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Welcome back MoFos! It is time for another at the cinema review with The Gunslinger45! Well… okay I actually can’t make it to the theater this week. North Texas has been hit by an unusually long bought of winter weather. Or so I have been told by residents of the city of the Dallas. Usually the Dallas/ Fort Worth area gets a day of ice and or snow a year. This entire week it has been nothing but exceptionally cold weather, snow and ice storms. And the roads are going to ice up bad most of the weekend. And rather than risk an accident in my non 4X4 rear wheel drive mid-sized pick-up truck, I figured Friday night was a good night to turn on the heat, stay inside and watch a DVD. Something I have not had much time to do because of work. And I figured I should watch a movie I recently bought, Last Tango in Paris. A film where Marlon Brando acts opposite of Maria Schneider, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, was originally rated X by the MPAA (now NC-17) and described by some as “porn disguised as art.” Was this the case? Well read on and let’s find out.
The film opens in Paris where we first meet Paul played by Marlon Brando. Paul is an American expatriate and local hotel manager whose wife has recently committed suicide. A chance encounter with an engaged 20 year old Parisian girl named Jeanne (Schneider) leads to an anonymous sexual relationship. And by anonymous I do mean it in the truest sense. The two meet up in a rundown hotel room and engage in various sex acts all the while they do not even exchange their names. Nothing about them is to be shared; only what they do to each other in the privacy of their quarters. This is a condition on Paul’s part, who is still traumatized by his wife’s death. Jeanne frustratingly tries many times in her efforts to share personal info to try and gain some kind of emotional intimacy with Paul. Stories are exchanged, but no names or ages are not to be shared. If she does, he gets very angry. Clearly he is a man with intimacy issues, but this is understandable as we learn more about him, his wife, and their marriage. Jeanne on the other hand has her own issues. She is set to be married to her long time boyfriend, but cheats on him with Paul. This puts a strain on the relationship with her fiancé, but is further complicated as the emotional distance between her and Paul and his controlling behavior further infuriates her. The relationship between her and Paul is rather bipolar. One second they have their hands all over each other and actually look like a cute couple, to fighting like cats and dogs in the same scene. The transition can be rather jarring but it still ends up working. As we see Paul further work out the issues he has about his wife and their past, we begin to see a change in him. But is this change for the better in his relationship with Jeanne? Or is it the beginning of the end?
As I was watching this movie I began to compare this film to Fifty Shades of Grey. Both films where highly controversial at the time of their release, were sexually charged movies and made dump trucks full of money on fairly reasonable budgets. According to Wikipedia the budget for Last Tango in Paris was $1.25 million and took in a box office of over $96 million. Both films were also condemned by religious organizations, social groups, and critics alike. That is where the similarities end however. First off, Last Tango in Paris is a FAR superior film to Fifty Shades. This is made by a world renowned and critically praised director who also made films like The Conformist, was written by the same writer who wrote Once Upon a Time in America, was shot by the same cinematographer for Apocalypse Now, and the lead is Marlon freakin’ Brando! This movie is loaded with talent. Which is a lot more then I can say for that crap movie Fifty Shades of Grey. And as much as other critics bashed this film, one of its strongest defenders was legendary film critic Pauline Kael. Kael wrote a 6,000 word essay which praised the film with much gusto. To put that into prospective, this review is just over 2,000 words. Good luck getting someone of that stature to defend Fifty Shades of Grey.
But the controversy was huge for both films. The Fifty Shades of Grey scandal mostly revolves around the alleged glorification of abusive relationships (which I do see some truth in), the sexual content, and the fact that it is a really crappy film based off a Twilight fan fiction. The scandal for Last Tango in Paris mostly centers around one scene. A scene involving Marlon Brando, a stick of butter, Jeanne, and … ugh… Brando storming her trenches with his bayonet. Okay seriously, what the hell? Why is a running theme in the past three movies I have reviewed been ass play? Fifty Shades had talk of anal fisting and butt plugs, Kingsman ended with a Swedish Princess offering to give up the balloon knot, and now we have Brando polishing some woman’s rusty sheriff’s badge. I swear this was not intentional! Good thing I have already seen Caligula so it is not like this trend could get any worse. But the film does at least have a bit of balance since later on in the movie Paul has Jeanne shove her fingers up his butt. Problem is he also has her swear to prove her devotion to him by sleeping with a pig. Which I was hoping was a metaphor for Paul being the pig, but I doubt it. Was this movie originally supposed to be an exploitation movie? It has plenty of nudity including female full frontal, explicit sex scenes, and now talks of bestiality? All we need is for someone to travel to the Amazon and get gutted after killing animals on screen and I think we will have 70’s exploitation BINGO! But this was made by a classy director so if anything it would enter Salo territory.
Anyway the scenes mentioned were controversial because it is 1972 and this kind of stuff did not get shown in movies pretty much ever. It also does not help the fact the scene comes off as very uncomfortable with the amount of crying Jeanne does. So much so this initially gave me a very rapey vibe to the scene. But since she does not call the cops or break off seeing him IMMEDIATELY afterwards (instead choosing to play a practical joke on Paul), that kinda throws those thoughts into question. I have only seen one film where someone acted like that after a legitimate rape and that was Wicked City. Which was A), terrible; and B) really ****ing poorly written. But that was not uncommon in late 80’s and early 90’s ultra-violent schlock anime. Jeanne’s reaction could have easily been the fact that butter is probably nowhere near adequate enough lube for what Paul wanted to do. It could have been the fact that she was reacting the same way Jake Gyllenhaal did in Brokeback Mountain the first night he and Heath Ledger shared a tent. I guess that means that scene is open to interpretation, but that does not make it any less awkward and unpleasant. What is NOT open for interpretation however is actress Maria Schneider feelings about it. In 1975, she said she felt sexually exploited after shooting that scene which was not originally in the script. Those tears she was crying were not acting tears. Those were very real tears coming from a very uncomfortable situation. Schneider would go on to call Bertolucci a “gangster” and a “pimp” for filming the scene. Hell even Brando felt violated afterwards and refused to even talk to Bertolucci for 15 years after the movie wrapped.
But controversy and unpleasantness aside there are still a lot of things to praise about the film. The cinematography is top notch with many fluid camera movements. Brando’s performance is in excellent form and looked like he was having a blast in many different parts of the movie. It is not often I get to see one of the greatest actors ever spew out so many different terms for penises in one sitting or be quite as vulgar with his speech and jokes. It was actually kind of awesome in that regard in the same way it would be funny as hell if Peter O’ Toole were to get up and recite The Aristocrats joke. Brando was even nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars that year. That alone is impressive for a film where we see his bare ass while mooning someone. All the while hitting those emotional high notes he is so known for. It also helps this was filmed before his bat s**t insanity on Apocalypse Now and his straight up not giving a damn in the 1996 version of The Island of Dr Moreau (though in his defense NOBODY outside of maybe Ron Pearlman gave a damn in that movie). But Brando being Brando, if you look hard enough you will find one of his line cue cards stuck to the wall in one scene. The story was also well written and has a legitimately sad ending. An ending I will not spoil in this review. But like with Fifty Shade of Grey I felt the explicit nature of this film was overhyped. Yes I can see this being controversial in 1972. But this day and age we are desensitized by crap like MTV’s Spring Break, internet porn, and have seen WAY more explicit scenes in films like Blue is the Warmest Color or even unsimulated sex scenes like in Short Bus. Overall a lot of this film (outside of the sodomy scene) just is not that shocking. It is kind of like my first experience watching 1968’s Bonnie and Clyde after growing up with Schwarzenegger movies. In 1968, the level of violence was shocking, new, and spat in the face of the Hayes Code. When I saw it in 2006, the film was quaint. In context of cinema history it is ground breaking. In my personal viewing experience, it was nothing special.
As for the claim that Last Tango in Paris is porn disguised as art… I have to say yes and no. Yes in the fact that the first time Paul and Jeanne have sex came out of nowhere during their very first chance encounter, the anal sex, random nudity, and the sex talk is kind of reminiscent of a porno flick. But the production design and effort put into this film, and the fact that there more story then explicit material elevates it above porn. Because let us be honest, there is a lot more art in this movie then porn. If you are looking for “artsy porn” I think there are better movies to see. Maybe a film like Behind the Green Door would be a better choice. Then again I have not seen that movie.
Either way I did like the film overall. But it is not really something I want to watch again or can really recommend. Everyone has their tastes and limits when it comes to films like this; some more so then others. If you would likely become upset by a movie like this then by all means pass on it. If this movie sounds kind of interesting to you then I leave it up to you to determine if you wish to see it. At the very least add it to your “List of movies to see someday” and maybe check it out down the line. I can’t say you need to rush out and buy the DVD unless you are a HUGE Brando fan or really loved The Conformist. The choice is ultimately yours. But if you do decide to watch it, I suggest avoiding the buttered popcorn.
Welcome back MoFos! It is time for another at the cinema review with The Gunslinger45! Well… okay I actually can’t make it to the theater this week. North Texas has been hit by an unusually long bought of winter weather. Or so I have been told by residents of the city of the Dallas. Usually the Dallas/ Fort Worth area gets a day of ice and or snow a year. This entire week it has been nothing but exceptionally cold weather, snow and ice storms. And the roads are going to ice up bad most of the weekend. And rather than risk an accident in my non 4X4 rear wheel drive mid-sized pick-up truck, I figured Friday night was a good night to turn on the heat, stay inside and watch a DVD. Something I have not had much time to do because of work. And I figured I should watch a movie I recently bought, Last Tango in Paris. A film where Marlon Brando acts opposite of Maria Schneider, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, was originally rated X by the MPAA (now NC-17) and described by some as “porn disguised as art.” Was this the case? Well read on and let’s find out.
The film opens in Paris where we first meet Paul played by Marlon Brando. Paul is an American expatriate and local hotel manager whose wife has recently committed suicide. A chance encounter with an engaged 20 year old Parisian girl named Jeanne (Schneider) leads to an anonymous sexual relationship. And by anonymous I do mean it in the truest sense. The two meet up in a rundown hotel room and engage in various sex acts all the while they do not even exchange their names. Nothing about them is to be shared; only what they do to each other in the privacy of their quarters. This is a condition on Paul’s part, who is still traumatized by his wife’s death. Jeanne frustratingly tries many times in her efforts to share personal info to try and gain some kind of emotional intimacy with Paul. Stories are exchanged, but no names or ages are not to be shared. If she does, he gets very angry. Clearly he is a man with intimacy issues, but this is understandable as we learn more about him, his wife, and their marriage. Jeanne on the other hand has her own issues. She is set to be married to her long time boyfriend, but cheats on him with Paul. This puts a strain on the relationship with her fiancé, but is further complicated as the emotional distance between her and Paul and his controlling behavior further infuriates her. The relationship between her and Paul is rather bipolar. One second they have their hands all over each other and actually look like a cute couple, to fighting like cats and dogs in the same scene. The transition can be rather jarring but it still ends up working. As we see Paul further work out the issues he has about his wife and their past, we begin to see a change in him. But is this change for the better in his relationship with Jeanne? Or is it the beginning of the end?
As I was watching this movie I began to compare this film to Fifty Shades of Grey. Both films where highly controversial at the time of their release, were sexually charged movies and made dump trucks full of money on fairly reasonable budgets. According to Wikipedia the budget for Last Tango in Paris was $1.25 million and took in a box office of over $96 million. Both films were also condemned by religious organizations, social groups, and critics alike. That is where the similarities end however. First off, Last Tango in Paris is a FAR superior film to Fifty Shades. This is made by a world renowned and critically praised director who also made films like The Conformist, was written by the same writer who wrote Once Upon a Time in America, was shot by the same cinematographer for Apocalypse Now, and the lead is Marlon freakin’ Brando! This movie is loaded with talent. Which is a lot more then I can say for that crap movie Fifty Shades of Grey. And as much as other critics bashed this film, one of its strongest defenders was legendary film critic Pauline Kael. Kael wrote a 6,000 word essay which praised the film with much gusto. To put that into prospective, this review is just over 2,000 words. Good luck getting someone of that stature to defend Fifty Shades of Grey.
But the controversy was huge for both films. The Fifty Shades of Grey scandal mostly revolves around the alleged glorification of abusive relationships (which I do see some truth in), the sexual content, and the fact that it is a really crappy film based off a Twilight fan fiction. The scandal for Last Tango in Paris mostly centers around one scene. A scene involving Marlon Brando, a stick of butter, Jeanne, and … ugh… Brando storming her trenches with his bayonet. Okay seriously, what the hell? Why is a running theme in the past three movies I have reviewed been ass play? Fifty Shades had talk of anal fisting and butt plugs, Kingsman ended with a Swedish Princess offering to give up the balloon knot, and now we have Brando polishing some woman’s rusty sheriff’s badge. I swear this was not intentional! Good thing I have already seen Caligula so it is not like this trend could get any worse. But the film does at least have a bit of balance since later on in the movie Paul has Jeanne shove her fingers up his butt. Problem is he also has her swear to prove her devotion to him by sleeping with a pig. Which I was hoping was a metaphor for Paul being the pig, but I doubt it. Was this movie originally supposed to be an exploitation movie? It has plenty of nudity including female full frontal, explicit sex scenes, and now talks of bestiality? All we need is for someone to travel to the Amazon and get gutted after killing animals on screen and I think we will have 70’s exploitation BINGO! But this was made by a classy director so if anything it would enter Salo territory.
Anyway the scenes mentioned were controversial because it is 1972 and this kind of stuff did not get shown in movies pretty much ever. It also does not help the fact the scene comes off as very uncomfortable with the amount of crying Jeanne does. So much so this initially gave me a very rapey vibe to the scene. But since she does not call the cops or break off seeing him IMMEDIATELY afterwards (instead choosing to play a practical joke on Paul), that kinda throws those thoughts into question. I have only seen one film where someone acted like that after a legitimate rape and that was Wicked City. Which was A), terrible; and B) really ****ing poorly written. But that was not uncommon in late 80’s and early 90’s ultra-violent schlock anime. Jeanne’s reaction could have easily been the fact that butter is probably nowhere near adequate enough lube for what Paul wanted to do. It could have been the fact that she was reacting the same way Jake Gyllenhaal did in Brokeback Mountain the first night he and Heath Ledger shared a tent. I guess that means that scene is open to interpretation, but that does not make it any less awkward and unpleasant. What is NOT open for interpretation however is actress Maria Schneider feelings about it. In 1975, she said she felt sexually exploited after shooting that scene which was not originally in the script. Those tears she was crying were not acting tears. Those were very real tears coming from a very uncomfortable situation. Schneider would go on to call Bertolucci a “gangster” and a “pimp” for filming the scene. Hell even Brando felt violated afterwards and refused to even talk to Bertolucci for 15 years after the movie wrapped.
But controversy and unpleasantness aside there are still a lot of things to praise about the film. The cinematography is top notch with many fluid camera movements. Brando’s performance is in excellent form and looked like he was having a blast in many different parts of the movie. It is not often I get to see one of the greatest actors ever spew out so many different terms for penises in one sitting or be quite as vulgar with his speech and jokes. It was actually kind of awesome in that regard in the same way it would be funny as hell if Peter O’ Toole were to get up and recite The Aristocrats joke. Brando was even nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars that year. That alone is impressive for a film where we see his bare ass while mooning someone. All the while hitting those emotional high notes he is so known for. It also helps this was filmed before his bat s**t insanity on Apocalypse Now and his straight up not giving a damn in the 1996 version of The Island of Dr Moreau (though in his defense NOBODY outside of maybe Ron Pearlman gave a damn in that movie). But Brando being Brando, if you look hard enough you will find one of his line cue cards stuck to the wall in one scene. The story was also well written and has a legitimately sad ending. An ending I will not spoil in this review. But like with Fifty Shade of Grey I felt the explicit nature of this film was overhyped. Yes I can see this being controversial in 1972. But this day and age we are desensitized by crap like MTV’s Spring Break, internet porn, and have seen WAY more explicit scenes in films like Blue is the Warmest Color or even unsimulated sex scenes like in Short Bus. Overall a lot of this film (outside of the sodomy scene) just is not that shocking. It is kind of like my first experience watching 1968’s Bonnie and Clyde after growing up with Schwarzenegger movies. In 1968, the level of violence was shocking, new, and spat in the face of the Hayes Code. When I saw it in 2006, the film was quaint. In context of cinema history it is ground breaking. In my personal viewing experience, it was nothing special.
As for the claim that Last Tango in Paris is porn disguised as art… I have to say yes and no. Yes in the fact that the first time Paul and Jeanne have sex came out of nowhere during their very first chance encounter, the anal sex, random nudity, and the sex talk is kind of reminiscent of a porno flick. But the production design and effort put into this film, and the fact that there more story then explicit material elevates it above porn. Because let us be honest, there is a lot more art in this movie then porn. If you are looking for “artsy porn” I think there are better movies to see. Maybe a film like Behind the Green Door would be a better choice. Then again I have not seen that movie.
Either way I did like the film overall. But it is not really something I want to watch again or can really recommend. Everyone has their tastes and limits when it comes to films like this; some more so then others. If you would likely become upset by a movie like this then by all means pass on it. If this movie sounds kind of interesting to you then I leave it up to you to determine if you wish to see it. At the very least add it to your “List of movies to see someday” and maybe check it out down the line. I can’t say you need to rush out and buy the DVD unless you are a HUGE Brando fan or really loved The Conformist. The choice is ultimately yours. But if you do decide to watch it, I suggest avoiding the buttered popcorn.