Last Tango in Paris

Bertolucci's 1972 film follows two people who meet in an empty Paris apartment and agree, at first, not to exchange names. Marlon Brando gives one of the most exposed performances of his career: a man who stops talking after his wife's suicide and tries to communicate only by touch. What defines the film's reputation now is not its artistry but how one scene was made. Maria Schneider said years later that the butter was not in the script and that she was told only moments before the take. She described feeling humiliated, and said she felt "a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci." Bertolucci confirmed the substance of it in 2013, admitting they decided not to tell her in order to get a real reaction. Italy's Supreme Court had given him a four month suspended sentence and stripped his civil rights for five years. It grossed 36 million dollars in the United States and around 96 million worldwide. Who it is for: viewers who want to see film history's darker corners at the source. Who it is not for: anyone who does not want to watch a set knowing what was done to an actor on it. This is not a film that can be recommended without context.