Last Tango in Paris

Stars: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Marie-Helene Breillat, Catherine Allegret, Massimo Girotti

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

The 35 years that have passed since Bertoluccis celebrated Euro-porn-masquerading-as-art hit made waves in the media (and a fortune at the box-office) because of its (graphic for the time) use of four-letter words, nudity and simulated sex have left Last Tango seeming old-fashioned and tame in comparisons with todays anything-and-everything-goes (well done, Michael Winterbottom et al!) sex scenes and ubiquitous torrent of filthy Channel 4-friendly language.

But what was startling back in 1972 now seems sadly dated and ineffably pretentious to boot. Then the hearing and seeing a Hollywood star (albeit an apparently then-fading one) talking dirty and stripping off in the name of Art was genuinely extraordinary. Subtitles, too, and a simplistic story American expatriate gets down and dirty with a young Frenchwoman engaged to a (hilariously affected) filmmaker helped to give the movie its overblown and undeserved intellectual reputation.

This time around, Brando who was much parodied during his mumbling Method Actor heyday seems to be parodying himself: his stagy performance is uncomfortable and most of the time more than a little embarrassing to watch. Schneider strips with a will but acting really isnt her strong point and the most entertaining performance comes from Jean Pierre Leaud, subtly (and I hope deliberately) sending up Nouvelle Vague directors something rotten. Interesting as an historical oddity but now painfully pass?.

Alan Frank

Italy/France 1972. UK Distributor: Park Circus. Technicolor.
123 minutes. Academy. UK certificate: 18.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 3, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 3.

Review date: 13 Jul 2007