UCLA Library

Released to international praise and scorn in 1972, Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris became a cultural and cinematic phenomenon. The study examines the consequences of Last Tango’s release and the public’s response in the United States, France, and Italy to the film’s controversial content; how the movie came to symbolize both the sexual revolution of the 1970s and a revolution in film criticism; and whether the movie’s novel representation of a tortured intimate relationship constituted pornography. The consequences that the director and actors suffered, both professionally and personally, in response to their participation in the film also is explored. The film, as a singular commentary about isolation and misery in contemporary society and its non- traditional depiction of Paris, is challenged and analyzed.