# Italian film-maker Tinto Brass, known for erotic cinema, dies aged 93

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/tinto-brass-director-of-caligula-and-maestro-of-euro-erotica-dies-aged-93/
- Published: 2026-11-04T16:47:15+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T17:45:49+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/nov/04/tinto-brass-director-of-caligula-erotic-cinema-dies-aged-93
- Topics: Europe, World

## Key points

- Italian director Tinto Brass has died aged 93.
- He became known for *Caligula* and *Salon Kitty*.
- Guccione added scenes to *Caligula* without Brass’s approval.

## Summary

Italian film-maker Tinto Brass, best known for bringing erotic cinema to a wider audience with films such as *Caligula* and *Salon Kitty*, has died aged 93. His wife and children announced his death on Wednesday. His career matters for its experimental beginnings and its later exploration of sex, power and money through controversial films.

Born in Milan and raised in Venice, Brass worked at Paris’s Cinémathèque before returning to Italy, where he edited and assisted director Roberto Rossellini. Producer Bob Guccione hired him to direct *Caligula*, released in 1980 with a cast including Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and John Gielgud. Guccione added explicit scenes without Brass’s permission; Brass later disavowed the film, which was released under his name only for “principal photography”. He is survived by his wife Caterina Varzi and children Bonifacio and Beatrice.

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