Bertolucci. Bertolucci is a style-plus director with a top 100 film- I don’t have many of those left at this point. The Conformist is a brilliant visual high-wire act of a masterpiece—directed with flair and gravitas. Although he’s got 9 archiveable films you can capture all you really need from Bertolucci with 4 films which certainly hurts his cause. I think it also hurts his cause that his most famous film (though not his best)- Last Tango in Paris– is way better known for Brando’s performance and the explicit content than Bertolucci’s direction (which is too bad because Bertolucci directs the hell out of it, too).
Best film: The Conformist. Politics, architecture and interior design (mise-en-scene all-timer here) and clearly a massive masterpiece. Trintignant gives his best performance and film noir and European art house cinema get a rare blending here.
total archiveable films: 9
top 100 films: 1 (The Conformist)
top 500 films: 3 (The Conformist, 1900, The Last Tango in Paris)
top 100 films of the decade: 4(The Conformist, 1900, The Last Tango in Paris)
most overrated: This is really boring but I think the 4 films of his (same top 4 below in the top 10) rated in the TSPDT top 1000 are very accurate.
most underrated: Last Emperor may be slight underrated at #813 on TSPDT but I’m not sure I’m probably pretty close.
gem I want to spotlight: 1900. RT beats it up but I love it. It’s gorgeous to look at, sprawling, kind of filthy in some ways. It reminds me of Once Upon a Time in America actually (which also stars De Niro and a mostly American cast with an Italian master in a really long film).
stylistic innovations/traits: Bertoluccci’s work is both provocative and vibrant. From Last Tango to Eva Green in The Dreamers Bertolucci is known for his controversial work. He was influenced by Pasolini (who he worked under) and Visctoni (The Leopard in particular). His work with Venetian blinds, shadow, architectural space, and epic filmmaking (pure photography) are matched by very few auteurs. His weaker filmography after his top 4 films doesn’t deter his poetic talent for large canvasses.
top 10
- The Conformist
- 1900
- The Last Tango in Paris
- The Last Emperor
- Before the Revolution
- The Sheltering Sky
- Spider’s Stratagem
- The Dreamers
- The Grim Reaper
By year and grades
| 1962- The Grim Reaper | R |
| 1964- Before the Revolution | R |
| 1970- Spider’s Stratagem | R |
| 1970- The Conformist | MP |
| 1972- The Last Tango in Paris | MS |
| 1976- 1900 | MS |
| 1987- The Last Emperor | |
| 1990- The Sheltering Sky | R |
| 2003- The Dreamers | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
RIP to Mark Peploe. He wrote the screenplays for The Last Emperor, Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha and Antonioni’s The Passenger.
@Drake- Is Day of the Fight (2023) on your radar?
@Malith- It isn’t- looks like it should be. Thank you.
There’s one scene with a canted angle or more in many of his films. I like the use of it especially in something like Stealing Beauty when they start making the statue of Liv Tyler.
Bertolucci is a master at establishing the atmosphere and environment in a scene before the dialogue and characters interact(not a strength). But The Conformist is not in that lineage. His other films has a more relaxed pace due to this.
Another trademark of his is the heightened operatic musical scores during the climax of his films. That’s why the ending of his films are so good.
The first 40 or so minutes of The Dreamers were the most enjoyable I found in Bertolucci’s entire catalogue. It’s extremely well directed as well with floating camera movements, great editing mixing footage with older films, great soundtrack etc. The whole film seems to be floating in this time. The scale is there as well with the riots in France 1968 at the background. The ending is also great as is the Michael C. Pitt performance. He is probably the most wasted talent in the last 21 years but at least he has this. It’s also the most popular Bertolucci film now I think. It also tackles the bourgeoisie criticism that Bertolucci tackled in something like Luna and was a hallmark of his mentor Pasolini. As well as the behind closed doors relationship away from the outside world aspect from Last Tango in Paris and even the journal writing of youngsters from Stealing Beauty.
@Drake-Have you seen Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981)?
Interesting film for sure and you should watch it if you haven’t. It’s an end of an era for Bertolucci(Animal violence, factory workers, cowardliness of the burgeoisie, small Italian town). With him more or less focusing on different cultures and sexual relationships after this. It’s like a Pasolini film with the criticizing(more lightweight) of a bourgeoisie family like Teorema. But the cowardly protagonist is similar to his other works(The Conformist, Novecento, The Last Emperor). It has one key flaw(the voice over narration) which is unfortunate. And Vittorio Storaro is missed.
Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man may have the single best shot of Bertolucci’s entire career.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11xJbmM0v1-rFuDTMH2WieReOG-A22dVo/view?usp=drive_link
@Anderson- beautiful
@Lionel- I’ve had this sitting on my hard drive along with La Luna for over a year, will try and watch soon. That shot is incredible for sure.
Ugo Tognazzi is a very good actor. So it’s never boring. But the biggest problem I found with the film is the inner voice over narration. Which breaks the immersion. This is thankfully not in other Bertolucci films I have seen.
I am an admirer of Bertolucci but I must say he is not that good at directing his Actors. Sure sometimes it has worked out but often in his films his actors lacks the motivation for their actions(often involving horniness which seems to get the better of him). For example in a scene his characters go from one mood to another for no explicable reason or motivation. Schneider in Last Tango in the final scene first seduces Brando by lifting her gown, then after a few seconds she kills him, where is the motivation in that? Brando plays a tortured character in Last Tango and hardly interacts with others apart from Schneider but in the Tango scene he suddenly shows his butt and causes a mess. Then does some sort of hand job afterwards in the hotel. I’m not sure how any of these are related to the plot and his character. Depardieu in 1900 is first very happy when they go to a prostitute then suddenly in the middle of the scene he is very bored and thinking about his love. I mean what the hell? De Niro and Sanda are in a falling marriage and then De Niro goes to her at a pub then they quarrel and suddenly after meeting the prostitute they are very happy and smiling in the car. I mean. Laura Betti in 1900 is like a dead corpse at the end then suddenly in the next scene for some inexplicable reason she screams and goes around like a mad woman. There is tons of this in Luna too. And also in something like Spider’s Stratagem, Alida Valli is very sleepy and falls down then suddenly she is very happy and cheery and even throws her shoes above when they arrive at her house. There is a lot like this with Bertolucci. When you think about his characters.
I’ve only seen The Conformist and The Last Tango in Paris, but based on those I agree. The characters are stilted, unnatural and react weirdly, often shifting from one state of mind to the other abruptly. Like puppets possessed by the needs of the script, with said script being very intellectualized, rather than actual people.
@Vaanilla-I don’t have a problem with this in the Conformist, but others yes. It was very apparent to me in La Luna especially. All of Bertolucci’s films apart from The Conformist have visible flaws even though he is a great visual artist. Even in The Conformist one could say Dominique Sanda appearing earlier in the film as some sort of prostitute before the meeting with the professor serves no purpose. You should check out more of his films though despite the flaws in them. He always seems to end his films well. And they are visually beautiful. I have now seen 11 of his films. And they are all interesting.
I’d rank them as:
1.The Conformist(1970)-MP
2.The Last Emperor(1987)-MS
3.Novecento(1976)-MS
4.Last Tango in Paris(1972)-MS
5.The Sheltering Sky(1990)-HR/MS
6.The Dreamers(2003)-HR
7.The Spider’s Stratagem(1970)-R/HR
8.Stealing Beauty(1996)-R
9.La Luna(1979)-R
10.Little Buddha(1993)-R
11.Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man(1981)-NR
My Bertolucci ranking:
1.The Conformist(1970)-MP
2.The Last Emperor(1987)-MS
3.Last Tango in Paris(1972)-MS
4.Novecento(1976)-MS
5.The Sheltering Sky(1990)-HR/MS
6.The Dreamers(2003)-HR
7.The Spider’s Stratagem(1970)-R/HR
8.Stealing Beauty(1996)-R
9.Little Buddha(1993)-R
10.La Luna(1979)-R
The Bertolucci-Storaro collaboration could be the greatest director-cinematographer collaboration ever.
@Anderson – You should check out Besieged
@Harry-Yeah. What put me off watching that film so far is Ebert’s scathing review of it and also the fact it was intended as a TV Production and had a faster shooting schedule with more handheld camera usage which is very unusual for Bertolucci.
@Lionel – Ebert’s review is mostly his disgust for the plot and the film contents which never really tells the full story with Bertolucci. It reminds me of his Blue Velvet review.
If I was writing my thoughts for this one I would have more to say about the editing which is better than I thought it would be since that’s not normally the strongest suit of Bertolucci. Not to mention some of the shots of the apartment and the two leads turning in great performances.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/besieged-1999
@Drake-Have you seen all of Bertolucci’s 16 films? Even his lesser films like Stealing Beauty, Little Buddha, La Luna have beautiful scenery & cinematography.
@Anderson – I believe so – yes. But some only once so far.
My ranking of Bertolucci films I have seen:
1.The Conformist (1970) – MP
2.The Last Emperor (1987) – MS
3.Novecento (1976) – HR/MS
4.Last Tango in Paris (1972) – HR/MS
5.The Dreamers (2003) – HR
6.The Spider’s Stratagem (1970) – R/HR
7.The Sheltering Sky (1990) – R/HR
8.Little Buddha (1993) – R
Performances:
1.Brando-Last Tango in Paris
2.Trintignant-The Conformist
3.Lone-The Last Emperor
4.Schneider-Last Tango in Paris
5.M.Pitt-The Dreamers
6.Green-The Dreamers
7.Sanda-The Conformist
8.Malkovich-The Sheltering Sky
9.Sandrelli-The Conformist
10.Sutherland-Novecento
11.R.Valli-Novecento
12.S.Hayden-Novecento
13.A.Valli-Novecento
14.Sandrelli-Novecento
15.De Niro-Novecento
16.Betti-Novecento
17.Renucci-The Dreamers
18.Depardieu-Novecento
19.Brogi-The Spider’s Stratagem
20.Winger-Sheltering Sky
21.Ruocheng-Little Buddha
22.Garrel-The Dreamers
23.O’Toole-The Last Emperor
24.T.Scotti-The Spider’s Stratagem
25.A.Valli-The Spider’s Stratagem
Little Buddha definitely should be in the archives, based on its visual beauty alone. The blue lighting is certainly unsubtle but very striking in the scenes in America. And makes for these great silhouette shots. The Buddha scenes are shot in 65mm and Bertolucci certainly knows how to use the wide canvas. There is a great frame with a tree on front right and Reeves’ Siddhartha(caveman now) wandering in the distance. Another highlight is when they open the gates on Siddhartha’s first tour outside. It’s epic filmmaking. The second half is weaker than the first with a really poorly executed enlightenment scene that goes for like 10 minutes which is a shame but the final frame is subtle and strong with the cold blue lighting in America slowly transforming into a golden hue signalling happiness/hope.
As he got older Bertolucci gravitated towards the foreigners learning new culture aspect. All of his films I have seen after The Last Emperor are like this. The Sheltering Sky(Africa, Desert), Little Buddha(Tibet, Nepal, India-Buddhism), The Dreamers(French New Wave, Paris riots). Almost like the protagonists are a vessel for Beŕtolucci himself who are discovering these new cultures and exploring their beliefs.
@Lionel – yup, earlier on this page I said “Something I’d add to stylistic innovations/traits is Bertolucci’s preference for outsiders/vacation or travel movies. Brando (American) in Paris, Pitt (American) in Paris for the Dreamers, The Sheltering Sky, Stealing Beauty, Little Buddha all feature travel like that, even in the Conformist, Trintignant is going abroad for his work.” but I also like how you’ve put it here.
Given both are very important films I think it’s absolute insanity that people don’t talk about how similar Novecento is to The Last Emperor. Both thematically and visually. Both films start in the present with our protagonist in a vulnerable state. The colour palette is very dark, gray. Then we get flashbacks with a shiny golden hue telling the story of this protagonist from childhood and how he fell to this state. They both become rich playboys and then they both become nervous landowners. They both are weak willed. It’s crazy how similar these two films are and no one talks about this.
@Anderson- really solid work here
Little Buddha has the dueling colour palletes for the two story threads too. Bertolucci was good with this.
@Drake-How many times have you seen Little Buddha(1993)? I would have thought since you are a big admirer of visual beauty over storytelling or acting, you would be a big admirer of this film.
I am always impressed by the genius cinematography of Vittorio Storaro. In all of his films he is DP I have seen I’m always impressed. Nobody is really better at changing his colour palette to suit the mood of the film. Then changing it when the mood shifts. Some may find his expressionistic lighting overly intrusive but I don’t think it is overdone. I would rank his DP achievements like this:
1.The Conformist
2.Apocalypse Now(tough choice)
3.Novecento
4.The Last Emperor
5.Wonder Wheel
6.Dick Tracy
7.Last Tango in Paris
8.The Sheltering Sky
9.Coup de Chance
@Anderson – One from the Heart and Reds are excellent, I am assuming you haven’t seen these yet because they look a lot better than Coup de Chance.
@Harry-Yeah. I haven’t seen them. I saw A Bird with the Crystal Plummage but forgot about it. I think this is the only time Argento and Storaro collaborated.
@Harry-There definitely is a tone change in 1900. I wouldn’t call Sutherland killing a cat and then a kid by swinging him around exactly comedy. Or Sandrelli and Depardieu pushing a cart with dead bodies in it which is the ending of the first half. This film is maybe a masterpiece if it ended there.
If anything the bookends of the film where Facism does not dominate are lighter. This is a strong formal touch and coincides with the vibrant colour palette the film adopts for those sections and is something I admire.
@Harry-I don’t agree with Ebert this is a throwaway ending but he has a big point. Formally coming back to that scene is one thing but the tone of that makes the whole thing a comedy. I’m not sure how much it hurts the film but more serious films are generally considered better and taken more seriously. However the whole thing takes the sting out of the performances. Regardless of the quality of the film.
@Anderson – I’m ok with the tone change in the ending. These are two people who have been friends their whole life and in the eyes of the film evil (fascism) has been vanquished so their overall mood should be happier for the rest of their lives. These are two characters who throughout the runtime have always had scenes being goofy with each other, even past childhood, it’s just consistent with how the characters behave in times of peace so I don’t see how it ruins the film.
@Harry-It gives it less seriousness. But anyway someone also mentioned the kid characters are very different than how De Niro and Depardieu portrays them and I have to agree. Especially with Depardieu. The kid who played him was very obnoxious and also cruel towards De Niro’s character. While Depardieu is hardly that. I don’t think they were that goofy as kids. It’s more De Niro playing a playboy at first that made everything more goofy but in an excellent way. He really was amazing in his prime.
Plus even if a film has comedic elements or humour at first that’s no excuse to end it that way. Most films actually are like that. Say Seven Beauties with Giannini. It’s as serious as a heart attack at the end.
I also wanted to add how similar the structure of The Last Emperor is to Novecento and De Niro’s character to Lone’s character. I was surprised by that. It’s more or less the same film. Basically we encounter a weak willed Landlord who has lost everything and is captured by the authorities/protest leaders. Then we get flashbacks telling this generational spanning story of how he got into that state following his childhood, teen years and then more adulthood with him in power. Then everything coming apart. The birth part is ignored in The Last Emperor. At first they are living a happy/pretend to be happy life with bright colours. Then tragedies happen and more or less all the brightness is washed out. Then at the end the brightness returns and the character finds some peace/happiness.
But I had a big problem with the tone shift in the second half of Novecento. A mistake The Last Emperor does not make. Imagine the film ending with The Emperor going about his village life in his old age with silly physical movements with comedy music? That would have been quite weak.
@Anderson – spot on. I posted a comment similar to this a few weeks ago if you scroll up on the page.
@Harry-What did you think of John Lone’s performance in The Last Emperor? I find it one of the most underrated performances. Basically the film won everything in that year’s Oscars but Lone didn’t even get nominated. Granted he is not a high profile actor and I wasn’t expecting a whole lot or seen him in anything else. But he has like at least 2-3 great scenes just trying to assert power while coming apart from the inside. He really displays the innocent, weak-willed nature of the character just through his acting.
I also would have loved to see a version of Novecento with De Niro playing it straight the whole film. He is superb here before the tone shift at least in the English version. The film basically turns into a comedy and it takes the sting out of the performance/s unlike The Last Emperor. I think it would have been one of his best performances if they did that.
@Anderson – I think Bertolucci got a great performance out of him because he wasn’t great when I saw him act in a Cimino film.I don’t see any tone changes in 1900. there’s a lot of humour and comedy consistently throughout
@Harry-What was the Cimino film Lone acted in?
Does Novecento a.k.a 1900 has the best cast of all time?
It’s insane.
1.Robert De Niro
2.Gerard Depardieu
3.Donald Sutherland
4.Burt Lancaster
5.Sterling Hayden
6.Alida Valli
7.Stefania Sandrelli
8.Dominique Sanda
And two of Italy’s best character actors of that era Romolo Valli(The Leopard) and Laura Betti(Teorema) doing probably their career best work. What a mixture of Hollywood and European talent. All having their moments to shine as well given the scope of the narrative.
My ranking of Bertolucci films:
1.The Conformist(1970)-MP
2.The Last Emperor(1987)-MS
3.Last Tango in Paris(1972)-MS
4.Novecento(1976)-HR/MS
5.The Dreamers(2003)-R/HR
6.The Sheltering Sky(1990)-R/HR
Performances:
1.Brando-Last Tango in Paris
2.Trintignant-The Conformist
3.Lone-The Last Emperor
4.Schneider-Last Tango in Paris
5.M.Pitt-The Dreamers
6.Sanda-The Conformist
7.Sandrelli-The Conformist
8.R.Valli-Novecento
9.S.Hayden-Novecento
10.De Niro-Novecento
11.Sutherland-Novecento
12.L.Betti-Novecento
13.G.Depardieu-Novecento
14.Sandrelli-Novecento
15.Green-The Dreamers
16.Renucci-The Dreamers
17.A.Valli-Novecento
18.Moschin-The Conformist
19.Garrel-The Dreamers
20.Winger-Sheltering Sky
21.Malkovich-Sheltering Sky
22.O’Toole-The Last Emperor
23.Ruocheng-The Last Emperor
24.Spall-Sheltering Sky
@Drake-Can you see Stefania Sandrelli in the Maria Schneider role in Last Tango in Paris(1972)?
Just yesterday I completed my third watch of 1900 and have been thinking even more about how Bertolucci’s protagonists connect.
Alfredo (De Niro in 1900) and Pu Yi are also ‘Conformists’ and comparable to Marcelo in The Conformist.These two take part and have high power roles in history, but are essentially just along for the ride. Alfredo does not like Sutherland’s Atilla and his violent gang but is comfortable living an easy rich life as a landowner so does nothing in his power to oppose them and is a cowardly conformist. Despite being even more powerful, Pu Yi is a mere pawn that drifts through the decades not having any influence on events. Defecting to the Japanese so he can be an emperor in title, betraying his country so he can live a comfortable playboy life.
My ranking of Bertolucci:
1.The Conformist(1970)-MP
2.Last Tango in Paris(1972)-MS
3.Novecento(1976)-HR/MS
4.The Dreamers(2003)-R/HR
Performances:
1.Brando-Last Tango in Paris
2.Trintignant-The Conformist
3.Schneider-Last Tango in Paris
4.M.Pitt-The Dreamers
5.Sanda-The Conformist
6.Sandrelli-The Conformist
7.R.Valli-Novecento
8.Hayden-Novecento
9.De Niro-Novecento
10.Sutherland-Novecento
11.L.Betti-Novecento
12.Depardieu-Novecento
13.Sandrelli-Novecento
14.Green-The Dreamers
15.Renucci-The Dreamers
16.A.Valli-Novecento
17.Moschin-The Conformist
18.Garrel-The Dreamers
@James Trapp-I forgot to ask you. Who do you think won the acting battle between De Niro and Depardieu in Novecento (or 1900)? I think it’s De Niro. But Depardieu is a bit stronger in the final part I thought.
@Malith – I would probably agree with you. De Niro is better in the 1st half but Depardieu in the last hour or so. It is interesting the way some Italian auteurs such as Bertolucci and Visconti (doing study on him now) seek out non Italian actors and actresses. Of course De Niro is Italian American but still. Obviously a film like The Last Emperor (1987) is a different story but for films set in Italy. Excited for The Leopard (1963) coming up soon. I love Burt Lancaster’s performance in it
Bernardo Bertolucci Study Summary:
Bernardo Bertolucci was unknown to me a few years ago. I checked out The Conformist (1970) and was very impressed and then about a year ago I checked out Last Tango in Paris (1972) although that was more inspired by wanting to see some more of Marlon Brandon films, but I nevertheless was impressed both by the performance and the direction
Bertolucci epitomizes “art house cinema” with his style over substance, distinct color palettes, and fearlessness in exploring human sexuality
Unlike some of the other studies, I went into all the films cold (except the 2 aforementioned films of his that I had seen)
Bertolucci has to be near the top of auteurs when it comes to using colors. He excels at mise en scene, his work filled with spectacular compositions and grand imagery
I forget which film it was, but a negative review referred to Bertolucci as a “glorified interior decorator”, which I found humorous especially since it was meant to be an insult. Bertolucci demonstrates a fascination with curtains, doors, windows. His compositions, especially the interiors, are meticulously designed and often symmetrical. His lush visuals are on full display for the entirely of The Last Emperor (1987)
1900 is a flawed but ambitious and generally well made film. The story does become something of a jumbled mess by the end but there is plenty to admire along the way
Creating interesting and distinct characters is not one of Bertolucci’s strengths although he succeeds here in his two best films. Of course, Brando deserves the lion share of the credit for that aspect in Last Tango in Paris. Bertolucci seems to stick to his strengths
There are undeniable similarities between some of his earlier work and The French New Wave and in particular Jean Luc-Godard. Similar to Godard Bertolucci’s work does not shy from the politics of the day. In fact, the majority of the films in the Study were either explicitly or implicitly about politics and even more specifically revolutions. And while he has obvious political leanings, his films do not come across as preachy and do not delve into propaganda
The Conformist (1970) is his single best work, and it is great on multiple levels. You have spectacular imagery and meticulous set pieces as well as a gripping narrative and excellent performances
While the Conformist is Bertolucci’s objectively best film, Last Tango in Paris was my personal favorite although this is partly due to Brando’s performance, but it is a phenomenally directed film as well. I almost wonder if Brando’s intriguing performance somewhat overshadows Bertolucci’s direction. I have it as an MP and certainly would not grade it as such if all it had going for it was great acting. I love those two Francis Bacon paintings shown in the opening of the film that serve as visual inspiration for the film’s color palette. Bertolucci careful splitting of frames is at its best in Last Tango
Final Ranking and Grades:
# 1 The Conformist (1970) – MP
# 2 Last Tango in Paris (1984) – MP
# 3 The Last Emperor – MS/MP
# 4 1900 (1976) – MS
# 5 Before the Revolution (1964) – HR
# 6 The Sheltering Sky (1990) – HR
# 7 The Spider’s Strategem (1970) – R/HR
# 8 The Grim Reaper (1962) – R
@James – Awesome work and study. Bertolucci is one of my favourites, I wish his filmography was more fleshed out with masterpieces but he made his mark. The Conformist and 1900 are both in my top 40 and I don’t have any directors with two films that high for me:
It is fair to compare him to his idol Godard but I feel he deviated and ended up more like an Italian David Lean or Anthony Minghella type. Zhang Yimou is another auteur I compare with the ravishing use of colour and epic scopes. His film Besieged which you skipped is seen by some as his “Wong Kar Wai” film but I also see it as a return to the playful energy taken from Godard. Of his top four Last Tango has some French elements with the silly Leud character.
Eight films with Storaro (I just need to see Luna). I also plan on reading The Conformist and The Sheltering Sky soon since I have both on my shelf.
1. The Conformist – MP
2. 1900 – MP
3. The Last Emperor – MP/MS
4. Last Tango in Paris – MS
5. The Sheltering Sky – HR/MS
6. Besieged – R
7. Stealing Beauty – R
8. The Spider’s Strategem – R
9. The Dreamers – R
10. Little Buddha – R (borderline)
Bertolucci’s use of colour wasn’t just stunning to look at, he would often try and tie it into the form of his film in his best work/
Think about in 1900 how the vibrant Italian countryside of greens and reds becomes so bleak and dark once the facists take over then on the revolution day the summery tone comes back. Or how the three periods in The Last Emperor are easily differentiated by the palette.
I think he influenced Scorsese’s The Aviator in this regard.
@Harry – thanks, yeah I agree on his use of color having multiple purposes. Bertolucci and Storaro is a great duo
@James Trapp- you are absolutely crushing it- good work here
@James Trapp-You should see The Dreamers. It’s something.
@James Trapp-Imo, you should have done a much more thorough study on Bernardo Bertolucci. You haven’t even seen The Dreamers which is probably his most well known film and one of his best films outside his big 3 for me(The Conformist, Novecento, The Last Emperor). His style is great and he is one of the most talented of all directors imo. But the scripts in his films are often bloated, wandering and unfocused. Plus, he never really lost his talent as a director throughout his career(although had me doubting after seeing Besieged, but his pure style is on display in The Dreamers again). It’s definitely a career that should have been better than what it was. I mean The Conformist is way better than all his other films. Mainly due to its lean, unbloated structure. So I think apart from these 8 you have seen, I recommend 7 others that are definitely worth watching(Luna, Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man, Little Buddha, Stealing Beauty, Besieged, The Dreamers, Me and You). All of these apart from Me and You maybe certainly has great scenes. Me and You is more small scale due to health issues for sure but still a very relevant work and has good style in it too. Don’t know about Partner.
@Anderson and @James Trapp- I tend to think James is doing very solid work here
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Notes:
Starts with opening credits set to jazz score and photos of NYC and black and white newsreel
2:53 inverted image of close up on the face of John Malkovich’s character
3 American characters played by John Malkovich, Debra Winger, and Campbell Scott arrive in French Algeria in 1947
7:34 camera sweeping through café
8 min so far color palette dominated by beige/brown/cream
10:02 slow zoom broken by motion
12:05 frame broken into thirds with red lighting on Malkovich
13:20 intense red/orange lighting
16:33 images straight from postcard
19:40 high angle shot with camera panning over valley
22:46 neon red, blue, green
37:03 train in middle of landscape in background of the frame
44:20 long bike ride through desert landscape
53:46 aerial of bus passing through long stretch of landscape
59:14 orange/light green color palette similar to Last Tango in Paris
1:03:33 window as frame for POV shot
1:08:38 soft focus
1:09:07 gorgeous shot capturing skyline and landscape
1:19:52 tracking shot into unknown area including dark tunnels with ominous voices
1:27:27 gorgeous shot of sun drenched desert landscape
1:36:58 desaturated gray used in shot of near dying man in Malkovich’s character
1:39:38 blue lit screen with moon in background before transitioning to inverted shot of Malkovich’s face from opening of film
1:44:08 sweeping shot of camels moving across desert
1:47:23 painterly image of desert sands with horizon at top of frame
1:52:08 post card image
1:59:56 overhead shot
Thoughts:
Bernardo Bertolucci and Vittorio Storaro working together creates a gorgeous film
The film, which is set in 1947, follows an American couple on vacation in Algeria which is funny given that watching the film feels a bit like joining the couple of their vacation which consists of sight-seeing as you the viewer follow around this couple, joining them on a sort of adventure that has a hint of danger at all times. Like the couple you do not really know who to trust and how much danger they are in at any given time
The film is loaded with gorgeous painterly images that belong in a museum. I love the use of orange and blue in several of the film’s standout shots including the vast desert landscapes and horizons as well as nighttime shots capturing the moon
This is expressionism not realism. I love the use of red lighting in some of the films’ earlier scenes as the Malkovich character seeks a dangerous sort of adventure. I love this quote from the novel which the film is based on:
“Death is always on the way, but the fact that you don’t know when it will arrive seems to take away from the finiteness of life. It’s that terrible precision that we hate so much. But because we don’t know, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”
The existentialist themes become increasingly noticeable over the course of the film as there is little in the way of the actual plot, watching this is more of an experience that makes you feel connected to lead characters despite a lack of true character development
Verdict: HR
The Last Emperor (1987)
Notes:
This biopic focuses on Puyi, a real life ruler who was China’s final Emperor hence the films title
The film starts in 1950
Starts with images of soldiers tightly packed into the frame at a train station
6:41 close up on face of Puyi quickly transitions to Peaking in 1908; noticeable change via color palette as a red lighting fills the frame
7:32 overhead symmetrical shot with carefully arranged character layout
9:43 camera slowly gliding through men in uniforms
10:38 frame in frame with this museum worthy painterly image, symmetry, and use of red
13:30 the hazy red/orange light infiltrating into the interiors through the window is gorgeous and the color reminds me of a shot in Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980)
14:00 transfer of power
17:33 high angle long shot with incredible color coded composition
28:24 emperor as a child in focus in this two-shot
29:07 camera held as Emperor walks toward the foreground
36:44 deep focus with Emperor as a kid
38:10 after transition to 1950 timeline, there is a pan across the screen where the former Emperor is just another prisoner at jail full of war criminals wearing identical uniforms
41:51 frame in frame with deep focus
42:44 Peter O’Toole as Reginald Johnston, a Scottish diplomat who serves as a tutor to the emperor
48:12 reaction shots showing faces of Reginald and the Emperor intensely listening to sounds coming from outside the emperor’s estate that he never gets to leave
54:02 Emperor walks with faced covered by shadow
57:45 argument over Emperor wearing eyeglasses as symbol of tradition vs modernization
1:00:33 Emperor enters room though background of frame with layer of thin fabric altering color
1:02:56 slow zoom in on Emperor with frame in frame
1:03:23 breathtaking image with symmetry and use of red and intricate architecture
1:05:28 gorgeous image of interior with red and gold color palette
1:07:49 teenage Emperor shown in close up two shot as he is intimate with beautiful young woman
1:10:03 yet another gorgeous image of interior with red color palette
1:10:48 transition from grand imagery to emperor in later timeline in prison
1:13:42 return to earlier timeline
1:14:00 great use of close up and blocking in this two shot
1:17:09 nice use of blocking with 3 faces on screen; Emperor and 2 beautiful women in bed
1:19:37 intense orange/red light entering frame from windows
1:21:51 camera panning over people tightly packed into frame
1:35:30 blue lit frame as emperor, his wife, and mistress are in back of vehicle
1:36:06 two women close to each other with emperor is closer to window, visually showing problems with the marriage as emperor is emotionally distant
1:42:55 splitting of frame
1:44:40 timeline moves to 1931
1:49:35 intense blue curtains in composition inside room with characters face partly covered by shadow
1:50:38 timeline jumps to 1934 in Manchuria
1:52:03 painterly image
1:53:15 abrupt transition to blue frame
1:53:33 door as frame in frame
1:59:18 emperor and wife speaking with close ups on their faces shown one at a time in back and forth discussion not sharing the frame
2:05:32 timeline moves to Manchuria 1935
2:09:29 room clears as emperor speaks at podium
2:18:14 crowed movie theatre showing propaganda film, there is blue lighting across the frame that is coming from the projector
2:27:23 frame split horizontally with wide angle shot
2:29:53 emperor just another person as seen in heavy bicycle traffic
2:30:56 Mao Zedong and the Chinese Cultural Revolution; marches down public streets carrying signs and pictures of Mao
2:34:56 long shot of Forbidden City and emperor walking through the now abandoned location showing how small emperor has become
2:38:58 anti climatic ending works perfectly
Thoughts:
Bernardo Bertolucci with another ambitious film which is a historical epic like 1900 but I actually think this one is superior as it is more focused regarding its story and while 1900 has plenty of impressive shots, this one is full of even grander and more beautiful images with its carefully constructed mise en scene and use of colors. The Architecture and the interiors are beautiful and contain meticulous detail. Bertolucci has to be near the top of auteurs when it comes to using colors, but beyond aesthetics he uses to distinguish different timelines. The use of red is spectacular in several of the film’s most breathtaking images and really both red and gold in several of the film’s best frames. Green and gray color palette dominates many of the shots set in the later timeline when emperor is just another person
The film’s narrative is structured around flashbacks and occasional voice over narration. I found this to be neither a clear strength nor weakness. However, from a visual and stylistic standpoint it makes for some beautiful transition shots. I like the way Bertolucci moves between timelines but also the way he contrasts the emperor at peak of power to being just another war criminal in the later timeline. Often epic historical dramas will show the evolution of a characters rise to power but here the focus is on the opposite; this film tracks a man born into Royalty who gradually becomes just another man. Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980) is a film that comes to mind for me as that film also captured the dynamics of power as related to individual’s vs society at large
Bertolucci loves slow pans across the frame or 360 pans allowing the viewer to absorb the sumptuous mise en scene. Bertolucci’s fascination with curtains, doors, windows, etc. is on full display. The compositions, especially the interiors, are meticulously
Peter O’Toole as the emperor’s tutor is a nod to the ultimate Epic, Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The choreography is impressive in several sequences involving hundreds or even thousands of extras. There is a great sequence around 17:33 that involves a high angle shot of courtyard featuring thousands of people in color coded uniforms
While 1900 is a great film itself, I think The Last Emperor is superior as, among other things, Bertolucci sticks with his strengths, splendid use of colors, meticulous interiors, and active camera movements. This is an epic but not a sprawling epic tracking many different characters
Small complaint but no Ennio Morricone is too bad even though score is still solid
The anti-climatic ending scene works perfectly, as Puyi has been reduced to a footnote in history, as a tour guide sums up his existence in a couple of sentences to a group of disinterested children and young teenagers
Verdict: MS/MP