Bernardo Bertolucci

Bernardo Bertolucci ˌbɜːrtəˈluːtʃi BURtəLOOchee Italian berˈnardo bertoˈluttʃi 16 March 1941 26 November 2018 was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema Bertoluccis work achieved international acclaim With The Last Emperor 1987 he became the first Italian filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Director and he received many other accolades including a BAFTA Award a César Award two Golden Globes a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and an Honorary Palme dOr A protégé of Pier Paolo Pasolini Bertolucci made his directorial debut at 22 His second film Before the Revolution 1964 earned strong international reviews and has since gained classic status being called a masterpiece of Italian cinema by Film4 His 1970 film The Conformist an adaptation of the Alberto Moravia novel is considered a classic of international cinema and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the prestigious Berlin Golden Bear His 1972 erotic drama Last Tango in Paris was controversial due to its rape scene and later comments made by actress Maria Schneider about her treatment on set Bertoluccis later films such as the historical epic 1900 1976 the family drama La Luna 1979 and the darkly comedic Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man 1981 were also controversial but acclaimed His 1987 film The Last Emperor a biopic of Chinese monarch Puyi was a critical and commercial success earning rave reviews and sweeping the 60th Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director This was the start of what has since been described as his Oriental Trilogy a trio of films including The Sheltering Sky an adaptation of the novel of the same name and Little Buddha a Buddhist religious epic all three of which feature scores by Ryuichi Sakamoto His 1996 film Stealing Beauty brought him his second of two Palme dOr nominations He continued directing well into the 21st century releasing his final film Me and You in 2012 Bertoluccis films often deal with themes of politics sexuality history class conflict and social taboos and his style has influenced several filmmakers Several of his films have appeared on lists of the greatest films of all time Critics have remarked that what makes Bertolucci different than other directors is his masterful combination of visual richness and visual freedom Description above from the Wikipedia article Bernardo Bertolucci licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia