Carmelo Bene

Biography

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;…

Movies & TV Shows

1. Oedipus Rex (1967) — Creon
2. Our Lady of the Turks (1968) — The Protagonist
3. Salomé (1972) — Erode Antipa / Onorio
4. Necropolis (1970) — Man with leather jacket
5. One Hamlet Less (1973) — Hamlet
6. Capricci (1969) — Poet
7. Umano Non Umano (1969) — Self
8. Catch As Catch Can (1967) — Prete
9. Hermitage (1968) — The Man
10. Don Giovanni (1970) — Don Giovanni
11. Amleto di Carmelo Bene (da Shakespeare a Laforgue) (1978) — Amleto
12. Claro (1975)
13. Red Hot Shot (1970) — Billy Desco
14. Pinocchio, ovvero lo spettacolo della Provvidenza (1999) — Pinocchio / Geppetto / Mastro Ciliegia / Grillo Parlante / Mangiafuoco / Volpe / Lucignolo
15. Hommelette for Hamlet, operetta inqualificabile (da J. Laforgue) (1990) — Amleto
16. Tre nel mille (1971) — Pannocchia
17. BENE! Vita di Carmelo, la macchina attoriale (2022)
18. Otello o la deficienza della donna (2002)
19. Bis (1966)
20. Riccardo III (1981) — Riccardo III
21. Il canto d'amore di Alfred J. Prufrock (1967)
22. La poesia dimenticata (1982)
23. L'Adelchi di Alessandro Manzoni in forma di concerto (1985)
24. Modi di vivere - Giorgio Colli. Una conoscenza per cambiare la vita (1980)
25. Manfred, versione per concerto in forma di oratorio (1983)
26. Macbeth Horror Suite (1997)
27. Bene! Quattro diversi modi di morire in versi: Majakovskij-Blok-Esènin-Pasternak (1977)
28. In-vulnerabilità d'Achille (tra Sciro e Ilio) (1997)
29. Ventriloquio (1973) — Jean des Esseintes
30. Cos'è il teatro?! (1990) — Himself
31. Ai Rotoli (1996) — Self
32. Lorenzaccio, al di là di de Musset e Benedetto Varchi (2003)
33. Voce dei Canti (1998)
34. Canti Orfici (1996) — Himself
35. Un'ora prima di Amleto, più Pinocchio (1965) — Himself
36. Tracce di Bene (2017) — Self
37. Le tecniche dell'assenza (1984) — Self
38. È severamente vietata la sosta in palcoscenico ai non autorizzati. Un documentario di meno su Carmelo Bene (2024) — Himself (archive footage)
39. Necro not(to b)e (2003) — Sé stesso
40. La parte maledetta. Viaggio ai confini del teatro - Carmelo Bene (2024) — Himself (archive footage)

Directed

1. Our Lady of the Turks (1968) — Director
2. Salomé (1972) — Director
3. One Hamlet Less (1973) — Director
4. Capricci (1969) — Director
5. Hermitage (1968) — Director
6. Don Giovanni (1970) — Director
7. Amleto di Carmelo Bene (da Shakespeare a Laforgue) (1978) — Director
8. Pinocchio, ovvero lo spettacolo della Provvidenza (1999) — Director
9. Hommelette for Hamlet, operetta inqualificabile (da J. Laforgue) (1990) — Director
10. Otello o la deficienza della donna (2002) — Director
11. Riccardo III (1981) — Director
12. L'Adelchi di Alessandro Manzoni in forma di concerto (1985) — Director
13. La poesia dimenticata (1982) — Director
14. Manfred, versione per concerto in forma di oratorio (1983) — Director
15. Macbeth Horror Suite (1997) — Director
16. Bene! Quattro diversi modi di morire in versi: Majakovskij-Blok-Esènin-Pasternak (1977) — Director
17. In-vulnerabilità d'Achille (tra Sciro e Ilio) (1997) — Director
18. Ventriloquio (1973) — Director
19. Cos'è il teatro?! (1990) — Director
20. Quattro momenti su tutto il nulla (2001) — Director
21. Lorenzaccio, al di là di de Musset e Benedetto Varchi (2003) — Director
22. Voce dei Canti (1998) — Director
23. Canti Orfici (1996) — Director
24. Il barocco leccese (1968) — Director
25. Rushes di Otello (2023) — Director