Main Cast: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald, Pamela Brown, Everett Sloane
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 122 minutes
Plot
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 time Vincent leaves his Holland home in 1878 to his death in Auvers in 1890. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for his eight-minute turn as Van Gogh's fast friend and erstwhile rival Paul Gaugin. Nearly 200 of Van Gogh's original paintings were borrowed from private collections for brief display in the film: some are "recreated" before our eyes, as the artist stands before his easel, spattered with paint and with a look of white-hot intensity burned into his countenance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
In agreeing to direct Lust for Life, director Vincente Minnelli had to make several painful compromises, including the use of CinemaScope (which robbed some scenes of their intimacy) and Metrocolor (the vibrant hues of Technicolor would have been far better suited to the subject). Still, the infamous ear-slashing scene is handled with impeccable taste by the director, as is Van Gogh's climactic wheat field suicide. Likewise, star Kirk Douglas had to give in on several creative points; for example, the actor wanted to emphasize Van Gogh's latent homosexuality, but the MGM brass would hear none of this. Nominated for an Academy Award, Douglas lost out to Yul Brynner for The King and I. Miklos Rozsa's haunting musical score is the crowning touch on this superlative film. Also see Robert Altman's treatment of the same subject in Vincent and Theo (1990). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer, Vincente Minnelli - Director, Adrienne Fazan - Editor, Miklos Rozsa - Composer (Music Score), Miklos Rozsa - Musical Direction/Supervision, Preston Ames - Production Designer, Cedric Gibbons - Production Designer, Hans Peters - Production Designer, Edwin B. Willis - Production Designer, F. Keogh Gleason - Production Designer, Russell Harlan - Cinematographer, Freddie Young - Cinematographer, John Houseman - Producer, Norman Corwin - Screenwriter, Irving Stone - Screenwriter, Irving Stone - Book Author
MGM produced a short filmVan Gogh: Darkness Into Light, narrated by Dore Schary and showing the European locations used for the filming, to promote Lust for Life. In the film, Jeanne Calment, then 80, who knew Van Gogh when she was a young girl, meets star Kirk Douglas, and comments on how much he looks like the painter. This short promotional film is shown on Turner Classic Movies occasionally. At the start and ending of the film, the creators list and thank a number of galleries, collectors, and historians whom allowed the works of Van Gogh to be photographed for the film.
