Rating: Summary: Brando the Man Review: Not a bad DVD adaptation of Brando's sexually explosive flick... features the uncensored/uncut version (read: more nudity.. hehe) and also includes the artful montage of a Trailer. The video clarity is a tad lacking, but not bad I'm thinking for a film of its age.Brando like you've never seen him, and also as you've seen him before... in a sudden surge of nameless engagements with a new tenant, Paul (Brando) is full of desire and emotions... he wrestles an internal battle that's well portrayed on the screen. Unforgettable "butter me up" and "fingernail clipping" scenes speckle this sometimes erotic, somewhat dark and contorted tale that earned an NC-17 rating. Definitely one you'll remember for some time to come. Alternating between French and English spurts, stay nimble on your toes or the rush of Brando the Man may just knock you over... The side plot of a meta-cinema excursion is an interesting commentary at method acting (which seems to dominate Brando's role in this movie) vs a more structured and predetermined acting style embodied in Brando's "sweetheart's" boyfriend director.
Rating: Summary: worth seeing Review: While this is not exactly the great movie it's reputation suggests, it comes close. It is a must-see for Brando fans, in particular. It is hard to seperate his performance from the movie itself - he is the movie; the director intended it to be that way. Almost all the details of Brando's character were modeled after him, which makes it all the more facinating. Gato Barbieri's music is also great, making the movie even more effective.
Rating: Summary: Last Tango, Great Film Review: Last Tango in Paris is truly one of the greatest films of the 1970s. Marlon Brando gives a very powerful performance as Paul the middle aged widower who has a sexual liason with a chance encounter. A fascinating motion picture to say the least.
Rating: Summary: Another brick in the legendary wall called "Brando." Review: Back in the cinematic Middle Ages, a movie that reached too far into the sexual realm -- let alone the psycho/sexual domain -- was considered "too racy" for American sensibilities. "Last Tango in Paris" was such a film. Like a famous painting, we've heard of it, but hardly understand what the fuss is about. And as with any work of art, once experienced, it takes time to fully digest. This is a dark and surreal film -- you won't be compelled to run through the fields singing like Julie Andrews once it's over. But if you savor stories that delve into the nether regions of the human psyche, it's like a cup of unsweetened, black coffee; strong, with a bitter bite. My recommendation of this movie is based, almost entirely, on Marlon Brando's performance. Director, Bernardo Bertolucci, is reputed to have spurred him on by relating, "This film is about your psychoanalysis... and mine!" Brando responded by offering us a chillingly realistic portrayal, of a man who's scraping the bottom of the emotional barrel. Among other parts, the infamous "pig scene," and the delirious finale, will -- yet again -- convince you of Brando's monolithic acting talent. It's regrettable that this film has so many dead spots, and that the tale is too flat. Nontheless, it stands as a notch on the belt of a great actor's career. No Marlon Brando fan should do without it!
Rating: Summary: The culmination of Brando's career Review: It was more than just "a big deal in its day," as one of the reviews below put it. And it's definitely not "an exercise in tedium." "Last Tango in Paris" is at once the most harrowing film I have ever seen, and one of the most beautifully created; it represents the artistic summit of its extraordinary star. Even if he had never made this film, Marlon Brando would have been (whether he cared or not) our greatest film actor. With "Last Tango," he turned in one of the most intensely personal and multi-layered performances any actor could ever hope to give. The scene in which his character, Paul, speaks to the body of his late wife had an immediate effect on me during my first viewing of the film: somewhat surprised, not expecting to be moved this deeply, I suddenly felt tears welling in my eyes and trickling out. This hardly ever happens to me as a result of watching a film, but this is a singular film, with a lead performace by a man with a singular legacy. By all means see "Last Tango In Paris," along with the several other classics in Brando's canon.
Rating: Summary: A BIG DEAL IN ITS DAY Review: I remember seeing this in '72 when you had to wait in line to get in. It was a very big deal in its day. Pauline Kael, the authoritative film crtic from the New Yorker, was in esctasy over it and wrote a very long review which appeared in the New York Times. Today, the film seems dated and its trumpeted sex scenes are mild by today's standards. The story is a standard one. A middle aged man becomes hopelessly infatuated with a young girl who proves to be his downfall. Brando at his best.
Rating: Summary: Can't be that great. Review: I saw this film at a special screening in the late 1970's at an art house cinema in Minneapolis. The film did not leave a lasting impression on me, unlike some of the other films I saw around the same time frame. I can hardly remember a single detail about it. Its not like me to get amneisia about a film, especially if it is trully a great work of art. But since I can barely recall having seen Last Tango, it leaves me with the impression that this film is not a great work of art as the urband legand makers would have it.
Rating: Summary: A must see film for any Brando fan Review: This film was made the year after 'The Godfather".It is an excellent study in love, anger and the damage caused by abusive relationships. It was not at all what I was lead to believe over the years. Brando runs the gamet of emotions and the supporting players acted superbly. The most interesting is Rosa, who though deceased at the beginning of the film, is the hub and reason for all the action. Again an excellant film.
Rating: Summary: Thought it was a metaphor Review: When I saw this film it was when it first came out. I thought it was a metaphor or allegory for the American experience in and just after Viet Nam. Not something you want to watch when you're alone and tired. Good for couples if they're in the right mood.
Rating: Summary: I can't believe it's not butter! Review: It's hard to believe that, in its prime, this was considered maybe the greatest picture ever made. It wasn't and it isn't. And yet, Barbieri's score and Storaro's cinematography are still a delight to both ear and eye (although you can see the camera's reflection on a window pane at the last scene!). Regarding sex, there's not much to be said. In fact, there was a lot said and little to be seen. Brando gives "the performance of a lifetime", which in his case, after seeing "Superman", is probably true. Maria Schneider is so, so; Jean Pierre Laúd is execrable and Mássimo Girotti all but steals the show as Brando's funny-you-should-ask rival. All in all, much ado about... butter!
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