Osvaldo Desideri (16 February 1939 – 18 October 2023) was an Italian

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

, and

set decorator The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the "set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...

. He won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the category

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

for the film ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

''.

Life and career

Born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Desideri graduated as a industrial technician. He started his career as an assistant production designer, becoming a close collaborator of

Ferdinando Scarfiotti Ferdinando Scarfiotti (6 March 1941 – 30 April 1994) was an Italian art director and production designer. After graduating in architecture at the University of Rome, he was approached by Luchino Visconti, who asked him to design his sta ...

in the 1970s. He worked in over 120 films, including works by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.Katz, Ephraim, "Italy," ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (New York: HarperRes ...

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

and

Liliana Cavani Liliana Cavani (born 12 January 1933, Carpi, Italy) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers from Emilia-Romagna that came into prominence in the 1970s, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Pa ...

. For his work in

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

's ''

'' he was awarded an

, a

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

and a

Ciak D'Oro ''Ciak'' is a popular Italian film magazine published in Milan, Italy. It is the most popular film magazine in Italy. The title is the Italian word (also spelled ''ciac'', for a film clapperboard. History and profile ''Ciak'' was established in 1 ...

. Desideri died on 18 October 2023, at the age of 84.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Conformist ''The Conformist'' (''Il conformista'') is a novel by Alberto Moravia published in 1951, which details the life and desire for normality of a government official during Italy's fascist period. It is also known for the 1970 film adaptation by B ...

'' (1970) * ''

Death in Venice ''Death in Venice ''(German: ''Der Tod in Venedig'') is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, published in 1912. It presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a Poli ...

'' (1971) * ''

Avanti! ''Avanti!'' is a 1972 American/Italian international co-production comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's play, w ...

'' (1972) * ''

Till Marriage Do Us Part ''Till Marriage Do Us Part'' ( it, Mio Dio, come sono caduta in basso!, also known as ''How Long Can You Fall?'') is a 1974 Italian erotic comedy film written and directed by Luigi Comencini and starring Laura Antonelli. Released in the U.S. in 1 ...

'' (1974) * ''

The Night Porter ''The Night Porter'' ( it, Il portiere di notte) is a 1974 English-language Italian erotic psychological war drama film. Directed and co-written by Liliana Cavani, the film stars Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, with Philippe Leroy, Gabriel ...

'' (1974) * '' The Passenger'' (1975) * ''

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom ''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' ( it, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, billed on-screen ''Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom'' on English-language prints and commonly referred to as simply ''Salò'' []) is a 1975 horror film, horror art film dir ...

'' (1975) * ''Fantozzi (film), Fantozzi'' (1975) * ''The Messiah (1975 film), The Messiah'' (1975) * ''Todo modo'' (1976) * ''

Strange Occasion ''Quelle strane occasioni'', internationally released as ''Strange Occasion'', is a 1976 Italian anthology comedy film directed by Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Luigi Magni. Loy didn't accept to sign his segment, ''Italian Superman'', that result ...

'' (1976) * ''

Beyond Good and Evil ''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' (german: Jenseits von Gut und Böse: Vorspiel einer Philosophie der Zukunft) is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarath ...

'' (1977) * '' They Called Him Bulldozer'' (1978) * ''

City of Women ''City of Women'' ( it, La città delle donne) is a 1980 Italian fantasy comedy-drama film co-written (with Bernardino Zapponi and Brunello Rondi) and directed by Federico Fellini. Amid Fellini's characteristic combination of dreamlike, outrag ...

'' (1980) * ''

Flatfoot in Egypt ''Piedone d'Egitto'' (internationally released as ''Flatfoot in Egypt'' and ''Flatfoot on the Nile'') is a 1980 Italian "poliziottesco"-comedy film directed by Steno and starring Bud Spencer. It is the fourth and last chapter in the "Flatfoot" fil ...

'' (1980) * ''

Buddy Goes West ''Buddy goes West'' ( it, Occhio alla penna, also known as ''A fist goes West'') is a 1981 Spaghetti Western comedy film directed by Michele Lupo. Plot In the Old West, a mysterious man, nicknamed "Doc", arrives in a dusty town. Doc is a band ...

'' (1981) * ''

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

'' (1982) * ''

Once Upon a Time in America ''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produce ...

'' (1984) * ''

Nothing Left to Do But Cry ''Non ci resta che piangere'' (in the U.S. is also known as ''Nothing Left to Do But Cry'') it is a 1984 film written, directed and starring Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi. Plot Tuscan countryside. The janitor Mario and the teacher Saveri ...

'' (1984) * ''

Secrets Secrets ''Segreti segreti'' (internationally released as ''Secrets Secrets'') is a 1985 Italian drama film directed by Giuseppe Bertolucci. For this film Lina Sastri was awarded with a David di Donatello for Best Actress. The film was on first viewing TV ...

'' (1985) * '' The Professor'' (1986) * ''

'' (1987) * '' Fair Game'' (1988) * ''

Young Toscanini ''Young Toscanini'' (original title: ''Il giovane Toscanini'') is a 1988 Italian-French biographical drama film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring C. Thomas Howell and Elizabeth Taylor. Premise The film charts the early career and rom ...

'' (1988) * ''

Towards Evening ''Towards Evening'' ( it, Verso sera) is a 1990 Italian drama film directed by Francesca Archibugi. It was entered into the 17th Moscow International Film Festival. For her performance Zoe Incrocci was awarded with a David di Donatello for Best ...

'' (1990) * ''

The Sun Also Shines at Night ''The Sun Also Shines at Night'' ( it, Il sole anche di notte, and also known as ''Night Sun'') is an Italian film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani in 1990. It was screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. The plot is ...

'' (1990) * '' Fantozzi 2000 – La clonazione'' (1999) * ''

The Good War ''"The Good War": An Oral History of World War II'' (1984) is an oral history of World War II compiled by Studs Terkel. The work received the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. ''"The Good War"'' consists of a series of interviews wi ...

'' (2002) * ''

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama * ''Forever'' (1992 film), an American ...

'' (2003)

References

External links

* 1939 births 2023 deaths Italian art directors Italian production designers Italian set decorators Film people from Rome Best Art Direction Academy Award winners David di Donatello winners Ciak d'oro winners {{artdirector-stub