Dalbert Pringle
(*Favourite movie quote*) - "The pictures come to me as in a dream."The agony of one man's life.... Vincent Van Gogh painted the way other men breathe.After Rembrandt, Van Gogh is considered to be the greatest of all the Dutch painters. His obsession with painting, combined with serious mental illness, propelled him through a life full of failures and unrewarding relationships.Throughout his life, Van Gogh managed to earn some respect from his fellow painters, especially that of Paul Gauguin, but he never, ever got along with any of these men. Surprisingly enough, in his entire lifetime Van Gogh only managed to sell just one of his paintings.Released in 1956 - "Lust For Life" is a really fine movie-production. Many of the locations used for filming were actual places that Van Gogh had visited during his short life. Actor, Kirk Douglas puts in a dynamite performance as the archetypical tortured artist-genius.
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?
richard-1787
I've seen this movie several times now, and every time with enjoyment and great appreciation.The acting by Douglas and Quinn is truly first rate. It's a shame Douglas didn't get the best actor Oscar for which he was so deservedly nominated, but competition that year in that category was fierce. He truly makes you feel van Gogh's frightened agony, both at not being able to achieve what he wanted in his art and his fear of approaching insanity. (It ran in van Gogh's family; he knew what was coming.) But I also enjoy the great efforts made to reproduce the scenes van Gogh painted, whether in Holland, Arles, or outside Paris. That couldn't have been easy, but if you know van Gogh's work, it really adds to the effect the movie makes.There are times when the characters speak like an art history textbook - though those painters did love to discuss their theories on art, as you see in their letters.Still, I consider this to be one fine movie. Whether it gives an accurate depiction of van Gogh or Gauguin is beside the point. It's based on a novel by Irving Stone, who didn't hesitate to change facts to make for a book that would sell; it's not a BBC documentary, and shouldn't be judged as such. It does a great job of showing us the torments of a great painter, and gives us some idea of what van Gogh was up to. That's more than enough for me.
