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Lust for Life (1956)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
26 December 1956 (Sweden) moreTagline:
The best-seller comes to the screen...the drama of a man who lived with insatiable passion. moreAwards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
"Van Gock" (From FilmExperience. 30 March 2009, 5:21 PM, PDT)
Douglas Honoured For Playground Fundraising
(From WENN. 10 October 2008, 9:05 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Brilliant, Yet Painful Classic Offers Douglas' Finest Performance... moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
122 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound 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:PGFun Stuff
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. moreQuotes:
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!
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"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!