Bernardo Bertolucci

Italian director, one of the most accomplished of his generation. A poet as a child, he was published before he was 12. His passion for film began in his teens, and he dropped out of college in 1961 to become Pasolini's assistant director. The following year, he directed his first film, "The Grim Reaper." He had two outstanding films in the '70s, "The Spider's Stratagem" and "The Conformist." His "Last Tango in Paris," 1972, was deemed both obscene and an erotic masterpiece.

On 11 April 1988, he won the Best Director Oscar for "The Last Emperor," a film that swept up awards in nine categories. The $23.8 million epic was shot in China from 1984 to 1987 with a crew of 100 from Italy, 20 from England and 150 Chinese. There were 60 actors from six countries and 19,000 extras. There were 30 or more interpreters working at all times as they shot inside Beijing's Forbidden City. The film was released in November 1987.

Bertolucci was the first of two sons born to Attilio, a poet, anthologist, film critic and art history teacher. His mother, a teacher, Italian-Irish, had come from Australia. His brother Giuseppe later followed in Bernardo's footsteps as a film maker. The family lived in the rural outskirts of Parma until the early '50s, when his father's work took him to Rome. He speaks of a "golden childhood with a big, comfortable house, servants, understanding parents, and a pursuit of intellectualism." By the time he was 12 he had several poems published, at 15, he made two short films about children in the country. A collection of his poems was published in 1962, winning the Premio Viareggio, one of Italy's top literary awards.

Bertolucci studied at the University of Rome where he met the filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini and joined him in the film business. His first works were decidedly left-wing cinema.

He underwent psychoanalysis at the age of 28, emerging more meditative and insightful, a romantic among directors. Handsome in a rugged way, he was 6' 1" (1.