Lust for Life
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Movie Reviews of Lust for Life
Movie Review: Brilliant, Yet Painful Classic Offers Douglas' Finest Performance...
Summary: 5 Stars
"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!
This film deserves a wealth of bonus features, yet the DVD offers only a very dry audio commentary, by film historian Dr. Drew Casper, which sounds like one of those college lectures I used to sleep through! MGM produced a wonderful documentary, when the film was made, about the production, locations, and reactions of locals, who knew Van Gogh, of Kirk Douglas' dead-on appearance and portrayal. Why this was not included is a mystery, as it provides the kind of insights Casper's comments don't!
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, even if this edition is lacking in 'extras'!
Movie Review: I can't take this anymore!
Summary: 5 Stars
I gave this film a watch recently, after a period of about 12 years. I am still impressed by Kirk Douglas. He is DEFINITELY one of Hollywood's best actors! In "Lust For Life", he may very well have done his best work. Of course, he can't be ignored with his portrayal of Spartacus, but there is more accurate historical reference in regards to Vincent Van Gogh. That Van Gogh was mentally ill is irrefutable. It is curious, that civilization still has no place for people with Van Gogh's "condition".
The see-saw highs and lows that Van Gogh experienced were convincingly portrayed by Douglas. I believe it has everything to do with Kirk Douglas' expressive face. While it may at times, appear as though cut from rock, you can easily see what's going on just by looking at that face!
Anthony Quinn, likewise, did a fantastic job portraying Vincent's friend, Gauguin. The period in which these two men lived must have been full of wonder at the natural world, the likes of which we very rarely see today, because we are so preoccupied with "Modernization". This wonder is expressed in Van Gogh's paintings. While some may be dismissive of his style, he was savant-like in bringing the richness of what he saw onto canvas. In "Lust For Life", we are witness to the demons that plagued Van Gogh for the majority of his life, and ultimately became the engines of his own destruction.
It is painful at times, to see a man so at war with himself, yet able to convey a sense of utter calm in his paintings. During the infamous "ear scene", it is difficult to watch him succumbing to his demons so fully, that physical pain brings no relief to him.
"Lust For Life", for those who have not seen it yet, is a powerful film on the life of one of history's greatest painters. His works are displayed on-screen at the beginning and the end of the film. The performances of the film's principle actors is nothing short of phenomenal! Folks, they just don't make them like this anymore.
Movie Review: Kirk Douglas in the role that should have won him an Oscar...
Summary: 5 Stars
Not only does KIRK DOUGLAS bear a remarkable resemblance to the real Vincent Van Gogh, but he gives a deeply felt, bigger than life performance in the role of a lifetime, fully deserving his Academy Award nomination.
The letterbox version on TCM doesn't do justice to the film's brilliant color photography, deliberately muted for the early coal mining scenes but crisp and clear when it comes to Van Gogh's now famous paintings. I haven't seen the DVD version, but I hope it's considerably better than the print showing on cable.
At any rate, it's tremendously well done--the entire look of the production creating the sense of time and authentic atmosphere and actually filmed on the actual location sites with an impressive cast of villagers and supporting actors, including PAMELA BROWN, NIALL MacGINNIS (as The Postman), and most of all, JAMES DONALD as brother Theo, who nurtures his brother and supports him financially but is unable to sell any of his paintings--except one.
It's a fine recreation of the Irving Stone novel and Douglas immerses himself in the character of Van Gogh, much the way ANTHONY QUINN does as Gauguin. Quinn's stormy, tempestuous relationship with Douglas provides some electric moments of conflict.
The score by Miklos Rozsa accents the drama at every turn, slashing at the drama the way Van Gogh slashed at his canvas with thick brush strokes. It's starkly dramatic without ever being overbearing.
Vincent Minnelli's direction is above reproach. A finer tribute to the tormented artist could not be imagined with so many of his canvases shown on screen in impressive close-ups.
Movie Review: Kirk Douglas' Performance Of A Lifetime
Summary: 5 Stars
People rightly cite Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro as thespians who impressively invest their all in the portrayals of the characters they are bringing to life, but I honestly think one of the actors most overlooked for his capacity to deliver an intense transformation is Kirk Douglas. To prove this, all anyone need ever do is to partake of the engrossing, frequently wounding, experience of viewing Vincente Minnelli's 1956 masterpiece, Lust For Life. As Douglas channels the tormented soul of the tragic artist Vincent Van Gogh, Minnelli's camera pans across the strikingly gorgeous countryside of rural France, every bit as hypnotically stunning in the 1950's as it surely was for the impressionists of the nineteenth-century. Lust For Life is a meticulous labor of love, admiration, and obvious respect that still manages to treat its central character without the reverence that would have weakened the impact of its subject matter. No lurid tabloidesque tell-all oozing drama for shock value, Lust For Life gives audiences an up close view of Van Gogh's incarnation as he himself must have felt it happening. At times a helpless victim of disorder and circumstance, at others a commanding genius able to convey his own higher vision of supercharged reality, Van Gogh as interpreted by Douglas is surely one of the screen's most engaging figures. Employing the landscapes, settings, in some cases the actual locations germane to Van Gogh's brief, pain-filled existence, Lust For Life is a rich film that rarely fails to reach the empathetic sensibilities of any viewer, or activate the mind.Movie Review: Starry, Starry Night
Summary: 5 Stars
Kirk Douglas is at his finest in his portrayal of Vincent van Gough, the tortured painter who wanted so much, but was held back by his continuing mental illness. In today's world, Vincent would be put on a regimine of drugs, and lived a life of obscurity. In his day, his only relief from the inner torment was through his painting. It's interesting to note that he was never recognized a great painter until long after he snuffed out his own life. At one time, one of his former landlady's used some of his paintings to cover up holes in her barn, Many of his paintings have been lost forever to time, but the ones remaining are now looked upon as some of the most heart-felt paintings ever done. With Anthony Quinn portraying Paul Gaugin, the movie unfolds to show a life of highs and lows, of a man tortured by his own mind. Perhaps that's what draws us to Vincent today; each of us can see a part of ourselves in the paintings of a man that few understood. Only now do we recognize the genius of this man. It's well acted, well directed, and being able to see the real paintings of this man bring the story to life.