Goat Boy wrote:Which is what she claimed happened. We don't know for certain. In the video with Bertolucci he talks about "the sequence of the butter". Watching it I don't necessarly interpret it as meaning she never knew about the rape at all but that's my interpretation and others might see it differently.
Like I said, I find it hard to believe the rape was not in the script as it's pretty crucial to the film.
It's pretty clear there was a rape in the script - but there are many ways of filming a rape, and Bertolucci conceived of the new way without consulting her, is my understanding of it. He wanted her to feel as humiliated as possible, and that the humiliation had to be real, hence deliberately not telling her. Actors have a right to know what they are getting themselves into, particularly for sex scenes, where to draw the line etc - even if it is "pretend" - which is what also makes Blue is the Warmest Colour very questionable - and it's ultimately very sordid. These kinds of things often can't be shaken off, like Faithful and the Mars bar rumour, and indeed the scene itself became notorious and deeply associated with Schneider. I find directors who are obsessed with "real" reactions a bit tiresome - it can be endearing, as in trying to get Julia Roberts to have a "genuine" laugh in Pretty Woman - but in an intimate context it usually seems to be nothing than a dirty old man trying to prey on young women.