Directing
John W. Barnes
Born — Died
1920-03-25 — 2000-06-27
Place of birth
Belford, New Jersey, USA
Known for
Directing
Credits
31 titles
John Wadsworth Barnes (March 25, 1920 – June 27, 2000) was an American film director and producer. He was most active in the educational film industry, producing, directing and writing for Encyclopædia Britannica Films. In his career he worked on and helped create over 100 film projects. He produced the Academy Award nominated documentary The Living City. He wrote for a radio drama series, made experimental Bolex films, and produced the film To Live Together.
Known for
NRThis Bip pantomime deals with his visit to a skating rink. Featuring Marcel Marceau.
Bip as a Skater
1975
Deals with the Old Testament as a collection of literary forms. Combines paintings with narrative sculptures to relate the saga of the creation, the expulsion from Eden, and the murder of Abel
The Bible as Literature: Part 1 - Saga and Story in the Old Testament
1973
The story of Captain John Smith.
Captain John Smith: Founder of Virginia
1954
One in a series of twelve films in which the great French mime Marcel Marceau performs some works from his repertoire. In his introduction he describes this pantomime as having a theme that goes beyond time, an allegory showing a man trying to escape an enclosure of invisible walls. He also suggests that it stands for our freedom of choice, stating that for the limited span of our life on earth, we must struggle for the enlightenment of humanity and search for a way out of the cage
The Art of Silence: The Cage
1975
NRDramatization short on British romantic poet John Keats.
John Keats: His Life and Death
1973
Follows Chaucer's pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, telling stories as they ride. Chaucer's England (1958) Shows some background scenery taken in England. Presents a dramatization of the 'PARDONER'S TALE.'.
Chaucer's England
1958
Film credits
Behind the camera
NRThis Bip pantomime deals with his visit to a skating rink. Featuring Marcel Marceau.
Bip as a Skater
1975
Deals with the Old Testament as a collection of literary forms. Combines paintings with narrative sculptures to relate the saga of the creation, the expulsion from Eden, and the murder of Abel
The Bible as Literature: Part 1 - Saga and Story in the Old Testament
1973
Deals with the Old Testament as a collection of literary forms. Combines paintings with narrative sculptures to relate the saga of the creation, the expulsion from Eden, and the murder of Abel
The Bible as Literature: Part 1 - Saga and Story in the Old Testament
1973
The story of Captain John Smith.
Captain John Smith: Founder of Virginia
1954
One in a series of twelve films in which the great French mime Marcel Marceau performs some works from his repertoire. In his introduction he describes this pantomime as having a theme that goes beyond time, an allegory showing a man trying to escape an enclosure of invisible walls. He also suggests that it stands for our freedom of choice, stating that for the limited span of our life on earth, we must struggle for the enlightenment of humanity and search for a way out of the cage
The Art of Silence: The Cage
1975
NRDramatization short on British romantic poet John Keats.
John Keats: His Life and Death
1973
NRDramatization short on British romantic poet John Keats.
John Keats: His Life and Death
1973
Follows Chaucer's pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, telling stories as they ride. Chaucer's England (1958) Shows some background scenery taken in England. Presents a dramatization of the 'PARDONER'S TALE.'.
Chaucer's England
1958
NRshort from of Series “The Art of silence: pantomimes with Marcel Marceau and his partner Pierre Verry”. Mime makes the invisible visible and the visible invisible. Marceau’s sometimes comical - but always graceful - interpretation of The Painter in Central Park allows the viewer to “see” objects which are not there.
The Painter
1975
NRJohn Canaday analyzes the place of art among the humanities as an expression of man's attempt to define what it means to be a human being. Mr. Canaday shows how the masterworks of art and architecture have formed a visual history of man's thought, ideals, and most fondly-held beliefs.
Art, what is it? Why is it?
1963
NRJohn Canaday analyzes the place of art among the humanities as an expression of man's attempt to define what it means to be a human being. Mr. Canaday shows how the masterworks of art and architecture have formed a visual history of man's thought, ideals, and most fondly-held beliefs.
Art, what is it? Why is it?
1963
A boy in Minnesota builds a toy boat and, after writing his name and address on the craft, sends the small vessel on its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, the boat's travels are aided by a Chippewa youth who rescues it from a tangle of reeds, through farmland tended by the descendants of Scandinavians and into the Deep South where a young African-American shows it to a white boy, a former playmate, rekindling their old friendship through a common interest.
People Along the Mississippi
1951
An adaptation of the short story of the same title by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, in which four men who have survived a catastrophic war share memories of their past lives and a civilization which no longer exists. Here, a vintage recording of Debussy's Nocturne played by Walter Gieseking becomes the vehicle by which four lovers of the humanities hover together in a cold post-apocalyptic shack of sandbags to mourn weekly over lost art and loves gone by. Barnes, who must be considered among the greatest filmmakers ever to work in the educational world, forcibly illustrates, through flashback sequences and close-up shots, how the humanities --- music, painting, literature, and theatre --- are perhaps the most enriching of all human endeavors. Their ultimate and devastating loss may have never before or since been shown with such terrifying passion.
The Portable Phonograph
1977
Recreates the conflict of Roger Williams with the Puritan leaders of New England, including his attempts to achieve separation of church and state, freedom of conscience, and protection for minority groups; the heresy trial resulting in his banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and his decision to establish the new colony of Rhode Island. Starring Donald Moffat.
Roger Williams: Founder Of Rhode Island
—
5.8This short explores the early planning innovations and the subsequent mistakes that resulted in developing urban sprawl, suburbia, and gentrification in modern day US cities as well as the effects it had on its populace and industry.
The Living City
1953
NROne in a series of twelve films in which the great French mime Marcel Marceau performs some works from his repertoire. In his introduction Marceau calls mime the essence of life and suggests that it can reach the soul through silence. In this pantomime he expresses life from the womb to the grave in a few minutes and illustrates one of the art's most notable characteristics - its ability to condense time and to create through time the pulse of humanity.
The Art of Silence: Youth Maturity Old Age and Death
1975
NRMarcel Marceau pantomimes the story of a man who becomes trapped in one of his ‘masks.’
The Mask Maker
1975
This is the first film in Barnes' 'Shaw vs. Shakespeare' series, considered by experts to be among the finest educational films ever made. Here is wonderful introduction to Barnes as an insightful and witty interpreter of Shakespeare on film, the opening film of the triptych focusing on George Bernard Shaw’s belief that, although Shakespeare’s play was superior to his own, the treatment of the character of Caesar was not. Shaw, as written by Barnes, prefers a Caesar whose strength-of-purpose is more in keeping with a conqueror, than Shakespeare’s pessimistic, indecisive leader. Starring Donald Moffat, Susan Grossman, Richard Kiley, and Frances Sternhagen. This is the first in a 3 part series.
Shaw vs. Shakespeare I: The Character of Caesar
—
A detailed account of the life and artistic journey of Michelangelo.
Michelangelo
1964
A detailed account of the life and artistic journey of Michelangelo.
Michelangelo
1964
Presents man's use and misuse of land throughout the country. Includes conservation measures now in operation and suggests further steps.
Look to the Land
—
Follows the Pilgrims from England to Holland and to New England. Discusses the Mayflower compact and the hardships in the New World.
The Pilgrims
1954
The American Civil War (also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865, fought between the northern United States (loyal to the Union) and the southern United States (that had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy). The civil war began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North, which also included some geographically western and southern states, proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights in order to uphold slavery.
The Civil War
1954
NRThis film presents aspects of day-to-day life in Venice, a city that is most renowned for its historic sites and large tourist trade. It tells a story about a boy who loses a prized model ship on the waterways of his city.
Adventure in Venice
1974
NRThis film presents aspects of day-to-day life in Venice, a city that is most renowned for its historic sites and large tourist trade. It tells a story about a boy who loses a prized model ship on the waterways of his city.
Adventure in Venice
1974
The bible from the viewpoint of literature, including a small dramatization of the account of Job.
The Bible as Literature: Part 2 - History, Poetry, and Drama in the Old Testament
1973
Tells the story of a young Scottish boy and his sheep dog.
Roy - Sheep Dog Of The Scottish Highlands
—
Documentary concerning Baltimore's efforts at urban renewal with an emphasis on improving housing in the city's slums.
The Baltimore Plan
1953
The story of a summer camp in which children of different racial backgrounds participate. Points out that the prejudices of the children, when present, are the results of their parents' attitudes.
To Live Together
—
Explains strategy, movement of forces and important battles of the revolutionary war. Geographical, social and political factors which brought victory.
The American Revolution
1953
