Bernardo Bertolucci, the director of “Last Tango in Paris,” has died. He was 77.
The Italian filmmaker lost his battle with cancer on Monday, according to the Associated Press. He passed away in Rome, surrounded by family.
Bertolucci was a self-professed Marxist, which could be seen in his films.
Bertolucci won a pair of Oscars for writing and directing 1987’s “The Last Emperor.” The movie itself won all nine Academy Awards for which it was nominated.
Previously, Bertolucci was Oscar-nominated in 1974 for directing “Last Tango.” Two years prior, Bertolucci received an Academy Award nomination for writing “The Conformist.”
TheWrap did not immediately hear back from our request for the Punto e Virgola press office to confirm Bertolucci’s passing.
“Last Tango in Paris” follows a young Parisian woman (Maria Schneider) who meets a middle-aged American businessman (Marlon Brando) who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.
Due to its sexual violence — most notably an anal rape scene — the film was banned in Bertolucci’s native Italy and re-cut in several other countries, including the United States.
Bertolucci, who was honored with the lifetime achievement award at 2011’s Cannes Film Festival, was married to English writer and director Clare Peploe. The couple did not have children.