![]() ![]() This led to more people willing to pay the high-end cost, and commit themselves early to the film. With early dates in New York and Los Angeles drawing huge initial crowds, words of sellouts and the difficulty of getting in fed already-strong interest. ![]() The audacity of asking customers to buy tickets in advance (which required stopping by the theater or by mail) made the film stand out as a special event. United Artists made it more difficult to see the film by setting up these engagements as pre-purchase availability reserved performances. In Chicago, for example, they played the McClurg Court, a theater that opened in 1971 and for most of its existence showed two UA musicals - “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Man of La Mancha” - as exclusive engagements. The theaters chosen were top ones in their cities, with bigger capacities than most art houses. And though New York opened in late January, and Los Angeles shortly after, most cities were slow in arriving. The film’s delayed release heightened interest (its initial European dates were in December 1972). Doesn’t sound like much? That’s the equivalent of $28.48 in 2018 dollars. The gross of “Tango” was boosted by an initial ticket price in major cities of $5. Unlike smaller specialized companies, UA had the access to the best theaters and the financial stability to spend money to reach maximum success. United Artists was then a major source for top subtitled releases, handling films from Fellini (“Satyricon”), Bergman (“Shame,” “The Passion of Anna”), and Truffaut (“The Wild Child”). And the distributor masterfully handled X-rated “Midnight Cowboy” to huge popular success and its Oscar wins. That reception along with Brando, gave “Last Tango” a prestige value that overrode viewer skittishness about seeing an X-rated film. It became one of the year’s biggest art-house successes, and its screenplay received an Oscar nomination. Reviews said this performance was even greater than Don Corleone, which only added to awareness.īertolucci’s “The Conformist” hit festivals in 1970, with Paramount Pictures getting it into U.S. The Oscars broadcast came in late March, and all of the major playdates were either still showing or opened after the ceremony, which saw the actor win (and refuse) the award. The “Last Tango in Paris” theatrical release started slowly in January 1973. ![]() When the film began its dominance of American screens, Brando suddenly was one of the biggest stars around. ![]() Marlon Brandoīertolucci cast Brando before “The Godfather” debuted in March 1972. The initially X-rated “Midnight Cowboy” (initial standards covered films that later would have been rated R) grossed nearly $300 million. Though their figures are tricky to calculate and confirm, the consensus is that porn films “Deep Throat” and “Beyond the Green Door” each ultimately grossed over $200 million domestically. “I Am Curious – Yellow,” an otherwise minor Swedish arthouse film, grossed $140 million in 1969 (and broke ground in overturning many censorship laws). The film’s sexual content came at a time when full nudity and realistic portrayals of intercourse were recently permissible. Among them: Controversyįrom its world premiere at the 1972 New York Film Festival (which Pauline Kael, in her seminal rave review, compared to the uproar to Stravinsky’s Paris debut of “Le Sacre du printemps”), anticipation was stratospheric. Several unusual and distinct reasons contributed to its success. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |