Bernardo Bertolucci, the Oscar-winning Italian director and screenwriter whose films included "The Last Emperor" and "Last Tango in Paris," died in Rome on Monday at the age of 77.

A spokesperson said Bertolucci died of lung cancer.

Born in 1941 in the city of Parma, Bertolucci grew up in an artistic household with a poet father. He started writing in his teens and then began working as a film assistant to the director Pier Paolo Pasolini.

At the age of 22, he directed his first movie, 1962's "La commare secca."

Bertolucci gained greater notice in the '70s for films like "Last Tango in Paris" starring Marlon Brando and "1900" starring Robert De Niro.

In 1987, he co-wrote and directed "The Last Emperor," a historical epic about the life of Aisin-Gioro Puyi. It won all nine Oscars for which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Bertolucci leaves behind his wife, Clare Peploe.