Editing Bernardo Bertolucci (section)

== Career ==
=== Directorial breakthrough ===
Bertolucci initially wished to become a poet like his father. With this goal in mind, he attended the Faculty of Modern Literature of the [[University of Rome La Sapienza|University of Rome]] from 1958 to 1961, where his film career as an assistant director to Pasolini began.<ref>{{cite web|title=A YOUNG BERTOLUCCI TALKS ABOUT PASOLINI (from "Pasolini l'Enragé")|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR0D8nuI1iE| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305132329/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR0D8nuI1iE&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-03-05 | url-status=dead|work=YouTube|publisher=Google, Inc|access-date=25 August 2012|author=theblackpaul|date=3 June 2010}}</ref> Shortly after, Bertolucci left the university without graduating. In 1962, at the age of 22, he directed his first feature film, produced by [[Tonino Cervi]] with a screenplay by Pasolini, called ''[[La commare secca]]'' (1962). The film is a murder mystery, following a prostitute's homicide. Bertolucci uses flashbacks to piece together the crime and the person who committed it. The film which shortly followed was his acclaimed ''[[Before the Revolution]]'' (''Prima della rivoluzione'', 1964).

The boom of [[Cinema of Italy|Italian cinema]], which gave Bertolucci his start, slowed in the 1970s as directors were forced to co-produce their films with several of the American, Swedish, French, and German companies and actors due to the effects of the global economic recession on the Italian film industry.

Bertolucci caused controversy in 1972 with the film ''[[Last Tango in Paris]]'', starring [[Marlon Brando]], [[Maria Schneider (actress)|Maria Schneider]], [[Jean-Pierre Léaud]] and [[Massimo Girotti]]. The film presents Brando's character, Paul, as he copes with his wife's suicide by emotionally and physically dominating a young woman, Jeanne (Schneider). The depictions of Schneider, then 19 years old, have been criticized as exploitive. In one scene, Paul anally rapes Jeanne using butter as a lubricant. Bertolucci said use of butter was not in the script; Bertolucci and Brando had discussed it, but they did not tell Schneider. According to Schneider, the rape scene was not in the script at all.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/downhill-ride-for-maria-after-her-tango-with-brando-20060622-gdnt2a.html|title=Downhill ride for Maria after her tango with Brando|date=2006-06-22}}</ref> She said in 2007 that she had cried "real tears" during the scene and had felt humiliated and "a little raped".<ref name=Izadi5Dec2016>Izadi, Elahe (5 December 2016). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/05/why-the-last-tango-in-paris-rape-scene-is-generating-such-an-outcry-now/ "Why the 'Last Tango in Paris' rape scene is generating such an outcry now"], ''The Washington Post''.</ref><ref name="Macnab"/><ref name=Summers4Dec2016>Summers, Hannah (4 December 2016). [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/04/actors-disgust-last-tango-paris-rape-scene-confession-bertolucci "Actors voice disgust over Last Tango in Paris rape scene confession"], ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref> In 2013 Bertolucci said that he had withheld the information from Schneider to generate a real "reaction of frustration and rage".<ref name="Macnab">{{cite news|author=Geoffrey Macnab|newspaper= The Guardian|date=1 February 2013|title=Bernardo Bertolucci: 'I thought I couldn't make any more movies'|access-date=16 February 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/01/bernardo-bertolucci-berlusconi-last-tango}}</ref> Brando alleged that Bertolucci had wanted the characters to have real sex, but Brando and Schneider both said it was simulated.<ref name=Izadi5Dec2016/> In 2016 Bertolucci released a statement where he clarified that Schneider had known of the violence to be depicted in the scene, but had not been told about the use of butter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/05/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-in-paris-response-maria-schneider|title=Bernardo Bertolucci: Last Tango controversy is 'ridiculous'|last=Lee|first=Benjamin|date=5 December 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=2 June 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Following the “media glare” and her fame after the film's release, Schneider became a drug addict and suicidal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McLellan|first1=Dennis|title=Maria Schneider dies at 58; actress in 'Last Tango in Paris'|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-feb-04-la-me-maria-schneider-20110204-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=24 March 2015|date=4 February 2011}}</ref> Criminal proceedings were brought against Bertolucci in Italy for obscenity; the film was sequestered by the censorship commission and all copies were ordered destroyed. An Italian court revoked Bertolucci's [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] for five years and gave him a four-month [[Suspended sentence|suspended]] prison sentence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bernardo Bertolucci |url=http://www.rannakino.ee/en/programm/july-2012.html?id=348 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130213033410/http://www.rannakino.ee/en/programm/july-2012.html?id=348 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 February 2013 |work=Rannakino |access-date=26 August 2012 |author=Rannakino |year=2012 }}</ref> In 1978 the Appeals Court of [[Bologna, Italy|Bologna]] ordered three copies of the film to be preserved in the national film library with the stipulation that they could not be viewed, until Bertolucci was later able to re-submit it for general distribution with no cuts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rashkin|first1=Esther|title=Unspeakable Secrets and the Psychoanalysis of Culture|date=2008|publisher=SUNY Press|location=Albany, New York|isbn=978-0791475348|page=224|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EuQmXl2j9cgC&pg=PA223|access-date=24 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/04/last-tango-in-paris-director-says-maria-schneider-butter-scene-not-consensual|title=Last Tango in Paris director suggests Maria Schneider 'butter rape' scene not consensual|first1=Bonnie|last1=Malkin|date=3 December 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-reacts-disgust-outrage-last-tango-paris-directors-resurfaced-rape-scene-confession-95|title=Hollywood Reacts With Disgust, Outrage Over 'Last Tango in Paris' Director's Resurfaced Rape Scene Confession|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=3 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/last-tango-in-paris-rape-scene-consensual-bernardo-bertolucci-1201933117/|title='Last Tango in Paris' Rape Scene Was Not Consensual, Director Bernardo Bertolucci Admits|first=Seth|last=Kelley|date=3 December 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Bernardo Bertolucci Hollywood Walk of Fame.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Bertolucci's star on [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]
Bertolucci increased his fame with his next few films, from ''[[1900 (film)|1900]]'' (1976), an epic depiction of the struggles of farmers in [[Emilia-Romagna]] from the beginning of the 20th century up to [[World War II]] with an international cast ([[Robert De Niro]], [[Gérard Depardieu]], [[Donald Sutherland]], [[Sterling Hayden]], [[Burt Lancaster]], [[Dominique Sanda]]) to ''[[La Luna (1979 film)|La Luna]]'', set in [[Rome]] and in [[Emilia-Romagna]], in which Bertolucci deals with the thorny issue of drugs and [[incest]], and finally ''[[Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man|La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo]]'' (1981), with [[Ugo Tognazzi]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man: A Kidnaping as Seen by Bertolucci |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=12 February 1982 |work=The New York Times |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9505E5DA103BF931A25751C0A964948260}}</ref>

He then wrote two screenplays based on [[Dashiell Hammett]]'s [[Red Harvest]]. He hoped this would be his first film set in America, but nothing came of it.<ref name=guardobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/26/bernardo-bertolucci-obituary|title=Bernardo Bertolucci obituary |work=The Guardian|date=26 November 2018|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref>

=== ''The Last Emperor'' and later career ===
[[File:Bernardo Bertolucci.jpg|right|thumb|Bertolucci in 2011]]
In 1987, Bertolucci directed the epic ''[[The Last Emperor]]'', a biographical film telling the life story of [[House of Aisin-Gioro|Aisin-Gioro]] [[Puyi]], the last emperor of China. The film was independently produced by British producer [[Jeremy Thomas]], with whom Bertolucci worked almost exclusively from then on. The film was independently financed and three years in the making. Bertolucci, who co-wrote the film with [[Mark Peploe]], won the [[Academy Award for Best Director]]. The film uses Puyi's life as a mirror that reflects China's passage from [[feudalism]] through revolution to its current state.

At the [[60th Academy Awards]], ''The Last Emperor'' [[List of films receiving six or more Academy Awards|won all nine Oscars]] for which it was nominated: [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium]], [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]], [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]], [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]], [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction-Set Decoration]], [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music, Original Score]] and [[Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing|Best Sound]].<ref name=nyt88>{{cite news|first=Aljean|last=Harmetz|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/12/movies/the-last-emperor-wins-9-oscars-and-is-named-best-film-of-1987.html|title='The Last Emperor' Wins 9 Oscars And Is Named Best Film of 1987|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 April 1988|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref>

''The Last Emperor'' was the first feature film ever authorized by the government of the People's Republic of China to film in the [[Forbidden City]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,967235,00.html|title=Love And Respect, Hollywood-Style|date=April 25, 1988|first=Richard|last=Corliss|authorlink=Richard Corliss|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=20 July 2021|archive-date=5 January 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105160122/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,967235,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bertolucci had proposed the film to the Chinese government as one of two possible projects. The other film was ''[[Man's Fate#Film adaptations|La Condition Humaine]]'' by [[André Malraux]]. The Chinese government preferred ''The Last Emperor''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Charles|last=Champlin|authorlink=Charles Champlin|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-06-ca-26851-story.html|title=Bertolucci: The Emperor's New Clothier|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=6 December 1987|access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref>

After ''The Last Emperor'', ''[[The Sheltering Sky (film)|The Sheltering Sky]]'' and ''[[Little Buddha]]'', Bertolucci returned to Italy to film, and to revisit his old themes but with varying results from both critics and the public. He filmed ''[[Stealing Beauty]]'' in 1996,<ref>{{cite news|first=Julia|last=Felsenthal|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/liv-tyler-stealing-beauty-summer-movie|title=Why Stealing Beauty Is the Ultimate Summer Movie|work=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]|date=July 1, 2015|access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref> then ''[[The Dreamers (2003 film)|The Dreamers]]'' in 2003, which describes the political passions and sexual revolutions of two siblings in Paris in 1968.<ref>{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Bradshaw|authorlink=Peter Bradshaw|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_Film_of_the_week/0,4267,1141606,00.html|title=The Dreamers|newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 December 2004|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref>

In 2007, Bertolucci received the Golden Lion Award at the [[Venice Film Festival]] for his life's work, and in 2011 he also received the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cinematografo.it/news/speciale-palma-doro-a-bertolucci/ |title=Speciale Palma d'Oro a Bertolucci |website=Cinematografo.it |access-date=2 August 2011}}</ref>

In 2012, his final film, ''[[Me and You (film)|Me and You]]'', was screened out of competition at the [[2012 Cannes Film Festival]]<ref name="Official Selection">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/article/58878.html |title=2012 Official Selection |access-date=26 May 2012 |work=Cannes}}</ref><ref name="latinamericanfilm">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/22/me-and-you-review?newsfeed=true |title=Cannes 2012: Me and You (Io e Te) – review |access-date=26 May 2012 |first=Peter |last=Bradshaw |authorlink=Peter Bradshaw|work=The Guardian|date=22 May 2012}}</ref> and was released early in 2013 in the UK. The film is an adaptation of [[Niccolò Ammaniti]]'s [[young adult fiction|young adult]] book ''[[Me and You (novel)|Me and You]]''. The screenplay for the movie was written by Bertolucci, Umberto Contarello and Niccolò Ammaniti.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bernardo Bertolucci girerà il suo prossimo film in 3D |first=Nicoletta |last=Gemmi |date=18 February 2011 |url=http://www.primissima.it/cinema_news/scheda/bernardo_bertolucci_girera_il_suo_prossimo_film_in_3d/ |access-date=1 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126135138/http://www.primissima.it/cinema_news/scheda/bernardo_bertolucci_girera_il_suo_prossimo_film_in_3d/ |archive-date=26 November 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bertolucci originally intended to shoot the film in [[3D film|3D]] but was forced to abandon this plan due to cost.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vivarelli|first=Nick|title=Bertolucci abandons 3D plan for 'Me and You'|url=https://variety.com/2011/film/news/bertolucci-abandons-3d-plan-for-me-and-you-1118044104/|access-date=21 April 2012|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=7 October 2011}}</ref>

Bertolucci appeared on the [[BBC Radio 4|Radio Four]] programme ''[[Start the Week]]'' on 22 April 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s09js|title=Start the week|date=22 April 2013|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> and on ''[[Front Row (radio programme)|Front Row]]'' on 29 April 2013, where he chose ''[[La Dolce Vita]]'', a film directed by [[Federico Fellini]], for the "Cultural Exchange".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02p38dh|title=Cultural Exchange|date=29 April 2013|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref>

In the spring of 2018, in an interview with the Italian edition of ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)#International editions|Vanity Fair]]'', Bertolucci announced that he was preparing a new film. He stated, "The theme will be love, let's call it that. In reality, the theme is communication and therefore also incommunicability. The favorite subject of [[Michelangelo Antonioni]] and the condition I found myself facing when I moved on from my films for the few, those of the sixties, to a broader cinema ready to meet a large audience."<ref name=vanit2018>{{cite web|first=Malcolm|last=Pagani|url=https://www.vanityfair.it/show/cinema/2018/11/26/addio-a-bernardo-bertolucci-morto-roma-regista|title=Addio a Bernardo Bertolucci. L'ultima intervista|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=26 November 2018|access-date=30 November 2018|language=it}}</ref>

=== As a screenwriter, producer and actor ===
Bertolucci wrote many screenplays, both for his own films and for films directed by others, two of which he also produced.

He was an actor in the film ''[[Golem, the Spirit of the Exile|Golem: The Spirit of Exile]]'', directed by [[Amos Gitai]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/03154-golem-the-spirit-of-exile/|title= Archive of films Golem: The Spirit of Exile / Golem: L'esprit de l'exil |publisher=Karlovy Vary International Film Festival|access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref>