In any case, Schneider, who died from cancer in 2011, had been outspoken about being blindsided by the duo in a number of interviews. Since then, there have been conflicting reports about whether the young actress was misinformed about the entire scene or just the use of butter. “ I’ve been, in a way, horrible to Maria because I didn’t tell her what was going on, because I wanted her reaction as a girl, not as an actress,” the director said in a 2013 interview, which reignited the controversy surrounding the film. However, Bertolucci has come under fire for some of the practices he used to film the infamous “ butter scene,” in which Brando’s character forces himself onto Maria Schneider and uses butter as lubricant. Director Bernardo Bertolucci said he was inspired by the raw art of British painter Francis Bacon to tell the story of a young Parisienne (Maria Schneider) and her sordid affair with an older American man (Marlon Brando). Released by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures in 1972Ĭonsidered obscene by some, and the most erotic movie ever made by others, Last Tango in Paris is as ridden with controversy today as it was in 1972 when it originally screened.
