Lust for Life (1956)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Irving Stone (novel)
Norman Corwin (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 December 1956 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

The best-seller comes to the screen...the drama of a man who lived with insatiable passion.

Plot:

The life of brilliant but tortured artist Vincent van Gogh.

Plot Keywords:

Vincent Van Gogh | Painting | Paul Gauguin | Obsession | Painter

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Vincent Van Gogh
Anthony Quinn	...	Paul Gauguin
James Donald	...	Theo Van Gogh
Pamela Brown	...	Christine
Everett Sloane	...	Dr. Gachet
Niall MacGinnis	...	Roulin
Noel Purcell	...	Anton Mauve
Henry Daniell	...	Theodorus Van Gogh
Madge Kennedy	...	Anna Cornelia Van Gogh
Jill Bennett	...	Willemien Van Gogh
Lionel Jeffries	...	Doctor Peyron
Laurence Naismith	...	Dr. Bosman
Eric Pohlmann	...	Colbert
Jeanette Sterke	...	Kay
Toni Gerry	...	Johanna Van Gogh

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (35 mm optical prints) (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1993) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

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.

Quotes:

Paul Gauguin: All I see when I look at your paintings is just that you paint too fast.
Vincent Van Gogh: You look too fast!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Interview with Chris Petit and Keith Griffiths (2008) (V)

Brilliant, Yet Painful Classic Offers Douglas' Finest Performance...

"Lust for Life", Vincente Minnelli's rich interpretation of Irving Stone's Vincent Van Gogh bio-novel, is a film both compelling and repelling; in delving into the psyche of the artist (unforgettably portrayed by Kirk Douglas), one can see an untrained, unbridled genius smashing convention to open viewers' eyes to a world defined by passion; yet in doing so, we share in the growing nightmares and agony of his creative mind, teetering toward the madness that would destroy him, and it is an unsettling experience, to be sure!

This is a film so rich in visual imagery (with a Technicolor 'palette' that attempts to recreate Van Gogh's view of his world), that it demands repeated viewings, just to savor the details. From wheat fields 'aflame' in color, to night skies that nearly writhe in waves of darkness, the elemental nature of the artist's vision is spectacularly captured. And in experiencing the world through his eyes, the loving, yet uncomprehending concern of his brother (James Donald), and more hedonistic, shallow patronizing, and gradual disgust of fellow artist Paul Gauguin (Anthony Quinn, in his Oscar-winning performance), become elemental 'barriers', as well. Van Gogh wants to 'speak', but no one can understand his 'language', not even the artist, himself!

Kirk Douglas never plunged as deeply into a portrayal as he did, in "Lust for Life", and the experience nearly crushed him, as he related in his autobiography, "Ragman's Son". His total immersion in the role SHOULD have won him an Oscar (Yul Brynner won, instead, for "The King and I"), and his bitterness and disappointment at the snub would haunt him, to this day. With the passage of time, his performance has only increased in luster and stature, and it certainly shows an actor at the top of his form!

"Lust for Life" is an unforgettable experience, not to be missed!