Carmelo Bene
Acting
The filmmaking career of Carmelo Bene (1937 - 2002) lasted from 1968 to 1973, six years out of a lengthy time spent in the theater that made Bene one of the most celebrated figures of the Italian avant-garde in the second half of the 20th century. Bene first made a name for himself with a controversial production of Camus’ Caligula in Rome in 1959. Subsequent productions retained this sense of notoriety, and Bene (like Pasolini) quickly acquired a police record. Bene, however, would come to bemoan the controversy his work created, because it attracted an audience looking for shocks and titillation, while he himself was more concerned with reinventing the vocabulary of the theater: sets, gestures, texts. Bene’s turn to cinema expanded that quest to reinvent. His films resist synopsis because, although they are often derived from narrative sources, Bene uses these sources against themselves and as a springboard for his critique of the stultifying traps of representation and interpretation. The films are wildly inventive and visually arresting on several levels: the performance styles of his actors, including eccentric movements, gestures and grimaces; the sets, costumes and makeup; the editing; and the use of the camera, with stable shots regularly punctuated by handheld camera work, extreme close ups and the occasional baroque use of zooms, dollies, cranes, elaborate pans and exaggerated camera angles. They resemble something like the work of Jack Smith crossed with the experimental Pasolini of Teorema and Pigsty. One constant feature of Bene’s work is its satire of heterosexuality. The two sexes keep trying to communicate with each other, but always fail to do so. Bene’s work constantly deflates masculinist pretenses at mastery: his male characters tend to be hapless and often hysterical, while his female characters are alternately predatory and remote, and unknowable in either case. But this satire is merely the most visible form of Bene’s revolt against convention and communication. Over and over again in the films, everyday actions become hopelessly complicated or endlessly interrupted. His characters often end up staring quizzically offscreen or even into mirrors, as if they were no more sure than we are of the meaning of what they see. Indeed, identity and by extension agency seem to get suspended, along with meaning. What is left is glorious spectacle and enigmas for the eyes and ears: endless music; babbling, stuttering text; excessive and exciting images. – David Pendleton
Known for
Acting43
movieLa parte maledetta. Viaggio ai confini del teatro - Carmelo Bene
2024
Himself (archive footage)
movieÈ severamente vietata la sosta in palcoscenico ai non autorizzati. Un documentario di meno su Carmelo Bene
2024
Himself (archive footage)
movieNecro not(to b)e
2003
Sé stesso
moviePinocchio, ovvero lo spettacolo della Provvidenza
1999
Pinocchio / Geppetto / Mastro Ciliegia / Grillo Parlante / Mangiafuoco / Volpe / Lucignolo
movieCanti Orfici
1996
Himself
movieCos'è il teatro?!
1990
Himself
movieRiccardo III
1981
Riccardo III
movieOne Hamlet Less
1973
Hamlet
movieVentriloquio
1973
Jean des Esseintes
movieSalomé
1972
Erode Antipa / Onorio
movieTre nel mille
1971
Pannocchia
movieNecropolis
1970
Man with leather jacket
movieDon Giovanni
1970
Don Giovanni
movieRed Hot Shot
1970
Billy Desco
movieOur Lady of the Turks
1968
The Protagonist
movieIl barocco leccese
1968
Voice over
movieHermitage
1968
The Man
movieOedipus Rex
1967
Creon
Directing25
movieRushes di Otello
2023
Director
movieVoce dei Canti
1998
Director
movieMacbeth Horror Suite
1997
Director
movieCanti Orfici
1996
Director
movieCos'è il teatro?!
1990
Director
movieLa poesia dimenticata
1982
Director
movieRiccardo III
1981
Director
movieOne Hamlet Less
1973
Director
movieVentriloquio
1973
Director
movieSalomé
1972
Director
movieDon Giovanni
1970
Director
movieCapricci
1969
Director
movieOur Lady of the Turks
1968
Director
movieIl barocco leccese
1968
Director
movieHermitage
1968
Director
Writing15
movieRiccardo III
1981
Adaptation
movieOne Hamlet Less
1973
Writer
movieVentriloquio
1973
Adaptation
movieSalomé
1972
Writer
movieDon Giovanni
1970
Writer, Screenplay
movieCapricci
1969
Writer
movieOur Lady of the Turks
1968
Writer, Novel
movieHermitage
1968
Novel, Writer
Production7
movieSalomé
1972
Producer
movieDon Giovanni
1970
Producer
movieCapricci
1969
Producer
movieOur Lady of the Turks
1968
Producer
Art5
movieOne Hamlet Less
1973
Art Direction
movieOur Lady of the Turks
1968
Production Design
Costume & Make-Up5
moviePinocchio, ovvero lo spettacolo della Provvidenza
1999
Costume Design, Makeup Designer
movieIn-vulnerabilità d'Achille (tra Sciro e Ilio)
1997
Costume Design
movieOne Hamlet Less
1973
Costume Design
movieOur Lady of the Turks
1968
Costume Design
Sound2
movieOne Hamlet Less
1973
Music Coordinator
movieDon Giovanni
1970
Music Coordinator