\u00ab\u00a0I was truly stunned and moved by the level of sheer artistry and talent up there on the screen,\u00a0\u00bb Martin Scorsese says of the late Bernardo Bertolucci<\/b>
\nMartin Scorsese says that Bernardo Bertolucci, the Italian director who passed away Monday, both \u201cinspired\u201d and \u201copened many doors\u201d for him as a director.
In the wake of Bertolucci\u2019s death, Scorsese said in a statement that he first saw Bertolucci\u2019s 1964 film \u201cBefore the Revolution\u201d in Italy and came out of the theater \u201cin a daze, speechless.\u201d
\u201cI was truly stunned and moved by the level of sheer artistry and talent up there on the screen, I was shocked by the freedom of the picture, I was somewhat mystified by so many of the cultural references and cross-references, and, as someone who wanted to make films, I was inspired,\u201d Scorsese said.
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He also applauded Bertolucci\u2019s \u201cThe Conformist,\u201d \u201cLast Tango in Paris,\u201d \u201cThe Last Emperor\u201d and \u201cThe Sheltering Sky\u201d as films that had a profound influence on Hollywood filmmaking and even reinvented historical epics.
Scorsese also noted that it saddened him to see Bertolucci in a wheelchair in the late stages of his life, presuming that the late director desired to make many more films.
\u201cWhen I think of him, I will always see an eternally young man,\u201d Scorsese added.
In 2010, the two directors attended a Gucci dinner for the restoration of Federico Fellini\u2019s \u201cLa Dolce Vita,\u201d as seen in the photo above.
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Read Scorsese\u2019s full statement below:<\/p>\n