Bernardo Bertolucci

Born: March 16 1940
Where: Rome, Italy

One of the undisputed masters of post-war Italian cinema, Bertolucci is probably best known to audiences for Last Tango in Paris and The Last Emperor.

In his early twenties he worked as assistant director on Pier Paulo Pasolini's acclaimed focus on prostitution in Rome Accattone in 1961.

His own film Before The Revolution was celebrated for mixing political thought with innovative stylistic devices.

In 1968, he was one of the screenwriters behind Sergio Leone's masterpiece Once Upon A Time In The West.

He achieved international recognition with 1970's The Conformist, based on Albert Moravia's novel about a young fascist assigned to kill his old teacher in Paris.

Last Tango in Paris, starring Marlon Brando, won an Oscar for best screenplay while 1900, starring Gerard Depardieu and Robert De Niro, told the story of Italy in the first half of the 20th century.

In 1987, the sumptuous The Last Emperor won nine Academy Awards, including best picture.

Subsequent movies include Little Buddha and Stealing Beauty, starring Liv Tyler and a contribution to the portmanteau movie Ten Minutes Older: The Cello.