In what must be the work of the gods, two women who--Linda Lovelace notwithstanding--had more to do with the advent of mainstream erotica than any others I can recall, died within a day of each other. If someone had mentioned the names Lena Nyman and Maria Schneider to you out of context, say, last week, you might well not have remembered the two and the incredible notoriety they caused when first they burst upon the scene. On February 6th, the NY Times reported the death of Lena Nyman, the blonde-haired girl-on-the-street interviewer cum-politico of the landmark 1968 Swedish (nu, vu den?) film, "I am Curious (Yellow). A day earlier, I had seen a web posting announcing the death of Ms. Schneider. It seemed an almost unimaginable coincidence that these two child-women had died in late middle-age, one after the other. While it doesn't take much to make me feel older these days, trying to imagine Maria and Lena, dead at 58 and 66, respectively, certainly did the trick.
When "I am curious (Yellow)" opened in New York City in 1968, I, along with many curious New Yorkers (including the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis), literally lined up to see the movie. Apart from a good bit of fleshy full-frontal nudity on the part of Ms. Nyman, it featured the first instance of female on male oral sex, at least in the non-pornographic film genre. The day I attended, an audible gasp could be heard in the audience when the ever inquisitive Ms. Nyman took the penis of her co-star into her mouth. With that bold move of oral audacity, the then 22-year-old Ms. Nyman, secured her place in movie history. While years later, she played a supporting role in Ingmar Bergmann's "Autumn Sonata," nothing could compare to her auspicious debut.
When, the day before, an internet blurb notified the blogosphere on the passing of Maria Schneider, I immediately"googled" her name. Not surprisingly, references to "Maria Schneider and Butter," and "Go get the Butter," immediately flashed on the search screen. The latter was, of course, Marlon Brando's famous post-anal rape improvised line. (Before, Marlon, before!) Indeed, prior to going to the movie with a friend who is now a distinguished journalist, his pre-film review was succinct: "Johnny, we've gotta see this. Brando actually sodomizes a girl!" The prospects of such a cinematic experience was difficult for any red-blooded American male to pass up, although the notorious scene itself was more suggested than graphic. That said, the young (20 year-old) Ms. Schneider paraded around naked throughout much of the (otherwise undistinguished) film, much to the pleasure of the (mostly) male audience. (Apparently, the film as originally shot, included some "full Monty" by Brando as, well, but director Bertolucci chickened out, saying that it would be like parading himself nude on screen, and he was too embarrassed to do such a thing.) The pre-film hype talked up the possible attraction between the fifty-year old Brando and the twenty-year old Schneider, who shrugged it off as only the young can. "He's overweight and old enough to be my father," was the quote that has stayed with me 'lo these many years. While the movie was passed off as an "art film," which--back then--meant that you didn't have to avoid eye contact with your fellow cineasts as you entered and left the movie theater, it was marketed with what a Supreme Court opinion once described as "the leer of the sensualist." What was interesting was how the film's producers decided to charge the going rate for porno flicks--a then-astonishingly exorbitant $5.00. There was, then and now for that matter, a good bit of hypocrisy about what passes for art. People who never would have set foot in a XXX movie house flocked to see both "I am curious" and "Last Tango."
Until their deaths, I had neither any idea, nor interest in how their lives turned out. Sadly, it was all too mundane. The fetching Ms. Schneider, after a couple of co-starring roles in first run-movies (e.g. "The Passenger," with Jack Nicholson), faded into oblivion. A lifetime of well-publicized affairs with both men and women, coupled with some serious substance abuse, rounded out the biography ending in her death at the too-young age of 58. Ms. Nyman, too, quickly faded into obscurity, surfacing (as mentioned above) in "Autumn Sonata"in 1978, and was rarely heard from since. It is hard to believe that "I am Curious" remains (when adjusted for inflation) the highest grossing foreign film ever. "Last Tango," (which I re-saw a couple of years ago on cable) has had a mixed history. For many years, it was banned it its native Italy, but has finally been released to Italian audiences. I don't think the muddled film, has improved with time, although some movie critics (the late Pauline Kael, and Roger Ebert) think it one of the great films of our age. Judge for yourself, but be prepared to stifle a yawn or two in the process. But great films or not, the two were certainly landmarks, and their heroines remain in (my admittedly dim) eyes as forever young and nubile.
When "I am curious (Yellow)" opened in New York City in 1968, I, along with many curious New Yorkers (including the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis), literally lined up to see the movie. Apart from a good bit of fleshy full-frontal nudity on the part of Ms. Nyman, it featured the first instance of female on male oral sex, at least in the non-pornographic film genre. The day I attended, an audible gasp could be heard in the audience when the ever inquisitive Ms. Nyman took the penis of her co-star into her mouth. With that bold move of oral audacity, the then 22-year-old Ms. Nyman, secured her place in movie history. While years later, she played a supporting role in Ingmar Bergmann's "Autumn Sonata," nothing could compare to her auspicious debut.
When, the day before, an internet blurb notified the blogosphere on the passing of Maria Schneider, I immediately"googled" her name. Not surprisingly, references to "Maria Schneider and Butter," and "Go get the Butter," immediately flashed on the search screen. The latter was, of course, Marlon Brando's famous post-anal rape improvised line. (Before, Marlon, before!) Indeed, prior to going to the movie with a friend who is now a distinguished journalist, his pre-film review was succinct: "Johnny, we've gotta see this. Brando actually sodomizes a girl!" The prospects of such a cinematic experience was difficult for any red-blooded American male to pass up, although the notorious scene itself was more suggested than graphic. That said, the young (20 year-old) Ms. Schneider paraded around naked throughout much of the (otherwise undistinguished) film, much to the pleasure of the (mostly) male audience. (Apparently, the film as originally shot, included some "full Monty" by Brando as, well, but director Bertolucci chickened out, saying that it would be like parading himself nude on screen, and he was too embarrassed to do such a thing.) The pre-film hype talked up the possible attraction between the fifty-year old Brando and the twenty-year old Schneider, who shrugged it off as only the young can. "He's overweight and old enough to be my father," was the quote that has stayed with me 'lo these many years. While the movie was passed off as an "art film," which--back then--meant that you didn't have to avoid eye contact with your fellow cineasts as you entered and left the movie theater, it was marketed with what a Supreme Court opinion once described as "the leer of the sensualist." What was interesting was how the film's producers decided to charge the going rate for porno flicks--a then-astonishingly exorbitant $5.00. There was, then and now for that matter, a good bit of hypocrisy about what passes for art. People who never would have set foot in a XXX movie house flocked to see both "I am curious" and "Last Tango."
Until their deaths, I had neither any idea, nor interest in how their lives turned out. Sadly, it was all too mundane. The fetching Ms. Schneider, after a couple of co-starring roles in first run-movies (e.g. "The Passenger," with Jack Nicholson), faded into oblivion. A lifetime of well-publicized affairs with both men and women, coupled with some serious substance abuse, rounded out the biography ending in her death at the too-young age of 58. Ms. Nyman, too, quickly faded into obscurity, surfacing (as mentioned above) in "Autumn Sonata"in 1978, and was rarely heard from since. It is hard to believe that "I am Curious" remains (when adjusted for inflation) the highest grossing foreign film ever. "Last Tango," (which I re-saw a couple of years ago on cable) has had a mixed history. For many years, it was banned it its native Italy, but has finally been released to Italian audiences. I don't think the muddled film, has improved with time, although some movie critics (the late Pauline Kael, and Roger Ebert) think it one of the great films of our age. Judge for yourself, but be prepared to stifle a yawn or two in the process. But great films or not, the two were certainly landmarks, and their heroines remain in (my admittedly dim) eyes as forever young and nubile.
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