2. Tinto Brass (1933-)
Giovanni Brass - or Tinto Brass as we know him - is a prominent Italian director within the field of erotica. His most notorious film is Caligula which earned him critical revulsion, which is quite unfair to Brass as it is primarily Bob Guccione's fault that the film turned out as bizarre as it did (he inserted about 8 minutes of hardcore porn into the film to sex it up). Nevertheless, Caligula has gained quite a cult following and Brass has plenty of excellent erotic films under his belt. One of Brass' most famous films is Salon Kitty - an erotic drama about a Nazi brothel. This film helped to kick start the Nazisploitation cycle but it is a much classier affair than the many films that sought to imitate it. Tinto likes to say "I put a big c**k and balls between the legs of Italian cinema". With films such as Frivolous Lola, All Ladies Do It, The Key, and Paprika, Brass explores various aspects of erotica. He seems to be fond of voyeurism and takes a Jess Franco approach to his actresses' buttocks and pubic hair - virtually fetishising them with his camera work. Since suffering an intercranial bleed in 2001, Brass has not been especially active in cinema, mind you he is 80 years old now. He can look back on his career with a smile.