Umberto Barbaro (3 January 1902,

Acireale Acireale (; , locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to ...

– 19 March 1959, Rome) was an Italian film critic and essayist.

Biography

Umberto Barbaro was active in many fields: fiction, drama, cinema, criticism and history of figurative art. In 1923 he was the editor of ''La bilancia'' and collaborated with Dino Terra,

Vinicio Paladini Vinicio Paladini (21 June 1902 – 30 December 1971) was an Italian architect, painter and art theorist. Life and career The son of an Italian father and a Russian mother, Paladini was born in Moscow in 1902, but by 1903 he had already settle ...

and Paolo Flores. In 1927 he was among the leaders of the ''Movimento Immaginista'' and one of the "left" among the ''Futurists''. His work received attention in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. With Anton Giulio Bragaglia he founded the ''Teatro degli Indipendenti'' in Rome. He knew Russian and German and translated the works of

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (; 18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''The Prince of Homburg'', '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' ...

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

and

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...

into Italian. Barbaro was a journalist, essayist, novelist and his writings appear in several magazines of the time. In 1936 he co-founded, with

Luigi Chiarini Luigi Chiarini (20 June 1900 – 12 November 1975) was an Italian film theorist, essayist, screenwriter and film director. Life and career Born in Rome, Chiarini wrote extensively about film theory and in 1935 he founded the drama school Cent ...

, the

Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia The (; CSC), also referred to as the (), is an Italian national film school headquartered in Rome, with satellite educational hubs in five other Italian regions. It was established in 1935 and aims to promote the art and technique of cinemat ...

in Rome and became a teacher. They published the monthly film magazine '' Bianco e Nero'', directly tied to the Centro Sperimentale. After the Second World War, Barbaro continued his studies on cinema in general and in particular Soviet cinema. He made additional translations into Italian of the writings of theorists of cinema, including

Vsevolod Pudovkin Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪl(ː)ərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 28 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter and acto ...

, Sergej Mikhailovich Eisenstein,

Rudolf Arnheim Rudolf Arnheim (; July 15, 1904 – June 9, 2007) was a German-born writer, art and film theorist, and perceptual psychologist. He learned Gestalt psychology from studying under Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler at the University of Berlin and ...

and

Béla Balázs Béla Balázs (; 4 August 1884 – 17 May 1949), born Herbert Béla Bauer, was a Hungarian film critic, aesthetician, writer and poet of Jewish heritage. He was a proponent of formalist film theory. Career Balázs was the son of Simon Bauer a ...

. In 1947 he also translated

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

. In 1945 Barbaro was appointed Special Commissioner by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, a position he held until 1947, when it was removed for political reasons. Barbaro was a backer of the neo-realist cinema. Barbaro began his filmmaking debut as writer, in 1933 with a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''Cantieri dell'Adriatico'' followed by his only full-length film, ''L'ultima nemica''. After the war turns, with the help of Roberto Longhi, Barbaro made two short of films dedicated to

Carpaccio Carpaccio is a dish of meat or fish (such as beef, veal, venison, salmon or tuna), thinly sliced or pounded thin, and served raw, typically as an appetiser. It was invented in 1950 by Giuseppe Cipriani founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, Ital ...

and

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

. Barbaro was a film critic for ''

L'Unità (; English: "the Unity") is an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of the Left, a ...

'', the weekly ''Vie Nuove e a Filmcritica'', and the fortnightly ''L'Eco del cinema'' magazines. Umberto Barbaro has been elected to the ''Biblioteca del Cinema'' and awarded the ''Premio Nazionale Filmcritica'' Gian Piero Brunetta, ''Umberto Barbaro e l'idea di neorealismo: 1930-1943'', Padua, Liviana Editrice, 1969; Umberto Carpi, ''Bolscevico immaginista'', Napoles, Liguori, 1981; Maria Di Giovanna, ''Teatro e narrativa di Umberto Barbaro''. Rome, Bulzoni, 1992; Lea Durante, ''Umberto Barbaro e il "realismo" della letteratura'', in Umberto Barbaro,''L'essenza del can barbone'', Napole, Liguori, 1997; ''Dossier Barbaro'', in ''Cinemasessanta'', 303, October–December, Reggio Calabria, Città del sole Ed., 2009.

Publications

*''Luce fredda'', novel, Lanciano, Carabba Ed., 1931; reprinted Montepulciano, Ed. Del Grifo, 1990 *''L'isola del sale'', a novel serialized in ''L'Italia letteraria'', 1935; reprinted Bari, Palomar, 2002 *''L'essenza del can barbone'', short stories, Lanciano, Carabba, 1931; reprinted Naples, Liguori Ed., 1996 *''L'attore'', (a cura), Rome, Bianco e Nero Ed., 1938. Text can also be found in ''Bianco e Nero'', 2/3, 1938 *''Film: soggetto e sceneggiatura'', Rome, Bianco e Nero, 1939 *''Il cinema e l'uomo moderno'', Rome, Le Edizioni Sociali, 1950 *''Poesia del film'', Roma, Filmcritica Ed., 1955; reprinted Rome, Bulzoni, 1999 *''L'arte dell'attore'', with Luigi Chiarini, (edited) Rome, Bianco e Nero Ed.,1950

Posthumous works

*''Il film e il risarcimento marxista dell'arte'', Roma,

Editori Riuniti Editori Riuniti is an Italian publishing house based in Rome that publishes books and magazines on the history of socialism, socialist thought, physics and mathematics theory, and the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. History ...

, 1960 *''Servitù e grandezza del cinema'', edited by Lorenzo Quaglietti, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1962 *''Il cinema tedesco'', edited by di Mino Argentieri, Roma, Editori Riuniti,1973 *''Neorealismo e realismo'', edited by Gianpiero Brunetta, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1973 *''Fratelli d'Italia'', film script written with Luigi Chiarini, in ''Cinemasessanta'', 302, October–December 2009

Filmography

*''Cantieri dell'Adriatico'', documentary, director, 1933 * ''

Seconda B ''Seconda B'' is a 1934 Italian comedy film directed by Goffredo Alessandrini and starring Sergio Tofano, Dina Perbellini and María Denis. It was screened at the Venice Film Festival where it was awarded a prize. It started a trend for "schoolgir ...

'' (1934) * '' The Last Enemy'', film, director, 1938 * '' The Sinner'' (1940) * ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' (1942) * '' Street of the Five Moons'' (1942) * ''

The Innkeeper ''The Innkeeper'' (Italian: ''La locandiera'' also known as ''Mirandolina'') is a 1944 Italian historical comedy film directed by Luigi Chiarini and starring Luisa Ferida, Armando Falconi and Osvaldo Valenti.Reich & Garafalo p.28 The film is an a ...

'' (1944) *''

'', documentary, director 1947 *''

'', documentary, director 1948

Scripts

*''Seconda B'', directed by

Goffredo Alessandrini Goffredo Alessandrini (20 November 1904 – 16 May 1978) was an Italian scriptwriter and film director. He also acted, edited, and produced some films. He practiced athletics (sport), athletics in his youth, and won a title of Italian Athletics ...

,1934 *''La peccatrice'', directed by

Amleto Palermi Amleto Palermi (11 July 1889 – 20 April 1941) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 70 films between 1914 and 1942. He directed ''The Old Lady'', which starred Vittorio De Sica in his first sound film. Selec ...

, 1941 *''Via delle cinque lune'', directed by

, 1942 *''La bella addormentata'', directed by Luigi Chiarini, 1942 *''Paura d'amare'', directed by Gaetano Amata, 1942 *''La locandiera'', directed by Luigi Chiarini, 1943 *''Caccia tragica'', directed by

Giuseppe De Santis Giuseppe De Santis (11 February 1917 – 16 May 1997) was an Italian film director. One of the most idealistic neorealist filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote and directed films punctuated by ardent cries for social reform. He was ...

, 1948 *'' Fabiola'', directed by

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 ...

, 1948. Not credited *''Czarci żleb'' (''The Passage of the Devil''), directed by Tadeusz Kański and Aldo Vergano. Poland, unpublished in Italy, 1949 *''La figlia del forzato'', directed by Gaetano Amata, 1953

References

External links

Filmography on yahoo-moviesBiography on MyMovies
*
Biblioteca del Cinema
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbaro, Umberto 1902 births 1959 deaths People from Acireale Italian essayists Italian film directors Italian film critics Academic staff of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia 20th-century Italian translators Italian male essayists 20th-century Italian essayists 20th-century Italian male writers Italian male non-fiction writers Writers from Sicily Film people from Sicily