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Lust for Life

1956

Vincente Minnelli

Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald, Pamela Brown ...

7.3

6,466

Drama 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 ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		TV Guide	"Douglas gives an appropriately fiery star turn as Van Gogh, delivering some of the best work of his career."
		Ian Freer Empire	"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)"
		Time Out	"Minnelli, with the colours he chooses - which follow those of the paintings - and with his dramatic counterpointing of events in Van Gogh's life with his canvases, undermines all explanations."
		Chicago Reader	"When the film is at its most dazzling, there’s a sense that the director is reshaping the very nature of existence."
		Telegraph	"Director Vincente Minnelli brings his own palette to bear on van Gogh's artistic struggle and emotional isolation, yet the plot could do with more of a defined structure"
		Village Voice	"The bold and vivid colors of the paintings themselves and the sets and landscapes contribute heavily to the film's dramatic impact"
		Pauline Kael The New Yorker	"Something seems to be missing (a unifying dramatic idea, perhaps), but it's far from a disgrace, and the performers are never an embarrassment."
		Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"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."
		Variety Staff Variety	"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."
		Alex von Tunzelmann The Guardian	"A watchable biopic, backed up with excellent historical research."·

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Eytan Fox

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