Cheeky (2000): Tinto Brass’ Most Controversial Italian Movie

Cheeky (2000) is one of the most divisive films in Tinto Brass' entire filmography a London-set erotic drama that critics tore apart, audiences kept discovering, and film historians are only now connecting to a forgotten movie Brass made thirty-one years earlier. In this documentary breakdown, we explore the full story behind Cheeky (Tra(sgre)dire): its hidden connection to Brass' 1969 film Nerosubianco, the real production details critics overlooked (including a score from legendary composer Pino Donaggio), the brutal Sight & Sound review that still follows the film today, and why this "throwaway" late-career project might be the clearest window into who Tinto Brass really was as a filmmaker. From his early days in European art-house cinema to the controversial run of Salon Kitty and Caligula, Tinto Brass built one of the most polarizing legacies in Italian film history. Cheeky (2000) arrived at the tail end of that legacy and this video breaks down exactly why it still matters. This is retro cinema history the way it deserves to be told: researched, contextualized, and free of the sensationalism that usually surrounds this era of European filmmaking. Had you ever heard of Cheeky before this video? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoy deep-dive documentaries on forgotten films, cult classics, and the directors, actors, and controversies behind Golden Age and retro cinema, subscribe to Retro Cinema History & Icon Biographies for new deep dives every week. Like this video if you want more untold stories from European film history, and drop a comment with which film or icon we should cover next. Related Keywords: Tinto Brass, Tinto Brass movies, Cheeky 2000 film, Tra(sgre)dire, Tinto Brass Cheeky, Italian erotic cinema, European erotic cinema, retro Italian cinema, cult Italian films, 1970s Italian cinema, 1980s Italian cinema, Salon Kitty, Caligula 1979, Nerosubianco, Yuliya Mayarchuk, Pino Donaggio composer, controversial Italian films, forgotten Eur