Undoubtedly one of the most controversial films of the last century, Last Tango in Paris is an erotic drama that’s virtually impossible to look away from. A movie centering around the twisted affair between a young girl (Maria Schneider) and a middle-aged man (Marlon Brando), it floods the viewer with a sense of disturbing arousal.
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But apart from the premise of the film, which is, in itself, a bit dodgy, what really catches most people off guard is one part in particular – the notorious “butter scene.” A scene in which the only thing that you, as a viewer, find comforting is the notion that they’re all acting and that none of it is real in any way.
Except, not really. Maria Schneider was kept entirely out of the loop during that grueling scene.
Here is what she had to say about it. And what director Bernardo Bertolucci had to say in return.