Konterr Brilliant and touching

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

SnoopyStyle Vincent Van Gogh (Kirk Douglas) fails as a preacher activist in a coal mining town. He returns home. He struggles against his father and his love Kay rejects him. He takes care of the homely Christine and her baby but she leaves him due to his obsessive painting. All the while, he diligently works on his art supported by his brother Theo van Gogh (James Donald). He befriends fellow artist Paul Gauguin (Anthony Quinn) and the two live together to paint. However the partnership doesn't last and he falls into a depression.Kirk Douglas is fine but the first half lacks drama. It's a simple recitation of his life with little tension. It tries to fill the blandness with Kirk's narration. The paintings are interesting and beautifully colorful. The movie gets better in the second half with the arrival of Anthony Quinn. The two artists' companionship has some compelling tension. The movie improves a bit at that point.

ma-cortes This awesome and vivid picture concerns life of brilliant but tortured artist Vincent van Gogh . He was a Post-Impressionist painter of Dutch origin whose work—notable for its rough beauty , emotional honesty, and bold color—had a far-reaching influence on 20th-century art. The picture has an opening credits prologue: Without museums help and that of private collectors the world over, this motion picture about a great painter could not have been made . Van Gogh life is a disaster , he fails at being a preacher to coal miners , he fails in his relationships with parents (Henry Daniell as Theodorus Van Gogh and wife Madge Kennedy) and women (Pamela Brown) . At the same time the movie deals with other Impressionist painters who appear across footage such as Gauguin (Anthony Quinn won well-deserved Academy Award as painter/friend) , Camille Pissarro (David Leonard) , George Seurat , Millet , Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ; furthermore, his relationships to known characters such as his brother Theo Van Gogh (James Donald) and Dr. Gachet (Everett Sloane). After years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness he commits himself suicide . Magnificent rendition of Irving Stone's biography of known painter , being finely portrayed , especially his anguishes , unrewarding friendships , poorness , pains and many other things . This splendid film packs emotion , top-drawer interpretation , adequate production design , enjoyable soundtrack and exquisite color in CinemaScope . Interesting and thought-provoking screenplay by Norman Corwin . Terrific acting by the great Kirk Douglas who even had his hair cut specially in the style of the artist and had it dyed to a similar reddish tint . Over-the-top performance by Anthony Quinn as Gauguin but he does not get along with Van Gogh , his playing actually lasts 22 minutes and 40 seconds , he won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar . Evocative as well as sensitive musical score by classical composer Miklos Rozsa . Rousing and glittering cinematography by Russell Harlan and Freddie Young . The color process used for the film -Ansco color, but labeled in the credits as Metrocolor- is supposedly unsuitable for long term color preservation . As a result, many prints have lost the extraordinary brightness of the movie's images . Being shot on location , as many of the locations used for filming were the actual locations Vincent van Gogh visited in his life ; parts of the film were shot in Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent van Gogh lived and died . This motion picture perfectly produced by actor/producer John Houseman was stunningly directed by Vincente Minnelli who even had a portion of a field spray-painted yellow to closer resemble Vincent van Gogh's painting. The flick is well based on actual events , these are the followings : Van Gogh spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers, traveling between The Hague, London, and Paris, after which he taught for a time in England at Isleworth and Ramsgate. One of his early aspirations was to become a pastor, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining region in Belgium, where he began to sketch people from the local community. In 1885, he painted his first major work, entitled The Potato Eaters. His palette at the time consisted mainly of somber earth tones and showed no sign of the vivid coloration that distinguished his later work. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and discovered the French Impressionists. Later, he moved to the south of France and was influenced by the strong sunlight he found there. His work grew brighter in color, and he developed the unique and highly recognizable style that became fully realized during his stay in Arles in 1888. The extent to which his mental health affected his painting has been a subject of speculation since his death. Despite a widespread tendency to romanticize his ill health, modern critics see an artist deeply frustrated by the inactivity and incoherence brought about by his bouts of illness. Van Gogh's late works show an artist at the height of his ability, completely in control and "longing for concision and grace". He died aged 37 from a gunshot wound, generally accepted to be self-inflicted although no gun was ever found .

LeonLouisRicci It is the Quiet and the Non-Verbal that Impress the Most in this Biopic of Van Gogh, because Kirk Douglas' Overripe, Very Loud Performance and an Intrusive Musical Soundtrack do Nothing to Enhance the Experience.What does are Scenes that Show the Artist, in one of the Many Moments of Intense Frustration, looks up and upon an Oil Lamp, nothing is Said, and in the Next Shot there is the Painting of the Lamp, again Nothing is Said. Plain and Profound it is a Beautiful Transition from Observation to Mind to Art.What also makes the Film Beautiful is the Original Artwork Constantly Filling the Frame and the Number of Outdoor Scenes of the Artist Reveling in His Beloved Sunlit, Natural World. Another Positive and Enlightening Aspect is the Portrayal of Van Gogh's Lust for the Human Condition and how he Transposes these Folks at Work in Back Breaking, Soul Depleting Toil to the Canvas.There are Many Good Things to Enjoy in this Movie but the Dialog, Sound, and Overacting is not Among Them. But some of that is Muted by the Color Schemes, the Settings (both indoor and out), and the Insight of the Struggle to Find Beauty, Apply that to Art that Touches People, while at the Same Time Reflecting on the Devastating Hypocrisy and Ugliness that, Especially in Van Gogh's Life, was more than He could Bare.

Marcin Kukuczka "I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process;" "I dream of painting and then I paint my dream;""I wish they would only take me as I am" (Vincent Van Gogh).I have selected the three thoughts of the great artist because they not only seem to resemble the core idea of this 'modern' biopic but also evoke its 'experimental narrative' (Dr Drew Casper)...the narrative so much influenced by Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo, the source of inspiration in the literary source by Irving Stone. There is something that may strike you in these lines: the first being the primordial paradox of artistic conflict between efforts and consequences, the second being an aspiration of true genius' passions, the third being an eternal combat within an individual struggle of 'conformity' vs. 'individuality,' something so memorably penned by Dr Drew Casper. But LUST FOR LIFE, as one of the key movies of post-war cinema, has stood a test of time not merely due to its subject matter but thanks to its director, Vincente Minelli. The art of painting and the art of the screen seem to simultaneously correspond to each other in an intriguing harmony. Van Gogh's genius and Minelli's perfectionism blend. Thanks to that unique collaboration, Dr Drew Casper allows himself to call LUST FOR LIFE "Minelli's labor of love" for very justifiable reasons. The works of both were equally unique and individual.Every artist, in a way, is a unique, individual and an extremely intrinsic personality who explains, explores, expresses and echoes his inner self through his achievements, his works of art. What fascinates us all about these personalities is not something we are all used to but something different, something thought provoking, something that seems to bring us all to the awe of what we perceive beyond our senses. That freedom from the touch of one inner world, taking the author as he/she is and letting oneself be absorbed by the whisper of his/her inspiration. The tremendous contribution of the director and his stuff, including the fine effects of color and de-centering camera-work cannot be ignored; yet, the most interesting aspect in such films is how the protagonist is portrayed; here, by one of the legendary Hollywood figures, Kirk Douglas.Undeniably in one of his life roles, he depicts a man of struggle within various phases of his life. Seen as "agitated but not ambitious, restless and unable to control his passions yet decisive and bold" but the one who "ranges from forlorn sullenness to hysterical rage, from tender nuance to joyous exhilaration" (Carter B. Horsley), a brave performer who 'breaks the heroic idea of character' (Casper), Douglas appears to be an altogether memorable Van Gogh. Throughout the span of 12 years of the artist's life, Douglas depicts changeable moods and heavy torments that can go on their own only for some time. He is most intriguing and passionate at the encounter with other artists or rather an artist he meets among the impressionists and post-impressionists in Paris, that is Paul Gaugin portrayed by another legend, Anthony Quinn.For the first time paired together, the actors are all but pathetic. Vibrant and lively artistic personalities that supply the film with desirable vigor in, as Horsley rightly observes, a 'classic clash of titans of the mind and the heart;' or rather in an 'absinthe-fulled roller-coaster bromance" (Alex Von Tummelmann, the Guardian). Their scenes shine with unforgettable energy, unique tensions and storms raging within as they embody creation agonies. While Van Gogh seems to 'paint too fast' Gaugin appears to 'look too fast;' while Gaugin is direct, vigorous, honest, Van Gogh is a caged soul heavily influenced by his upbringing environment who dreams others to see him as he is and struggling for futile work. While Gaugin cannot stand any mental nor physical confusion, Van Gogh is the 'chaos' incarnate. Although Von Tummelmann labels the Paul Gaugin of Anthony Quinn humorously as 'a male English literature teacher having a mid-life crisis at a girls' school,' the actor delivers something edgy, something powerful after all these years. Luckily, though, they may compete on the screen from time to time, they may force their viewpoints, yet, they manage to remain unique as the performers and the artists. With that in mind, Van Gogh's suffering becomes 'extremely fascinating' (Horsley).As a relief come Van Gogh's relations with his brother Theo (James Donald). Here, there is nothing that highlights their pure passions but rather inner worlds, life taken holistically and its sufferings shared with a brotherly soul. There are lines Van Gogh says to his brother that he would never say to other people.Seemingly, the best thing that LUST FOR LIFE still does when we view it is the adventurous spirit over the conventional, the free over the caged, the dreamlike over the realistic. The magnificent use of Van Gogh's masterpieces within the context of the screen additionally supplies the movie with the surprising relation between the screen and the canvas. There would be far more things to mention about the film if it were not for the word limit that, in a way, forces me to make it all more condensed. Among a number of its merits, the score by great Miklos Rozsa needs a special notice.An important movie to see about an unconventional personality who strives throughout his short life; yet, who, perhaps, loses his mind in the process but who can really paint his dream and bring on canvas the sublime light reflected in beauty of life, in beauty of nature, something that he managed to discover within personal freedom.Isn't such a discovery at hand within all of us? What is left for man if not true passion, true lust for such discovery?