this movie many times and finally rented it over the weekend. I was expecting a classic, or masterpiece, anything but the garbage that I saw. There was no plot development, much less plot and while the acting was absolutely excellent on Brando's part, that's the only thing that made the movie even worth watching until the end.I got bored at least halfway through and just started chatting. Almost none of the actions were connected in a realistic way and things just seemed to spontaneously happen without any reason. Disturbed characters are interesting, but you can't make a movie with only them. Don't watch this, even the infamous butter in the backside scene is boring.


Rating:
Summary: A Modern Masterpiece
Review: Bernardo Berttolucci, who got his start with another controversial director - Pier Paolo Pasolini, really painted beautifully with color and lighting when he made 'Last Tango in Paris'.
The film stands the test of time and in no way is dated as I watch it today - about 30 years later. The mood of the film at times is light-hearted, childish, naughty, and at other times it is very sad, fatalist, and depressing - such a range of emotion is hard to find in a movie.
There are so many memorable scenes in the movie - that it is almost impossible for anyone to say they completely dislike the film. Brando's performance is one of his best - and you really feel like this was a special project for him. It made me laugh when I read someone's review saying Bertolucci was a dirty old man when - he wasn't that old when he made the movie, the sex scenes are all artfully done, and I don't get the sense that he had any bad intentions in making the picture.
I give this film 5 stars for its beauty (every shot looks like a painting), its range of emotion, and Brando's performance. This is truly a classic of modern times.

Rating:
Summary: Hardcore Fun for The Entire Family
Review: If you enjoy movies that make you uneasy yet you keep watching because of a voyeueristic mix of repulsion and fascination, then look no further--here's the one you've been looking for.

Brando was considered a legend, and this movie is proof; "acting" is too small a word to describe the performance he gave here.

Pain. Confusion. Lust. Grasping at redemption as it slithers through your fingers--it's all right here, folks.

This movie is a carousel of torment. There's an anonymous person riding next to you, and both of you have to laugh at it all, just to keep from crying.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible!
Review: Brando is my favorite actor and he's known for taking on any
role and doing a great job. He did a great job on this film too but he should have walked away from this one. I am an admirer of "off the edge" movies and themes that are hard to take....However, this film leaves the viewer
with only one thought "Bertolucci is a filthy, lecherous old man". I rarely HATE a movie but this bankrupt, purely perverted film is just AWFUL. Hope Brando made a lot of money at least.

Rating:
Summary: Depressive Disappointing and Remarkable all at the same time
Review: In this movie Brando gives, what was arguably the best performance of his career, as the widowed, distraught Paul, plunging into the very depths of nihilism and despair. However, what I did not like about this movie was the lack of character development for Jeanne (Schneider), the young Parisian, in which Paul (Brando) has his no names tryst with. I didn't understand why she fell for Paul, or why she was such a willing participant in these sexual escapades with him, was it low-self esteem, boredom, curiousity, what was it? I didn't really understand her. Nor did I connect with her character, and in fact, felt less than sympathetic for her and at times found her to be quite annoying. Also I was disappointed with the movie's ending. I didn't mind him being killed, because he wanted to die--he simply didn't have the guts or the will to pull the trigger. But what I didn't like, was that all of a sudden, Paul falls for Jeanne...out of nowhere--WHY?! What was the turning point, it just didn't make sense. I felt it was contrived, unrealistic and somewhat partronizing and unfair to the two main characters in the film. There needed to be some justification for this sudden change of behavior. I would have preferred Paul (Brando), after having his last "encounter" with Jeanne to simply disapear, and to have the audience along with Jeanne wondering, what had happened to him. Or perhaps would have preferred him becoming so delusional and broken from reality that he begins to see Jeanne as his dead wife Rose. I even think there is a part where Paul (Brando) calls her Rose--this was only hinted at, but it should have been more fully developed but unfortunately it was not. So instead we are left with him, overnight metamorphisizing from a nihilist to a jubiliant fop who miraculously falls in love with Jeanne and madly pursues her and wants to build a life with her, yet still, without even knowing her name.

Despite these flaws, however, I feel this movie is still magnificient, giving a look into the psychology and depth of grief, anger, nihilism and despair, which more than makes up for its flaws. I found myself, deeply moved by Brando's performance. And realized he put alot of his own personal experiences into this movie, which for a Brando admirer, only heightened my appreciation for this movie.

Visually this film has great coloration and is wonderfully shot, thanks to great cinematography by Vittorio Storaro. And the music by Gato Barbieri, is at times sultry as it is haunting.

After watching this movie I was left feeling depressed, deeply moved, captivated and confused (because of the ending). Admittedly, in order to appreciate this movie, I had to be very open-minded. It's not a movie for everyone, nor is it a movie to gather the whole family around and eat popcorn and be entertained. But if you are willing to be open-minded, which is key, and put yourself in someone else's shoes--who finds his own unconventional and disturbing way to deal with his own grief, then you may find, like me, that Last Tango in Paris, is a flawed masterpiece with empty pieces to the puzzle, but is still a masterpiece nontheless.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible, wretched, totally overrated
Review: Unless you are one of those men who thinks any film with lots of female nudity is "art," skip this. It's stupid, sexist, pretentious, the dialogue is wretched, you don't CARE about any of the characters... and a lot of other things that other reviewers have already said.

Rating:
Summary: Brando's finest performance!
Review: The death of Marlon Brando lead me to finally review this movie. This movie bursted onto the scene with hellfire and brimstone. Bernardo Bertolucci's direction is stylish. His view of Paris is not of romance, but of a dirty and lonely city filled with pathetic individuals lurking around. If you're a prude, do not watch this erotic, sensual and shocking motion picture. But if you want to see one of the best performances of the last 40 years, see Brando in his finest work. This movie shook Hollywood to the core with it's stark realization. Hollywood would return the favor by blacklisting any filmaker that would make such a sexually graphic movie! It would not be until Philip Kaulfman's "Henry & June" in 1988 that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) readjusted the rating from "X" to "NC-17".