Ferdinando Scarfiotti on AllMovie

From the late '60s to the time of his death in 1994, Ferdinando Scarfiotti was considered one of the world's most influential film production designers. Born just outside of Rome, Scarfiotti originally studied architecture at the University of Rome. It was famous director Luchino Visconti, a friend of Scarifiotti's family, who encouraged him to take up production design as a means of combining the youth's interest in theater with his talent for design. Scarfiotti started out as a scenic designer for theatrical productions and operas in his native Italy. Despite his later success in films, Scarfiotti continued working with operas throughout his career.

Scarfiotti did not begin working in film until the late '60s when, under the direction of his mentor Visconti with whom he had previously worked on several operas, he shared art directing duties in Oggi, Domani, Doppodomani (or Kiss the Other Sheik) (1968). It did not take Scarfiotti long to establish himself in films. He worked with Visconti again on Listen, Let's Make Love (1969) and Death in Venice (1971). Scarfiotti began a long-time professional association with Bernardo Bertolucci in 1971 with Il Conformista (The Conformist). A decade later, the production designer would win an Oscar for his opulent depiction of pre-communist China in Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1981). Scarfiotti later received an Academy Award nomination for Toys (1992). Over the course of his career, Scarfiotti worked with some of the world's most famous directors including Billy Wilder, Peter Bogdanovich, and Michael Apted.