Bernardo Bertolucci, the Oscar-winning movie director whose films included Last Tango in Paris, The Dreamers and The Last Emperor, has died aged 77, according to reports.
Bertolucci died in Rome, Italy, following a bout of long illness, according to La Repubblica. He had spent the final years if his life in a wheelchair as a result of his illness.
The director and screenwriter is best known for his film The Last Emperor, which won all won all nine Oscars for which it was nominated for in 1988, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and Best Sound.
Bertolucci, who was born in the Italian city of Parma, remains the only Italian filmmaker to win the Oscar for Best Director.
The Last Emperor, an adaptation of the autobiography of China's last imperial ruler, Pu Yi, who succeeded to the throne aged just 2-years-old, was also the first movie which was granted permission by the government of the People's Republic of China to film inside Beijing's Forbidden City.
The 77-year-old was also known for the controversial movie Last Tango in Paris, which he was criticized for after admitting to filming a non-consensual rape scene involving its stars Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando.
In a 2013 interview, Bertulocci said he did not tell the then 19-year-old Schneider that Brando's character would use a stick of butter to sexually assault her as he wanted her "reaction as a girl, not as an actress," reported The Guardian.
"I think she hated me and also Marlon because we didn't tell her that there was that detail of the butter used as lubricant," he said.
Bertolucci was also Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and Gold Medal for the meritorious of culture and art, reports Corriere della Sera.
He was also presented with the inaugural Honorary Palme d'Or Award at the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in honor of his work, which also includes The Dreamers, The Conformnist and Stealing Beauty.
In a career spanning six decades, Bertolucci directed his first movie, 1962's La Commare Secca, at the age of 21. His last film, Me and You, was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
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