Renato Castellani (4 September 1913 – 28 December 1985) was an Italian film director and screenwriter.

Early life

Son of a representative of Kodak, he was born in Varigotti, at the time a hamlet of Final Pia, which became Finale Ligure ( Savona) in 1927, where his mother had returned from

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

to give birth to his son. He spent his childhood in

, in the city of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

. After 12 years, he returned to

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and resumed his studies in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. He moved to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, where he graduated from the Polytechnic University in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. In Milan he met Livio Castiglioni and together they aired for GUF (Fascist University Group) ''L'ora radiofonica'' and ''La fontana malata'' by Aldo Palazzeschi, experimenting with new techniques for sound editing on radio.

Career

He began collaborating in 1936 as a military consultant for '' The Great Appeal'', a film by Mario Camerini. He worked as a film critic and worked - as a screenwriter or assistant director - with important names of the Italian cinema of the time, such as

Augusto Genina Augusto Genina (28 January 1892 – 18 September 1957) was an Italian film pioneer. He was a movie producer and director. Biography Born in Rome, Genina was a drama critic and wrote comedies for the ''Il Mondo'' Magazine, under advise of Aldo ...

, with whom he signed the script for ''Castles in the air'' (1939), by Mario Soldati, of which he was assistant director on the set of ''Malombra'' (1942). He then worked with the director

Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Four Steps in the Clouds''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during the ...

, signing the screenplays of his movies '' An Adventure of Salvator Rosa'' (1939), ''

The Iron Crown ''The Iron Crown'' () is a 1941 Italian adventure film written and directed by Alessandro Blasetti, starring Massimo Girotti and Gino Cervi. The narrative revolves a sacred iron crown and a king who is prophesied to lose his kingdom to his nephe ...

'' (1941), '' Four Steps in the Clouds'' (1942) and with the director

Camillo Mastrocinque Camillo Mastrocinque (11 May 1901 – 23 April 1969) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 60 films between 1937 and 1968, and is known to horror film fans for directing ''Terror in the Crypt'' (1964) starring ...

, signing the screenplay of ''The Cuckoo Clock'' (1938). His first work as a director was '' A Pistol Shot'' (1942), based on a story by Aleksandr Puskin, in which

Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...

also took part in the screenplay, with Fosco Giachetti and

Assia Noris Anastasia Nikolaevna von Gerzfeld (, sometimes transliterated as Anastassia von Hertzfeld; 16 February 1912 – 27 January 1998), known professionally as Assia Noris, was a Russian-Italian film actress. Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Noris ...

. This movie, as well as the subsequent ''Zazà'' (1942), fit into the caligraphism genre. With '' Under the Sun of Rome'' (1948), '' It's Forever Springtime'' (1950), both shot outdoors with non-professional actors, and especially '' Two Cents Worth of Hope'' (1952), Castellani gave rise to a new genre, defined as "pink neorealism", considered by critics at the time as the downward trend of neorealism, but destined to a vast audience success. With ''Two Cents Worth of Hope'', he won the ex aequo Grand Prix at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. With ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1954), he won the Golden Lion at the 1954 Venice Film Festival. After some other significant films such as '' Dreams in a Drawer'' (1957) and ''The Brigand'' (1961), Castellani devoted himself mainly to biopics in episodes shot for television, widely followed, such as '' The Life of Leonardo da Vinci'' (1971) and ''The Life of Verdi'' (1982). File:Varigotti-DSCF0991.JPG, The pier dedicated to Castellani in the town of Varigotti, his birthplace File:Varigotti-DSCF0992.JPG, Plate of the pier

Filmography

Film

Television

* '' The Life of Leonardo da Vinci'' (Rai, 1971) * ''Il furto della Gioconda'' (Rai, 1978) * '' The Life of Verdi'' (Rai, 1982)

Theater

* '' Blithe Spirit'', by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

, Rome, Teatro delle Arti, December 1945

References

Bibliography

* * * *

Externals links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castellani, Renato 1913 births 1985 deaths Italian film directors 20th-century Italian screenwriters Nastro d'Argento winners Directors of Palme d'Or winners Directors of Golden Lion winners Italian male screenwriters 20th-century Italian male writers