Bernardo Bertolucci (/ˌbɜːrtəˈluːtʃi/ BUR-tə-LOO-chee; 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, Bertolucci's 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 d'Or. 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. Bertolucci's 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 d'Or nominations. He continued directing well into the 21st century, releasing his final film, Me and You, in 2012. Bertolucci's 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 CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

• 2026The Echo Chamber — Story
• 2025La nostra magnifica ossessione - Bernardo Bertolucci e la sua generazione
• 2021Marco Melani: The Man with the Golden Eye
• 2019Cinecittà - I mestieri del cinema Bernardo Bertolucci
• 2015Filmstudio, mon amour — Sé stesso
• 2014Henri Langlois vu par... — Self, Director
• 2013Venice 70: Future Reloaded — (segment Bernardo Bertolucci), Director
• 2012Me & You — Screenplay, Director
• 2005Behind Love and Anger — Thanks
• 2003The Dreamers — Director
• 2002Histoire d'eaux — Director
• 2002Ten Minutes Older: The Cello — Director, Screenplay
• 2001The Triumph of Love — Writer, Producer
• 2000Kiarostami in Close up — as Self
• 1998Besieged — Director, Writer
• 1996Bahia de Todos os Sambas — Thanks
• 1996Stealing Beauty — Director, Story
• 1993Little Buddha — Director, Story
• 1992Golem, the Spirit of Exile — Le Maître de la Cour
• 1990The Sheltering Sky — Screenplay, Director
• 198912 Directors for 12 Cities — Director
• 1989Bologna — Director
• 1987The Last Emperor — Director, Screenplay
• 1985Postcards from China — Self - Commentator, Director
• 1984Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer — Director
• 1983Io con te non ci sto più — Producer
• 1981Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man — Director, Writer
• 1979Luna — Screenplay, Story, Director
• 19761900 — Director, Writer
• 1976Il silenzio è complicità — Screenplay, Editor
• 1972Last Tango in Paris — Director, Screenplay, Story
• 1971Health Is Ill — Director
• 1971L'inchiesta — Producer
• 1971The Conformist — Director, Screenplay
• 1970The Spider's Stratagem — Director, Screenplay
• 1969His Day of Glory — Co-Director
• 1969Love and Anger — Director, Writer
• 1968Once Upon a Time in the West — Story
• 1968Partner — Director, Writer
• 1967The Path of Oil — Director
• 1966Il canale — Director
• 1964Before the Revolution — Story, Director, Screenplay
• 1962La Commare Secca — Director, Screenplay
• 1961Accattone — Assistant Director
• 1956La teleferica — Director
• 1956The Death of a Pig — Cinematography, Writer, Director

Appearances as themselves (79)

• 2026Joie de Vivre — Self (archive footage)
• 2023Grandmother's Footsteps — Self
• 2022Ennio — Self
• 2021Alida Valli: In Her Own Words — Self
• 2021Opera Prima — Self
• 2021The Treasure of His Youth: The Photographs of Paolo Di Paolo — Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
• 2021We Are Cinema — Self (archive footage)
• 2020Glauber, Claro — Self (archive footage)
• 2018Now and Forever Time to Reclaim Life — Self (archive footage)
• 2017Bernardo Bertolucci, le dernier empereur du cinema — Self
• 2017Evviva Giuseppe — Himself
• 2017Plankton Salesmen — Self (archive footage)
• 2017Water and Sugar – Carlo Di Palma: The Colours of Life — Self
• 2016Because I Am a Genius! Lorenza Mazzetti — Himself
• 2016Cinque mondi — Self
• 2016Porn to Be Free — Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
• 2015Listen to Me Marlon — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2015Rubando Bellezza — Self
• 2014Casarola — Self
• 2014Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire — Self - Filmmaker
• 2014Pasolini, la passion de Rome — Self
• 2014Red Chairs - Parma and the Cinema — Self
• 2013Bertolucci on Bertolucci — Self (archive)
• 2013Bertolucci par Bertolucci : Leçon de cinéma — Self - Guest
• 2013Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open — Self
• 2013Quando i tedeschi non sapevano nuotare — Self
• 2013Seduced and Abandoned — Self
• 2013We Weren't Just Bicycle Thieves: Neorealism — Self
• 2012Sedia Elettrica: il making of del film Io e Te — Self
• Square — Self
• 2011In the Shade of the Conformist — Self
• 2011Kurosawa's Way — Self
• 2011Laura's Passion — Self
• The Story of Film: An Odyssey — Self
• 2010Portrait Of My Father — Self
• 2010… But Film Is My Mistress — Self
• 2009Great Directors — Self
• 2009What Do You Know About Me — Self
• 2006Filmmakers in Action — Self
• 2006Refuge — Self
• 2006Sartoria Tirelli - Vestire il cinema — Self
• 2005Elio Petri: Notes About a Filmmaker — Self
• 2004Behind the scenes: Last Tango in Paris — Self
• 2004Cinema, Sex, Politics: Bertolucci Makes ‘The Dreamers’ — Self
• 2004How We Got the Italian Movie Business Into Trouble: The True Story of Franco and Ciccio — Self
• 2004I nostri trent'anni - Generazioni a confronto — Self
• Leçon de Cinéma — Self
• 2003An Opera of Violence — Self - Filmmaker
• 2003Cesare Zavattini — Self
• 2003Chaplin Today: Limelight — Self
• 2003Something to Do with Death — Self - Filmmaker
• Un film et son époque — Self
• 2002Bernardo Bertolucci: What Is the Purpose of Cinema? — Self
• 2002Claude Jutra: An Unfinished Story — Self - Director
• 2001Salò: Fade to Black — Self
• 1999Kurosawa: The Last Emperor — Self
• 1998Playboy: The Story of X — Self - Director
• 1997Roberto Rossellini: Il mestiere di uomo — Self
• Scene by Scene — Self
• 1995Empire of the Censors — Self
• 1994The True Life of Antonio H. — Self
• 1993Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II — Self
• 1992The Ditvoorst Domains — Self
• 1992Writing with Light: Vittorio Storaro — Self
• 1990Pictures of Europe — Self
• 1989Face to Face: Bernardo Bertolucci — Self
• 1988Bernardo Bertolucci and the Making of 'The Last Emperor' — Self
• 1987Bernardo Bertolucci: The Italian Traveler — Self
• 1986Bernardo Bertolucci's Chinese Adventure — Self
• Goldene Kamera — Self
• 1981Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die — Self
• Ciné regards — Self
• 1977Journey Through History — Self
• 1976The Cinema According to Bertolucci — Self
• 1975ABCinema — Self
• Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
• Spécial cinéma — Self
• Midi trente — Self
• 1969Filmers buiten het gareel — Self