Italian director Bertolucci dies

Bernardo Bertolucci, the Italian filmmaker whose sensual and visually stylistic movies ranged from intense chamber dramas to panoramic historical epics, died Monday at his home in Rome. He was 77.

Bertolucci’s death was confirmed by his wife, Clare Peploe, in a statement that did not specify the cause.

Bertolucci’s early work reflected the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s and ‘70s, in particular the shifting social and sexual mores of the times. While several of his films delved into the traumas of his country’s recent past, he fashioned himself as a global auteur.

Many of Bertolucci’s films were warmly embraced by Hollywood. “The Last Emperor” (1987), a lavish biopic of Pu Yi, who became the emperor of China at the age of 3, won all nine Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture and Best Director.

But Bertolucci’s bestknown — and most controversial — film came earlier in his career: “Last Tango in Paris” (1972), an explicit hothouse depiction of the intense sexual relationship between a middle-aged American widower and a young Frenchwoman (played by Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider). A worldwide sensation and instant lightning rod, the film was lauded by some for pushing the boundaries of sexual representation, and denounced by others as misogynistic or pornographic.