Disney’s unstoppable desire and unquenchable thirst for pop culture domination has seen the Mouse House hoover up a number of companies and subsidiaries over the years, with the heightened competition in the streaming wars allowing the studio bolster both its standard streaming service and Hulu with plenty of additional content.
And yet, we can’t help but find ourselves shocked that one of the most contentious and controversial movies ever made has managed to reach the Disney Plus most-watched list, based on nothing but the fact Last Tango in Paris is about as far away from the outfit’s family-friendly image as you could imagine.
As per FlixPatrol, not only has the intensely-debated erotic drama topped the charts in Malaysia, it’s also broken into the global Top 20 rankings, where it can currently be found in 19th position. Despite being nominated for two Academy Awards, ending up as one of 1973’s highest-grossing movies in the process, along with landing widespread critical acclaim, co-writer and director Bernardo Bertolucci’s feature has remained under scrutiny for close to 50 years.
Marlon Brando stars as a widowed American who begins a relationship with a young woman in the titular city, and the film’s graphic depictions of sexuality, violence, and emotional turmoil have seen it recut and released at various points as an X-rated, R-rated, and NC-17 effort.
The discourse surrounding Last Tango in Paris continues to swirl up discussion and debate to this day, and it’s about the last movie we would have expected to suddenly find success on Disney’s in-house streamer.