Tinto Brass, one of the most controversial and nonconformist directors in Italian cinema, best known for his erotic films, has died at the age of 93. He passed away on the morning of Wednesday, November 4, at around 10:30 a.m., in Rome. His wife, Caterina Varzi, and his children, Bonifacio and Beatrice, announced the news. The funeral will be held strictly in private.
Born in Milan on March 26, 1933, and registered at birth as Giovanni Brass, he had chosen Venice as his adopted city. After studying law and gaining his first filmmaking experience in Paris, he worked alongside Roberto Rossellini before making his directorial debut in 1963 with Chi lavora è perduto (Whoever Works Is Lost).
His career was marked by constant legal battles and run-ins with censorship. “I spent almost more time in courtrooms than behind the camera — 26 films out of 27 were censored, all except La Vacanza from 1971, which won the jury prize at the Lido,” the director once recalled.
From the 1980s onward, Brass established himself as a master of erotic cinema, directing actresses such as Serena Grandi, Debora Caprioglio, Claudia Koll and Stefania Sandrelli. Among his best-known titles are La Chiave, Miranda, Paprika, Così Fan Tutte, Monella and Monamour, his final film, released in 2005.
After suffering a stroke in 2010, he had withdrawn from public life in recent years. At the most recent Venice Film Festival, in a message read aloud by his wife, he reaffirmed the meaning behind his work: “There has always been an aesthetic pursuit, an experimentation, a choice of freedom.”
In 2023, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Italy’s National Film School (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) acquired his personal archive, which had been collected and organized thanks to the efforts of his wife, Caterina Varzi, whom he married in 2017.
