Last Tango in Paris depicts fictional sexual violence. The real controversy is about how the scene was made: director Bernardo Bertolucci said he and Marlon Brando withheld the butter detail from Maria Schneider to capture her spontaneous reaction. Schneider later said she felt angry and humiliated, describing the experience as “a little raped.” The accounts differ over what she was told and what the shoot meant to her; the Guardian reported that the physical action was simulated and there was no real sex.
What happened in the scene?
Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 film Last Tango in Paris stars Marlon Brando as Paul and Maria Schneider as Jeanne. In the disputed scene, Paul assaults Jeanne. That is fictional violence within the story, distinct from the real production decision that became controversial: using butter in the scene without telling Schneider beforehand, according to Bertolucci’s later account.
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The Guardian’s retrospective coverage says Schneider described the action as simulated and said there was no real sex. That does not erase her account of the scene’s impact, nor does it settle the disagreement over what she was told before filming.
What did Bertolucci say was withheld?
At a 2013 event at La Cinémathèque Française, Bertolucci said he and Brando came up with the butter detail before shooting and did not tell Schneider. He said he wanted her reaction “as a girl, not as an actress.” The Guardian reported his account in its coverage of the controversy.
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In 2016, Bertolucci clarified that he meant the butter use was not disclosed, while the fictional violence was described in the script. In his statement, he said, “We wanted her spontaneous reaction to that improper use [of the butter].” That is Bertolucci’s account; it does not resolve Schneider’s disagreement about what was communicated or how the decision affected her. The Guardian published his response in 2016.
What did Maria Schneider say?
Schneider was 19 during filming, according to the Guardian. In a 2007 interview, she said she was told about the contents shortly before filming and was angry because the scene was not in the original script. She said the physical action was simulated, but described feeling humiliated and “a little raped.” The New Yorker later reproduced her words: “I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci.”
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Her description concerns her experience of a production decision and its effect on her; it should not be recast as a claim that real sex or a real rape took place on camera. The Guardian’s reporting of her account is here, and the New Yorker’s retrospective is here.
How did the accounts differ?
| Question | Reported account |
|---|---|
| What was in the script? | Bertolucci said the fictional violence was described in the script and that the butter was the undisclosed novelty. Schneider said the scene was not in the original script. |
| What was Schneider told? | Bertolucci said she was not told about the butter detail, while arguing that she had been informed about the violence. Schneider said she was told about the contents shortly before filming and was angry about the scene. |
| How was the shoot experienced? | Schneider said she felt humiliated and “a little raped.” Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro said no one was raped during filming. |
The Guardian’s reports record these conflicting accounts rather than establishing an independent, complete reconstruction of what was said on set.
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Storaro, who said he was present, defended the shoot in a 2016 interview. As reported by the Guardian, he said, “I was there. We were doing a movie. You don’t do it for real. I was there with two cameras and nothing happened. … Nobody was raping anybody.” His statement disputes the idea that a real assault took place on set; it does not negate Schneider’s reported feelings about the undisclosed production choice. The Guardian reported Storaro’s comments in its account of his defense.
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What can be stated with confidence?
- The film depicts a fictional rape, and reporting quotes Schneider as saying the physical action was simulated and there was no real sex.
- Bertolucci said he and Brando decided not to tell Schneider about the butter detail before the scene was filmed.
- Schneider said she was angry and humiliated, and later described feeling “a little raped.”
- Bertolucci maintained that the fictional violence was in the script and that the withheld detail was the butter; Schneider’s account differs on what was in the original script and what she was told.
- Storaro disputed that a real assault occurred during filming. The accounts presented in the cited coverage do not establish a legal finding or resolve every detail of what happened in preparation for the scene.
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