Overview
- Michele Massimo Tarantini died in Rio de Janeiro at 83, which relatives disclosed Saturday via cousin and director Sergio Martino on social media.
- Martino said Tarantini had planned a June trip to Rome and lamented that his decades of work never received due recognition.
- A leading figure in the commedia sexy all’italiana, a 1970s–80s Italian sex‑comedy genre, he turned light and risqué stories into crowd‑pleasing hits.
- He directed La liceale, La poliziotta fa carriera and La professoressa di scienze naturali, working with Edwige Fenech, Gloria Guida, Barbara Bouchet, Lino Banfi and Alvaro Vitali.
- He also made crime films like Poliziotti violenti and Napoli si ribella, tried fantasy with Sangraal, moved to Brazil in the 1980s and later returned to Italy to direct Se lo fai sono guai in 2001.