Tinto Brass
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Brass better known as Tinto Brass, is an Italian
filmmaker. He is noted especially for his work in the erotic genre, with films such as Così fan tutte
(released under the English
title All Ladies Do It), Paprika
, Monella (Frivolous Lola) and Trasgredire
. On Sunday, 18 April 2010, he suffered an intracranial hemorrhage
.
(later shortened to Tinto) was given by his grandfather Italico Brass, a renowned Gorizia
n painter of Austrian (German) descent. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he created many avant-garde
films, including Nerosubianco, L'urlo
, and La Vacanza. However, he is best known for his erotic epics, Salon Kitty, The Key, Senso '45 and Caligula
. The latter film was a collaboration with celebrated author Gore Vidal
, Franco Rossellini and Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione
. However, many consider Caligula not to be a true Tinto Brass film since post-production was not handled by Brass. The director demanded that his name be stricken from the credits after Guccione inserted hardcore sex scenes and recut much of the film's story and theme structure. Despite this, the film contains many of Brass' trademarks and remains his most widely viewed work (and the highest-grossing Italian film released in the United States). Well into his seventies, he continued to make films.
In 1972, he was a member of the jury at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival
.
He is an atheist.
and zooms, thus imitating how the viewer might see the events if they were actually present. This also gives the films an extraordinarily rapid pace. He often uses a television-like multicam
method of shooting, with at least three cameras running at once, each focusing on something else.
There are many other directorial trademark
s throughout his films. From 1976's Salon Kitty onwards, mirrors play a large part in the set design. Sometimes he even goes as far as to begin a scene with a mirror shot, then pan over to the action being reflected, giving a disorienting feeling. His erotic films – especially The Key, Miranda and All Ladies Do It – often accentuate women's buttocks and hairy armpits
, almost to the point of fetishizing
those particular physical features.
Brass' films in the 1980s and early 1990s had mainly been adaptations of famous erotic literary works, namely The Key
(La chiave), The Mistress of the Inn
(Miranda), the novel Le lettere da Capri by Mario Soldati
(Capriccio), Fanny Hill
(Paprika), and the novel L'uomo che guarda by Alberto Moravia
(The Voyeur), while 2002 film Senso '45 is an adaptation of Senso, previously filmed
by Luchino Visconti
.
He almost always works in a cameo
for his friend Osiride Pevarello and, in the recent years, himself as well.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
filmmaker. He is noted especially for his work in the erotic genre, with films such as Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte (film)
Così fan tutte is a 1992 Italian sex comedy directed by Tinto Brass. It is loosely based on Mozart/da Ponte opera Così fan tutte. It features, in the main role, Claudia Koll....
(released under the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
title All Ladies Do It), Paprika
Paprika (1991 film)
Paprika is a 1991 Italian film directed by Tinto Brass. The story follows the title character, a young girl who works as a prostitute in various brothels, losing any sense of self confidence and self-respect. But eventually she finds redemption, wealth and her one true love. The film is loosely...
, Monella (Frivolous Lola) and Trasgredire
Trasgredire
Trasgredire is a 2000 sex comedy directed by Tinto Brass, with Yuliya Mayarchuk in the lead role.-Plot:...
. On Sunday, 18 April 2010, he suffered an intracranial hemorrhage
Intracranial hemorrhage
An intracranial hemorrhage is a hemorrhage, or bleeding, within the skull.-Causes:Intracranial bleeding occurs when a blood vessel within the skull is ruptured or leaks. It can result from physical trauma or nontraumatic causes such as a ruptured aneurysm...
.
Life
His nickname TintorettoTintoretto
Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...
(later shortened to Tinto) was given by his grandfather Italico Brass, a renowned Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
n painter of Austrian (German) descent. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he created many avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
films, including Nerosubianco, L'urlo
The Howl
The Howl is a 1970 Italian comedy film directed by Tinto Brass. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Tina Aumont - Anita* Gigi Proietti - Coso* Nino Segurini - Berto Bertuccioli* Germano Longo...
, and La Vacanza. However, he is best known for his erotic epics, Salon Kitty, The Key, Senso '45 and Caligula
Caligula (film)
Caligula is a 1979 American-produced Italian biographical film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula...
. The latter film was a collaboration with celebrated author Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
, Franco Rossellini and Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione
Bob Guccione
Bob Guccione was the founder and publisher of the adult magazine Penthouse. He resigned from his publisher position in November 2003.-Early life:...
. However, many consider Caligula not to be a true Tinto Brass film since post-production was not handled by Brass. The director demanded that his name be stricken from the credits after Guccione inserted hardcore sex scenes and recut much of the film's story and theme structure. Despite this, the film contains many of Brass' trademarks and remains his most widely viewed work (and the highest-grossing Italian film released in the United States). Well into his seventies, he continued to make films.
In 1972, he was a member of the jury at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival
22nd Berlin International Film Festival
The 22nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1972.-Jury:* Eleanor Perry * Fritz Drobilitsch-Walden* Francis Cosne* Rita Tushingham* Tinto Brass* Yukichi Shinada* Julio Coll* Hans Hellmut Kirst...
.
He is an atheist.
Style
Brass' films follow an impressionistic style – they tend not to show immense landscapes, but bits and pieces of the scenery and peripheral characters and objects through pansPanning (camera)
In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device...
and zooms, thus imitating how the viewer might see the events if they were actually present. This also gives the films an extraordinarily rapid pace. He often uses a television-like multicam
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
method of shooting, with at least three cameras running at once, each focusing on something else.
There are many other directorial trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
s throughout his films. From 1976's Salon Kitty onwards, mirrors play a large part in the set design. Sometimes he even goes as far as to begin a scene with a mirror shot, then pan over to the action being reflected, giving a disorienting feeling. His erotic films – especially The Key, Miranda and All Ladies Do It – often accentuate women's buttocks and hairy armpits
Underarm hair
Underarm hair is the composition of hair in the underarm area .- Development and function :...
, almost to the point of fetishizing
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
those particular physical features.
Brass' films in the 1980s and early 1990s had mainly been adaptations of famous erotic literary works, namely The Key
The Key (Tanizaki novel)
The Key , is a novel written by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki in 1956. The story was translated into English by Howard Hibbett and published by Vintage International Books.-Synopsis:...
(La chiave), The Mistress of the Inn
The Mistress of the Inn
The Mistress of the Inn , also translated as The Innkeeper Woman or Mirandolina , is a 1753 three-act comedy by the Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni about a coquette. The play has been regarded as his masterpiece...
(Miranda), the novel Le lettere da Capri by Mario Soldati
Mario Soldati
Mario Soldati was an Italian writer and film director.-Biography:Soldati studied Humanities in his native city, Turin, and History of Art in Rome. He started publishing novels in 1929 although his fame came with America primo amore, published in 1935, a diary about the time he spent teaching at...
(Capriccio), Fanny Hill
Fanny Hill
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is an erotic novel by John Cleland first published in England in 1748...
(Paprika), and the novel L'uomo che guarda by Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
(The Voyeur), while 2002 film Senso '45 is an adaptation of Senso, previously filmed
Senso (film)
Senso is a 1954 melodrama film, an adaptation of Camillo Boito's Italian novella Senso by the Italian director Luchino Visconti, with Alida Valli as Livia and Farley Granger as Lieutenant Franz Mahler....
by Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
.
He almost always works in a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
for his friend Osiride Pevarello and, in the recent years, himself as well.
Filmography
- In capo al mondo or Chi lavora è perduto (1963)
- Ça ira - Il fiume della rivolta (1964)
- La mia signora (1964)
- Il disco volante (1964)
- Yankee (1966)
- Col cuore in gola (1967)
- L'urloThe HowlThe Howl is a 1970 Italian comedy film directed by Tinto Brass. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Tina Aumont - Anita* Gigi Proietti - Coso* Nino Segurini - Berto Bertuccioli* Germano Longo...
(1968) - Nerosubianco (1969)
- DropoutDropout (1970 film)Dropout is a 1970 Italian romantic drama directed by Tinto Brass. It stars real-life couple, Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave. They also worked with Brass a year later on the drama, La vacanza...
(1970) - La vacanzaLa vacanzaLa vacanza is a 1971 Italian drama film by Tinto Brass. It stars Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 4 September 1971 where it was awarded the 'Best Italian Film' prize. This was followed by a theatrical release in Italy on 5 April 1972...
(1971) - Salon Kitty (1975)
- CaligulaCaligula (film)Caligula is a 1979 American-produced Italian biographical film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula...
(1979) - Action (1980)
- La Chiave (1983)
- Miranda (1985)
- Capriccio (1987)
- Snack Bar Budapest (1988)
- PaprikaPaprika (1991 film)Paprika is a 1991 Italian film directed by Tinto Brass. The story follows the title character, a young girl who works as a prostitute in various brothels, losing any sense of self confidence and self-respect. But eventually she finds redemption, wealth and her one true love. The film is loosely...
(1991) - Così fan tutteCosì fan tutte (film)Così fan tutte is a 1992 Italian sex comedy directed by Tinto Brass. It is loosely based on Mozart/da Ponte opera Così fan tutte. It features, in the main role, Claudia Koll....
(1992) - The Voyeur (1994)
- Fermo posta Tinto Brass (1995)
- Monella (1997)
- TrasgredireTrasgredireTrasgredire is a 2000 sex comedy directed by Tinto Brass, with Yuliya Mayarchuk in the lead role.-Plot:...
(2000) - Senso '45 (2002)
- Fallo! (aka Do It!) (2003)
- MonamourMonamour-Plot:Marta is a young housewife, married to Dario, a successful book publisher. Although she still loves her husband, Marta hasn't been able to achieve sexual satisfaction for months due to their dull and predictable love life...
(2005) - Chi ha ucciso Caligola? (preproduction)