Last Tango in Paris (1973) - Quotes

Love and Identity in Last Tango in Paris

Paul: You ran through Africa and Asia and Indonesia, and now I found you... and I love you. I want to know your name.

Jeanne: [she shoots him] Jeanne.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

A Question of Purpose in Unconventional Moments

Jeanne: What are we doing here?

Paul: Let's just say we're taking a flying fuck at a rolling donut.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

A Toast to Different Lives

Jeanne: Let's drink a toast to our life in the hotel.

Paul: No fuck all that! Hey listen! Let's drink a toast to our life in the country.

Jeanne: You're a nature lover? You didn't tell me that.

Paul: Oh, for Christ's sake... I'm nature boy. Can't you see me with the cows and the chickenshit all over me? Huh?

Jeanne: Oh, that's right. To the cows!

Paul: Cow.

Jeanne: I will be your cow too.

Paul: I get to milk you twice a day. How about that?

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Exploring Disconnection in Gender Relationships

Jeanne: Why do you hate women?

Paul: Because either they always pretend to know who I am, or they pretend I don't know who they are, and that's very boring.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Love and Jealousy in a Musical Context

Jeanne: I fell in love with him when I first heard him play piano.

Paul: You mean the first time he got inside your knickers.

Jeanne: He was a child prodigy; he was playing with both hands.

Paul: I bet he was!

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Unfamiliarity in Relationships

Jeanne: [last line of the film] I didn't know his name...

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Value of Ignorance

Jeanne: It's better not knowing anything.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Critique of Domestic Virtue and Racism

Jeanne: Olympia is the personification of domestic virtue: faithful, economic and racist.

Betrayal and Desperation in Emotional Turmoil

Paul: [to his dead wife at her wake; crying; sobbing; peels off her fake eyelashes] Our marriage was nothing more than a foxhole for you. And all it took for you to get out was a 10 cent razor and a tub full of water. You cheap, goddamn, fucking, godforsaken whore, I hope you rot in hell. You're worse than the dirtiest street pig anybody could ever find anywhere, and you know why? You know why? Because you lied. You lied to me and I trusted you. You lied and you knew you were lying. Go on, tell me you didn't lie. Haven't you got anything to say about that? You can think up something, can't you? Go on, tell me something! Go on, smile, you cunt! Go on, tell me... tell me something sweet. Smile at me and say I just misunderstood. Go on, tell me. You pig-fucker... you goddamn, fucking, pig-fucking liar. Rosa... I'm sorry, I... I just - I can't stand it to see these goddamn things on your face! You never wore make-up... this fucking shit. I'm gonna take this off your mouth, this - this lipstick... Rosa - oh GOD! I'm sorry! I - I don't know why you did it! I'd do it too, if I knew how... I just don't know how... I have to... have to find a way...

Consequences of Neglect and Mortality

Paul: Well, first you have to take a hot bath and if you don't you're gonna get pneumonia. Right?... and then you know what happens? You get pneumonia... and then you know what happens? You die! And then, you know what happens then when you die? I get to fuck the dead rat!

The Unknowable Nature of Love and Marriage

Paul: Even if a husband lives 200 fucking years, he'll never discover his wife's true nature. I may be able to understand the secrets of the universe, but... I'll never understand the truth about you. Never.