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Lust for Life

7.3

6,519

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Original title

Lust for Life

Year

1956

Running time

123 min.

Country

United States

Director

Vincente Minnelli

Screenwriter

Norman Corwin. Novel: Irving Stone. Biopic about: Vincent van Gogh

Cast

Music

Miklós Rózsa

Cinematography

Freddie Young, Russell Harlan

Producer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Genre

Drama | Biography. 19th Century. Disability. Painting

Synopsis

This filmed biography of Vincent Van Gogh was adapted by Norman Corwin from the best-selling novel by Irving Stone, which was in turn inspired by the written correspondence between Van Gogh and his brother Theo. Kirk Douglas plays the tormented genius, whose obsessive devotion to his art engulfs, consumes, and finally destroys him. James Donald costars as Theo Van Gogh, who provides financial and moral support to his brother from the time Vincent leaves his Holland home in 1878 to his death in Auvers in 1890. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for his eight-minute turn as Van Gogh's fast friend and erstwhile rival Paul Gaugin. Nearly 200 of Van Gogh's original paintings were borrowed from private collections for brief display in the film: some are "recreated" before our eyes, as the artist stands before his easel, spattered with paint and with a look of white-hot intensity burned into his countenance.

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Rankings Position

#59 Best Biopics/Biographical Movies

Awards: 1956: Oscar: Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Quinn). 4 Nominations

1956: Golden Globes: Best Actor - Drama (Kirk Douglas). 4 Nominations

1956: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Kirk Douglas)

1956: National Board of Review: Top 10 Best Films

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Critics' reviews

"Douglas gives an appropriately fiery star turn as Van Gogh, delivering some of the best work of his career."

TV Guide
"When the film is at its most dazzling, there’s a sense that the director is reshaping the very nature of existence."

Chicago Reader
"The bold and vivid colors of the paintings themselves and the sets and landscapes contribute heavily to the film's dramatic impact"

Village Voice
"Something seems to be missing (a unifying dramatic idea, perhaps), but it's far from a disgrace, and the performers are never an embarrassment."

Pauline Kael: The New Yorker
"Both the script and the performance of this picture have a striking integrity in putting forth the salient details and the surface aspects of the life of van Gogh."

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"This is a slow-moving picture whose only action is in the dialog itself (...) It misses out in conveying the color and entertainment of the original Irving Stone novel."

Variety Staff: Variety
"Despite half-a-dozen recent attempts to 'correct' this biopic, Minnelli's agonised portrait of the life of Vincent Van Gogh remains the definitive movie word on the subject (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Ian Freer: Empire
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Ranking Lists Position

51 My Favorite Biopics/Biographical Movies (43)

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Lust for Life

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