Bernardo Bertolucci

Birthday: 16 March 1941, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Height: 178 cm

Bernardo Bertolucci, the Italian director whose films are known for their colorful visual style, was born in Parma, Italy, in 1940. He attended Rome University and became famous as a poet. He served a ...Show More

What interests me in The Sheltering Sky (1990) is not where the story goes but what it is and what i Show more What interests me in The Sheltering Sky (1990) is not where the story goes but what it is and what it does on the way. It's about the mystery in the characters and the couple - the mystery of their chemistry. The interesting thing is the mystery itself, not its solution or resolution. Hide

A monoculture is not only Hollywood, but Americans trying to export democracy. I don't think you can Show more A monoculture is not only Hollywood, but Americans trying to export democracy. I don't think you can in any way export culture with guns or tanks. I think that I used to love Hollywood movies. I remember great phases and moments. But, unfortunately, now is not the moment. Hide

My generation had an affair with American culture, there's no doubt about it. A street lamp and a fi Show more My generation had an affair with American culture, there's no doubt about it. A street lamp and a fire hydrant made me sing in the rain. But the American films I like now do not come from Hollywood studios but from television series, like Mad Men (2007), Breaking Bad (2008), The Americans (2013). I like when they last 13 episodes but then there is a new series coming with another 13 episodes. Apart from a few independent productions, I think that everything that comes from Hollywood is generally sad. It makes me very sad. Hide

I don't film messages. I let the post office take care of those. I don't film messages. I let the post office take care of those.

[on the untimely death of Pier Paolo Pasolini] A remarkable director - a great loss to Italian cultu Show more [on the untimely death of Pier Paolo Pasolini] A remarkable director - a great loss to Italian culture. It was as if he was discovering cinema from scratch. Hide

[accepting his Golden Globe for The Last Emperor (1987)] I always thought The Last Emperor was almos Show more [accepting his Golden Globe for The Last Emperor (1987)] I always thought The Last Emperor was almost an impossible project - because of China, because of the cost, because of no major stars in the movie; to be here with five nominations is the proof that although it's the story of a unique destiny, of a Chinaman, the movie goes beyond, can be understood everywhere. Hide

,,, With each of my movies, every time is the first time... which means taking risks... ,,, With each of my movies, every time is the first time... which means taking risks...

[on the end of Breaking Bad (2008)] I'm sad about it. I want more. [on the end of Breaking Bad (2008)] I'm sad about it. I want more.

In Hollywood there used to be a sort of 'miracle of harmony' - harmony between the people writing th Show more In Hollywood there used to be a sort of 'miracle of harmony' - harmony between the people writing the story, director, cast, set designer, and the grace of some of the Hollywood movies became inevitable - something within that system that made it all work. But today the production system has lost that grace. Hide

[His answer on 2 October 1979 to a woman who had just seen a special screening of La luna (1979) at Show more [His answer on 2 October 1979 to a woman who had just seen a special screening of La luna (1979) at the Film Center of the School of the Art Institute, Chicago] I left the ending ambiguous, because that is the way life is. Hide

[on making The Dreamers (2003)] It gave me the chance of visiting a moment that I really loved a lot Show more [on making The Dreamers (2003)] It gave me the chance of visiting a moment that I really loved a lot, the late 1960s. It was a kind of magic moment in many senses. There was a fantastic projection of the future, of utopias, which were very noble in some ways. I remember being young in the 1960s. We had a great sense of the future, a great big hope. This is what is missing in the youth today. This being able to dream and to change the world. Hide

You know for American filmmakers, the Oscars is like a mystic thing. For me it was being in a mirror Show more You know for American filmmakers, the Oscars is like a mystic thing. For me it was being in a mirror of my dreams when I was dreaming of Hollywood when I was an adolescent. Hide

[on describing Hollywood as "the big nipple" at the 1988 Academy Awards] The day after I remember I Show more [on describing Hollywood as "the big nipple" at the 1988 Academy Awards] The day after I remember I was driving in Sunset Boulevard and on the radio there was the disc jockey saying, "and now music from the Big Nipple..." And so they adopted it...I just meant that night these nine Oscars (for The Last Emperor (1987)) were like a big, big breast feeding all of us. It was a joke. Sometimes from Hollywood is a very dry nipple; that time it was big and very generous. Hide

Kurosawa's movies and La dolce vita (1960), Fellini, are the things that pushed me into being a film Show more Kurosawa's movies and La dolce vita (1960), Fellini, are the things that pushed me into being a film director. Hide

What you want from a movie when you begin it is 150,000 miles from what you reach at the end. Moviem Show more What you want from a movie when you begin it is 150,000 miles from what you reach at the end. Moviemaking is a process. You end with something different; that's what gives it life. I cannot plan a film as a script or as a storyboard. I need the camera; I need the actors. I can't do it on a desk. I need the reality to whisper to me. If you leave the door open to reality, the smell of reality is so strong, it adds so much. It attacks and enters and infiltrates, that's what I enjoy. Hide

[on The Sheltering Sky (1990)] It's not an epic with a thousand extras. It's an epic of the heart. I Show more [on The Sheltering Sky (1990)] It's not an epic with a thousand extras. It's an epic of the heart. It's a love story. And the most common love story of all, about two people who adore each other but cannot be happy. On another, perhaps deeper level, it's about the difference between the traveler and the tourist. It's a distinction Paul Bowles makes in the early part of the book. A tourist wants to go home as soon as he has seen what he set out for. But a traveler wants to disappear, he wants to drown. Hide

[on Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)] I chose two actors, Dominique Sanda and Jean-Louis Trintignant for Show more [on Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)] I chose two actors, Dominique Sanda and Jean-Louis Trintignant for Last Tango. She gets pregnant. He can't get naked and do love scenes. I end up with Brando and Schneider. Thank God! Hide

I am still against any kind of censorship. It's a subject in my life that has been very important. I am still against any kind of censorship. It's a subject in my life that has been very important.

[on Gérard Depardieu] Fills the space like a young Marlon Brando. He has an extraordinary intensity Show more [on Gérard Depardieu] Fills the space like a young Marlon Brando. He has an extraordinary intensity. Hide

Very often the filmmaker will not receive money if he doesn't make the kind of film the Hollywood st Show more Very often the filmmaker will not receive money if he doesn't make the kind of film the Hollywood studios want. Hide

[In response to Ingmar Bergman's contention that Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972) (US title: "Last Tango Show more [In response to Ingmar Bergman's contention that Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972) (US title: "Last Tango in Paris") was really about homosexuals, and only in those terms did the film make sense and become interesting] I accept all interpretations of my films. The only reality is before the camera. Each film I make is kind of a return to poetry for me, or at least an attempt to create a poem. Hide

[on American movies] I saw Stagecoach (1939) and for me, John Ford became Homer. I was in front of a Show more [on American movies] I saw Stagecoach (1939) and for me, John Ford became Homer. I was in front of a full-length mirror and what I was seeing at 12 wasn't me, it was John Wayne. Hide

[on Silvio Berlusconi] We had 20 years with him. With his big TV channels, he created many subcultur Show more [on Silvio Berlusconi] We had 20 years with him. With his big TV channels, he created many subcultural values. He killed culture, in a way. He anaesthetised the brains of young people growing up in those years. Often, you can see an ignorance that is so big and so terrifying. Hide

When a movie does very well, like some of mine, they ask you to re-do it, to make No. 2. This is dan Show more When a movie does very well, like some of mine, they ask you to re-do it, to make No. 2. This is dangerous, and I'm trying not to do it. You can become a copier of yourself. There are other filmmakers who can copy you better than you can yourself. Hide

[on Breaking Bad (2008)] In the story, there is a freedom. But there are many other things which are Show more [on Breaking Bad (2008)] In the story, there is a freedom. But there are many other things which are free in terms of style. With TV series, they don't have the obsession in the editing room to do chop-chop-chop-chop. There are moments when the character is not doing something. In a series, you have a long time where the camera rests on the face of Walter White, and it stays forever, which is not allowed in cinema anymore. Hide

The best work being done now is for television. Breaking Bad (2008) - a masterpiece. House of Cards Show more The best work being done now is for television. Breaking Bad (2008) - a masterpiece. House of Cards (2013) - very, very good. Hide

[on Los Angeles] The Big Nipple. [on Los Angeles] The Big Nipple.

[on Marlon Brando] An angel as a man, a monster as an actor. [on Marlon Brando] An angel as a man, a monster as an actor.

My way of directing actors is always, first of all, to be very curious about what they really are be Show more My way of directing actors is always, first of all, to be very curious about what they really are because you can't lie to the camera. I try to get close to the person's reality and then use what I find there in the direction of the character. Since I think the camera sees the truth, I prefer to go with the actor - like Brando, for instance - because if you involve actors in the whole process, they will give you so much more. Hide

Bernardo Bertolucci's FILMOGRAPHY

All as Actor (8) as Director (8) as Creator (6)

Stealing Beauty

Acqua e zucchero: Carlo Di Palma, i colori della vita [Audio: Italian]

The Last Emperor

The Conformist

The Oscars (2019)

Ennio (2022)

The Dreamers

Imagine - Season 34

Listen to Me Marlon

Last Tango In Paris

The Story of Film: An Odyssey - Season 1

Novecento

Porn to Be Free (Porno and liberta)

Seduced and Abandoned

The Sheltering Sky

Little Buddha