Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, most famous for his controversial 1972 hit Last Tango in Paris and his Oscar-winning 1987 epic The Last Emperor, died Monday at his home in Rome. His wife, Clare Peploe, confirmed his death, but did not give a cause. He was 77.
Bertolucci was born and grew up in Parma, the son of noted Italian poet Atillio Bertolucci and a literature teacher, the former Ninetta Giovanardi. After the family moved to Rome, Bernardo Bertolucci began shooting short films, and he dropped his early and acclaimed embrace of poetry for filmmaking after working with fellow poet-turned-filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1961. A year later, Bertolucci debuted his first feature film, The Grim Reaper, about the murder of a prostitute in a park in Roma.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
NCHIs: the controversy over non-crime hate incidentsThe Explainer Is the policing of non-crime hate incidents an Orwellian outrage or an essential tool of modern law enforcement?
-
Islamic State: the terror group's second actTalking Point Isis has carried out almost 700 attacks in Syria over the past year, according to one estimate
-
Sudoku medium: January 12, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
