Violence in the Last Tango in Paris was real

Bernardo Bertolucci removed the rape scene without the consent of Maria Schneider

At the end of November, a fragment of an interview with Bernardo Bertolucci was laid out on Yetube, which he gave three years ago at one of the events in the French cinema. Then the Italian director, the holder of Oscars admitted that the rape scene in the film “Last Tango in Paris” was not in advance with actress Maria Schneider. 44 years after the release of the film, which became the classic of world cinema, Bertolucci was condemned by many Hollywood stars; The publication of the video provoked a new discussion about the situation and role of a woman in the film industry. Medusa talks about this story.

Confession

Bernardo Bertolucci performed in the French Cinematok in Paris in 2013-two years after the death of actress Maria Schneider. The director said that after the filming of the Last Tango in Paris in 1972, he practically did not communicate with Schneider-according to Bertolucci, she “hated him” because of the rape scene in the film, which was not agreed with her. In the original scenario there was no “ episode with oil ” - the director came up with him while working on the picture along with actor Marlon Brando, who played the main role in the film. Schneider knew in general terms about the stage before starting the filming, but about the details - namely that the oil will be used as a lubricant - the actress was not warned.

Bertolucci explained that in this way he wanted to achieve from Maria Schneider a natural reaction - a woman’s reaction, not an actress; So that she does not play, but really experienced "rage and humiliation." The director admitted that he had acted with Schneider terribly and feels guilty, but nevertheless it does not regret that he had shot this scene that way.

Schneider

At the time of the filming in the film, Maria Schneider was 19 years old, and Marlon Brando was 48. The “Scene with Oil” was shot from one double, and there was no real sex in it. Nevertheless, over all these years, Maria Schneider has repeatedly said that during the filming she felt humiliated and “slightly raped” with both - both Brando and Bertolucci; that she was crying truly and very angry. Schneider believed that Marlon Brando came up with this scene. The fact that she could abandon the filming (because this was not in the script), calling the agent or lawyer, the actress understood later. In an interview with 2007, she recalled that after filming, Brando did not apologize or comfort her.

Movie

In 1972, Maria Schneider was supposed to star in a picture with Alena Delon, but the actress’s agent convinced her that one could not give up a chance to work with Marlon Brando. At the same time, she did not fully understand what exactly was waiting for her on the set. The “last tango in Paris” really brought the Schneider world fame (and two nominations for Oscar Brando and Bertolucci), but after the actress she regretted that her career began with such an outright film - later she was offered a lot of roles in erotic paintings, but Schneider had never starred naked. A few years after the release of the film, the actress began depression, she took drugs, she had nervous breakdowns-she was angry, which only a sex symbol saw in her. At the same time, Schneider admitted that during the filming of naked scenes she felt natural, while Brando was shy.

Despite this story, Schneider and Brando made friends, they talked to his death in 2004. The actress said that the best on the set of Bertolucci’s picture is a meeting with Marlon Brando, whom she perceived then rather as a father. For some time they could not talk about "the last tango in Paris." According to Schneider, Bertolucci manipulated absolutely everyone - not only to her, but also by Marlon Brando; Brando himself counted the same. The actress spoke unflattering about the director, believing that Bertolucci was too overvalued.

Reaction

Bertolucci's statements caused not only a sharp reaction in the media (for example, in The Guardian came a column about abuses from men who, as 40 years ago and now everything gets away), but also many critical reviews from famous actresses and actors. Jessica Chastain admitted that she feels disgusting due to the fact that the director essentially planned an attack on the actress; Chris Evans said that he would never watch the “Last Tango in Paris” again, and Bertolucci and Brando had to go to prison; The director of Ava Duvernny said that Bertolucci’s act is unforgivable - as a director she can hardly understand him, and how a woman feels horror and disgust.

Maria Schneider has repeatedly called for her career to pay attention to the supremacy of men in the film industry, to the injustice that reigned there against women - which, for example, manifests itself in a smaller choice of roles, and in fees and in working conditions. An illustration of this thesis is that the news about the filming of the rape scene acquired a wide resonance after Bertolucci’s statements-although Schneider herself spoke about this back in 2007 ( The Independent ). The scandal around the “Last Tango in Paris” came at a time when Hollywood tries to break the existing system in which men possess more power. The struggle for the rights of women, for fees, equal to the salaries of colleagues-muzhin, are conducted by many actresses-from Meryl Streep and Robin Wright to Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson.

Continuation. Commenting on the reaction of the actors and directors, Bertolucci said that the discussion of the rape scene, which was called in the media called the actress Maria Schneider, was caused by “ridiculous misunderstanding”. According to him, in an interview with 2013, he said that he did not warn the actress only about the use of oil in the stage, and not about the rape scene as such. Read more here .