The controversial Italian film director Giovanni (Tinto) Brass died today at the age of 93 in Venice, Italy. He was nicknamed “Tinto” because, as a child, he enjoyed drawing in the style of the famous Venetian painter Tintoretto (1518–1594).
Brass was born in Milan, Italy, in 1933. His paternal grandmother was Jewish and came from Odessa. Like his father, he studied law and became a lawyer in 1957, before moving to Paris, France, to pursue a career in cinema.
Returning to Italy in 1960, Brass worked with directors such as Roberto Rossellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. He began directing films in 1963, focusing primarily on erotic cinema and soft-core pornography.
In 1979, he directed the controversial film Caligula, starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, and John Gielgud. The film was produced by Bob Guccione, the founder of Penthouse magazine, and based on an original screenplay by Gore Vidal. During post-production, additional scenes featuring hardcore sexual content were added, contributing to the film’s notoriety.
In 2010, Brass suffered a stroke that significantly curtailed his filmmaking activities.
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