Last Tango in Paris (Ultimo tango a Parigi)

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, this 1972 French-Italian erotic drama centers on Paul, a middle-aged American hotel owner mourning his wife's suicide, and Jeanne, a young Parisian on the verge of marriage. Crossing paths while inspecting the same rental apartment, they plunge into an affair built on anonymity, vowing never to reveal their names or anything about their lives beyond those walls. Jeanne keeps planning her wedding to Tom, a documentary filmmaker, even as Paul wrestles with his grief. Eventually the gap between their expectations and temperaments pushes the arrangement toward collapse. Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud headline the cast.

Its explicit sexual content, above all a notorious rape scene, ignited international scandal upon release and brought censorship in numerous countries. In the United States the MPAA initially stamped it with an X; a shortened R-rated edition followed in 1981, and the uncut version was rated NC-17 in 1997. Despite the uproar, the picture proved a huge commercial hit, collected Academy Award nominations for Bertolucci's direction and Brando's acting, and restored the luster of Brando's then-fading stardom.