*Pier Paolo Pasolini*

Besides being a filmmaker, Pier Paolo Pasolini (March 5, 1922 - November 2, 1975) was a poet, a novelist, journalist, and a philosopher. He began writing poems when he only seven years old, and by the age of nineteen had a collection of his poems published. In the 1960s and 70s, Pasolini was considered one of the most influential and controversial of Italy's younger filmmakers.His first film, Accattono(1961), based on one of novels, portrayed life in the Roman underworld. This, like many of Pasolini's work, received criticism from conservatives. In 1962, he was arrested for his contribution to the portmanteau film Ro.Go.Pa.G, which was considered highly blasphemous. Pasolini's next film, Vangelo secondo Matteo, Il (The Gospel According to St. Matthew, 1964), was widely hailed as the best depiction of the life of Jesus Christ. The film's international success helped to establish Pasolini as one of the most important filmmakers of his generation. Pasolini wrote and directed several more films over the course of the decade. In 1971, he released the first film of his Trilogy of Life series, Il Decameron. It was followed by I Raconti di Canterbury(The Canterbury Tales, 1972), and Il fiore delle mille e una notte(1974). Typically of most of his films, Pasolini chose to shoot the film with non-professional actors. He saw the most commercial success with these films. His final and most controversial film, Salo(1975), contrasted the lighthearted nature of the Trilogy films, featuring more scenes of gruesome and sadistic violence. To this day it remains banned in several countries. Shortly after the film's completion, Pier Paolo Pasolini brutally murdered on a soccer field.