Last Tango in Paris director says rape scene was consensual
Director is firing back claiming his words were taken out of context by the media
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Last Tango in Paris director Bernardo Bertolucci is firing back at recent reports that the movie's infamous rape scene between Hollywood legend Marlon Brando and French actress Maria Schneider was non-consensual.
A 2013 interview in which Bertolucci said he did not tell Schneider what would happen the day that he filmed the scene in which Brando infamously sodomizes her character, using a stick of butter as lubricant, has led to renewed outcry about the already controversial scene.
Bertolucci, 76, is now saying however that his words have been taken out of context, and that Schneider knew what would be happening on the day in question.
'We wanted her spontaneous reaction to that improper use [of the butter]. That is where the misunderstanding lies,' said the Italian director in a statement.
'Somebody thought, and thinks, that Maria had not been informed about the violence on her. That is false!'
He then added: 'Maria knew everything because she had read the script, where it was all described. The only novelty was the idea of the butter.
It's very simple. Nothing was physically done to her without her knowledge. The issue is that her "consent" was forced/ pressured by the two men and she was made to feel like she couldn't say no. That's what she herself has always said, but people hearing about it for the first time assumed they actually genuinely penetrated her on camera.
