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I’ll just put it out there up front – I’m a tremendous admirer of director Bernardo Bertolucci and his 1972 masterpiece Last Tango in Paris. I came upon this film in my early twenties after reading copious glowing reviews of it in the film mags of the day like Premiere and Movieline. Everyone who either wrote or spoke of Last Tango in Paris – the story of an American widower (deftly essayed by screen legend Marlon Brando) who, in best Alfred Hitchcock/Vertigo style becomes fixated by a translucent Frenchwoman (Maria Schneider in a career defining performance) and develops an anonymous sexual relationship with her – waxed nigh rhapsodic about it, so much so that I finally made tracks down to the local Blockbuster and rented it. And instantly fell under its odd spell. To be for sure after viewing the film I never looked at a crock of butter in quite the same manner. That was then, of course – this is now.
According to our controversy-tinged pals over at The Hollywood Reporter, CBS Studios is preparing a limited event series entitled Tango which is meant to be a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the controversial movie as told through the perspective of Bertolucci’s leading lady Maria Schneider and presented through the revisionist lens of 2021.
Set to be directed by Killing Eve alum Lisa Bruhlmann and Jose Padilha of Narcos fame, Tango will tell the story of the making of Last Tango in Paris from the period of eighteen months before, during and after the making of the erotic drama. The script has written by scribes Jeremy Miller and Daniel Cohn.
The perspective of Schneider in the limited series is a valid angle to explore: Purportedly, the actress was subjected to various and sundry humiliations during the production of the film, actions which the actress later claimed set her down the path of addiction and mental health issues.
“When Jose and Stampede approached me, I was instantly taken by the project and the chance to look closer at one of the biggest scandals of our industry’s history – despite it not being treated as such at the time,” Bruhlmann said in a press release today. “The opportunity to dive into that world, into all these fascinating characters, and especially the possibility of giving Maria Schneider a voice, is really exciting.”
Ye olde scribbler of pop culture words will, of course, check this out when it finally premieres. And while I’ll always count Last Tango in Paris as a defining and exquisitely shot masterpiece, I’m more than ready to see another perspective on the making of it, with the key word of “context” as my guiding North Light.
CBS Studios and production shingle Stampede Ventures will have Tango ready to shop in early 2022.
