Editing Last Tango in Paris (section)

== Production ==
[[File:Bir-Hakeim-1.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|The [[Pont de Bir-Hakeim]] in Paris, where numerous scenes were shot]]
[[Bernardo Bertolucci]] developed the film from his sexual fantasies: "He once dreamed of seeing a beautiful nameless woman on the street and having sex with her without ever knowing who she was."<ref name="Taylor">{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Sophie |date=4 February 2011 |title=Last Tango in Paris star Maria Schneider dies at 58 |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/entertainment/8061/last-tango-paris-star-maria-schneider-dies-58 |newspaper=[[The Week]] |access-date=5 January 2014}}</ref> The screenplay was by Bertolucci, [[Franco Arcalli]], and [[Agnès Varda]] (additional dialogue). It was later adapted as a novel by Robert Alley. The film was directed by Bertolucci with cinematography by [[Vittorio Storaro]].

Bertolucci originally intended to cast [[Dominique Sanda]], who developed the idea with him, and [[Jean-Louis Trintignant]]. Trintignant refused and, when Brando accepted, Sanda was pregnant and decided not to do the film.<ref name="Taylor" /> Brando received a percentage of the gross for the film and was estimated to have earned $3 million.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=January 9, 1974 |title=Brando's $3-Mil Year |page=1|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1974-01-09_273_9/mode/2up|access-date=December 10, 2023|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

[[Maria Schneider (actress)|Maria Schneider]] stated in 2001 that her role in the original script was intended to be played by a boy.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://next.liberation.fr/cinema/2001/03/24/maria-schneider-l-insaisie_358898
|title= Maria Schneider, l'insaisie
|access-date= 22 February 2016
|last= Azoury
|first= Philippe
|date= 24 March 2001
|website= next.liberation.fr
|language= fr}}</ref>

An art lover, Bertolucci drew inspiration from the works of the Irish-born British artist [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]] for the opening sequence of cast and crew credits.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=A celebration of 500 years of British Art |magazine=Life |publisher=[[The New York Observer]] |date=19 March 2000}}</ref> According to American artist [[Andy Warhol]], ''Last Tango'' was based on Warhol's own ''[[Blue Movie]]'' film released a few years earlier in 1969.<ref name="WS-2002-2005">{{cite web |last=Comenas |first=Gary |title=Blue Movie (1968) |url=https://www.warholstars.org/andy-warhol-blue-movie.html |date=2005 |work=WarholStars.org |access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref>

=== Rape scene ===
The film contains a scene in which Paul [[anal rape|anally rapes]] Jeanne using butter as a lubricant. While the rape is [[Simulation|simulated]], Schneider has said the scene still had a tremendously negative effect on her. In a 2006 interview, Schneider said that the use of butter was not in the script and that "when they told me, I had a burst of anger. Woo! I threw everything. And nobody can force someone to do something not in the script. But I didn't know that. I was too young."<ref name="Downhill Ride">{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/film/downhill-ride-for-maria-after-her-tango-with-brando/2006/06/21/1150845244689.html |title=Downhill ride for Maria after her tango with Brando |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]   |date=22 June 2006 |access-date=4 December 2016}}</ref> In 2007, Schneider recounted feelings of sexual humiliation pertaining to the rape scene:

{{blockquote|They only told me about it before we had to film the scene and I was so angry. I should have called my agent or had my lawyer come to the set because you can't force someone to do something that isn't in the script, but at the time, I didn't know that. Marlon said to me: 'Maria, don't worry, it's just a movie', but during the scene, even though what Marlon was doing wasn't real, I was crying real tears. I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci. After the scene, Marlon didn't console me or apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/11/26/story-behind-filmmaker-bernardo-bertoluccis-last-public-controversy/|title=The story behind filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci's last public controversy|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

In 2011, Bertolucci denied that he "stole her youth" (she was 19 at the time of filming), and commented, "The girl wasn't mature enough to understand what was going on."<ref>{{cite web |first=Steve |last=Dollar |url=http://daily.greencine.com/archives/007965.html |title=Interview: Bernardo Bertolucci |website=Green Cine |date=2 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105081412/http://daily.greencine.com/archives/007965.html |archive-date=5 January 2011}}</ref> She claimed that Brando and Bertolucci "made a fortune" from the film while she made very little money.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/in-memoriam-maria-schneider|title=In Memoriam: Maria Schneider|magazine=The New Yorker|date=February 3, 2011|language=en|access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref>

Schneider died in 2011. In February 2013, Bertolucci spoke about the film's effect on Schneider in an interview on the Dutch television show ''[[College Tour]]'', saying that although the rape scene was in the script, the detail of using butter as a lubricant was improvised the day of shooting and Schneider did not know about the use of the butter beforehand. Bertolucci said that "I feel guilty, but I don't regret it."<ref>[https://www.ntr.nl/collegetour/page/detail/790329 "Bernardo Bertolucci"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220150719/http://collegetour.ntr.nl/page/detail/790329 |date=20 December 2016 }}, ''Dutch College Tour'', NTR, 2 February 2013,</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMl4xCGcdfA  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/RMl4xCGcdfA| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Bertolucci over Maria Schneider |publisher=College Tour |date=5 February 2013 |access-date=3 December 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In September 2013, Bertolucci spoke again about the scene at a retrospective at the [[Cinémathèque Française]], claiming that the scene was in the script but the use of butter was not. Bertolucci said that he and Brando "decided not to say anything to Maria to get a more realistic response".<ref name="ansa">{{cite web |url=https://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/spettacolo/2013/09/17/Bertolucci-confessione-shock_9312378.html |title=Bertolucci, confessione shock su Ultimo tango |work=ANSA |language=it |date=17 September 2013 |access-date=4 December 2016}}</ref>

In November 2016, a slightly different version of the 2013 ''College Tour'' interview was uploaded to [[YouTube]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021jNOEVytQ  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/021jNOEVytQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Bertolucci sobre Maria Schneider / Bertolucci admits rape scene was non-consensual |date=23 November 2016 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> by the Spanish non-profit ''El Mundo de Alycia'' on the [[International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women]],<ref name="izadi">{{cite news |first=Elahe |last=Izadi |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/05/why-the-last-tango-in-paris-rape-scene-is-generating-such-an-outcry-now/ |title=Why the 'Last Tango in Paris' rape scene is generating such an outcry now |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]   |date=5 December 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref> accompanied by a statement concluding that the scene "abused [Schneider] psychologically and, who knows if also, physically..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://elmundodealycia.org/bertolucci-confiesa-la-violacion-de-maria-schneider/ |title=Bertolucci confiesa la violación de Maria Schneider |work=El Mundo de Alycia |language=es |date=25 November 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref> This gained attention when ''[[Yahoo! Movies]]'' writer Tom Butler wrote an article about it,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/bertolucci-admits-infamous-last-tango-butter-rape-scene-was-non-consensual-162300811.html |last=Butler |first=Tim |title=Bertolucci admits infamous Last Tango 'butter' rape scene was non-consensual |work=Yahoo Movies |date=30 November 2016 |access-date=4 December 2016}}</ref> prompting several celebrities to condemn the film and Bertolucci,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2016/12/last-tango-in-paris-maria-schneider-rape-scene-marlon-brando-bernardo-bertolucci-1201864017/ |last=Lincoln |first=Ross A. |title=Hollywood Reacts With Disgust At 'Last Tango' Rape Scene Revelations |work=Deadline |date=3 December 2016 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> and a number of newspapers picked up on the story, reporting that Bertolucci had confessed to Schneider being raped on set, prompting Bertolucci to release a statement, clarifying that a simulation and not an actual intercourse took place.<ref>{{cite web |first=Nick |last=Vivarelli |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/global/bernardo-bertolucci-responds-to-last-tango-in-paris-backlash-1201933605/ |title=Bernardo Bertolucci Responds to 'Last Tango in Paris' Backlash Over Rape Scene |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]  |date=5 December 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="izadi" />

Bertolucci also shot a scene which showed Brando's genitals, but in 1973 explained, "I had so identified myself with Brando that I cut it out of shame for myself. To show him naked would have been like showing me naked."<ref name="The Hottest Movie">{{cite magazine |first=Charles |last=Michener |title=Tango: The Hottest Movie |magazine=[[Newsweek]]  |location=New York City |date=12 February 1973}}</ref> Schneider declared in an interview that "Marlon said he felt raped and manipulated by it and he was 48. And he was Marlon Brando!"<ref name="The Hottest Movie"/> Like Schneider, Brando confirmed that the sex was simulated.<ref name=izadi/> Brando refused to speak to Bertolucci for 15 years after the production was completed. Bertolucci said:

{{blockquote|I was thinking that it was like a dialogue where he was really answering my questions in a way. When at the end of the movie, when he saw it, I discovered that he realized what we were doing, that he was delivering so much of his own experience. And he was very upset with me, and I told him, "Listen, you are a grown-up. Older than me. Didn't you realize what you were doing?" And he didn't talk to me for years.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brad |last=Balfour |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-balfour/legendary-oscar-winning-b_b_803322.html |title=Legendary Oscar-Winner Bernardo Bertolucci's Career Celebrated at MoMA |website=[[The Huffington Post]]  |date=January 2, 2011 |access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Brody|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/revisiting-bernardo-bertoluccis-artistic-ambitions-and-abuses-in-last-tango-in-paris|title=Revisiting Bernardo Bertolucci's Artistic Ambitions, and Abuses, in "Last Tango in Paris"|date=30 November 2018|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref>}}

=== Francis Bacon influence ===
[[File:FrancisBacon-StudyforPortraitofIsabelRawsthorne.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|''Double Portrait of Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach'' (left side, oil on canvas, 1964)]] [[File:FrancisBacon-PortraitofIsabelRawsthorne.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|''Study for a Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne'' (oil on canvas, 1964)]]
The film's opening credits include two paintings by [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]]: ''Double Portrait of [[Lucian Freud]] and [[Frank Auerbach]]'' and ''Study for a Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne''. The hues used in the film were inspired by the paintings of Bacon.{{sfn|Tonetti|1995|p=233}} During pre-production, Bertolucci frequently visited an exhibit of Bacon's paintings at the [[Grand Palais]] in Paris; he said that the light and colour in Bacon's paintings reminded him of Paris in the winter, when

<blockquote>the lights of the stores are on, and there is a very beautiful contrast between the leaden gray of the wintry sky and the warmth of the show windows...the light in the paintings was the major source of inspiration for the style we were looking for.{{sfn|Tonetti|1995|p=126}}</blockquote>

Bacon's painting style often depicted human skin like raw meat and the painter's inspiration included meat hanging in a butcher shops window and human skin diseases.{{sfn|Tonetti|1995|p=126}}

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro had previously worked with Bertolucci on ''[[The Conformist (film)|The Conformist]]'' and often used an azure hue in the film. Storaro later told a reporter that

<blockquote>after ''The Conformist'' I had a moment of crisis; I was asking myself: what can come after azure?...I did not have the slightest idea that an orange film could be born. We needed another kind of emotion...It was the case of ''Last Tango''.{{sfn|Tonetti|1995|p=126}}</blockquote>

For ''Last Tango in Paris'', Bertolucci and Storaro took inspiration from Bacon's paintings by using "rich oranges, light and cool grays, icy whites, and occasional reds combine[d] with Bertolucci's own tasteful choices of soft browns, blond browns, and delicate whites with bluish and pink shadings".{{sfn|Tonetti|1995|p=127}}

Bertolucci took Marlon Brando to the Bacon exhibit and told Brando that he "wanted him to compare himself with Bacon's human figures because I felt that, like them, Marlon's face and body were characterized by a strange and infernal plasticity. I wanted Paul to be like the figures that obsessively return in Bacon: faces eaten by something coming from the inside."{{sfn|Tonetti|1995|p=126}}

=== Brando's lines ===
As was his practice in previous films, Brando refused to memorize his lines for many of the scenes. Instead, he wrote his lines on [[cue cards]] and posted them around the set, leaving Bertolucci with the problem of keeping them out of the picture frame. During his long monologue over the body of his wife, for example, Brando's dramatic lifting of his eyes upward is not spontaneous dramatic acting but a search for his next cue card.<ref name="SelfPortrait">{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903717,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429021823/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903717,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 April 2007 |title=Self-Portrait of an Angel and Monster |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]  |location=New York City |date=22 January 1973 |access-date=29 July 2018|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Brando asked Bertolucci if he could "write lines on Maria's rear end", which the director rejected.<ref name="The Hottest Movie"/>