Bertolucci, Giuseppe

(1947-)

   Director and screenwriter. Younger brother of more famous director Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuseppe began his career in cinema as assistant to his brother on La strategia del ragno (The Spider's Stratagem, 1970), in which he also appeared in a small part. After a number of shorts and documentaries made for television, he directed his first feature film, Berlinguer, ti voglio bene (Berlinguer, I Love You, 1977), adapting a comic stage show Bertolucci had written for then cabaret artist and future actor-director Roberto Benigni. This was followed by two films dealing with much more serious themes and interestingly utilizing a largely female perspective, Oggetti smarriti (Lost and Found, 1980) and Segreti segreti (Secrets Secrets, 1984), the latter being one of the few films to openly confront the issue of political terrorism at the time. Tutto Benigni (All Benigni, made in 1983, released 1986), essentially an attempt to record some of Benigni's liveliest stage performances for a wider audience, was followed by Strana la vita (The Stangeness of Life, 1987) and the quirky, fragmented comedy I cammelli (1988), which featured the popular stand-up comedian Paolo Rossi in the lead role. Amori in corso (Love in Progress, 1988), set almost completely in a country house in Bertolucci's native Emilia region and played out between two young women who await the arrival of a male lover, is generally regarded as Bertolucci's most accomplished film to date. He subsequently directed more shorts and documentaries for television and three other feature films: Troppo sole (Too Much Sun, 1993), a satire on celebrity and modern mass-media society in which impersonator Sabina Guzzanti plays over a dozen different roles; Il dolce rumore della vita (The Sweet Sounds of Life, 1999); and L'amore probabilmente (Probably Love, 2000), the last made exclusively with digital video.

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira