While touring in Italy, a recently-widowed American opera singer has an incestuous relationship with her 15-year-old son to help him overcome his heroin addiction.
Acting
Clayburgh's operatic unraveling is genuinely fearless.
Cinematography
Vittorio Storaro makes Rome look edible and sinister.
Direction
Bertolucci at his most indulgent and hypnotic.
Director
Bernardo Bertolucci
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released months after Bertolucci's 'Last Tango in Paris,' this was his 'hold my wine' moment to critics who thought THAT was provocative.
Jill Clayburgh learned Italian and opera technique for six months; her lip-syncing is so precise critics initially thought she was dubbed.
US
IT
