Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository

esearch has been based; in particular, the omnipresence of the Oedipus complex and the
consequent proliferation of perceived father and mother figures. Much psycholanalytical
research on his films arguably stemmed from the director's period under analysis, and was
fostered by his tendency to accept Freudian interpretations of his films. However, by
investigating the form and structures of Bertolucci's films, and also certain of his declarations
after the negative critical response to his first three films, this study has matured the
conviction that Bertolucci's work can often be more revelatory than his verbal declarations in
interview situations. The director has himself admitted: 'I think that I am a repressed person.
I think I can express my energy, my libido, my aggression, only in my work' (Quinn, 1977:
102). hi particular, the view expressed in this study is that a common critical focus for
interpretations of Bertolucci's films - that of attritional father-son relationships - should pay
closer attention to the director s professional life and his struggle for artistic recognition in
the early part of his career. This emphasis on the professional, rather than the personal, is
corroborated by the importance of Godard's influence within Bertolucci's work, whereas
biographical information about Bertolucci's relationship with his biological father repeatedly
points to a harmonious rapport.
With regard to Bertolucci's artistic decisions and career orientation, this volume
emphasizes two key factors. The first relates to his acknowledgment after the critical and
economic failure of Prima della rivoluzionelBefore the Revolution (1964) and Partner (1968)
- of the difficulty in introducing new modes of film-making to Italy, a position explained in
his interview with Maurizio Fantoni Minnella, Conversazione con Bemardo Bertolucci
(Fantoni Minnella, 2004: 230), which will be discussed in the chapters related to the two
films, hi this context, Bertolucci notes how even Pasolini was initially unimpressed by
Godard's work, by relating his comment on A bout de souffle - 'an intellectualist film,
ridiculous and with no natural qualities' (Ungari, 1982: 29). Objectively speaking, it is