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Good movie but grossly overrated

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Few artists embody the "tortured artist archetype" as fully as Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. Born in 1853, Vincent was traumatically named after a brother who died one year prior to his own birth. A moody child, he'd hoped to become a Christian minister, but several failed romances, and his growing disillusionment with the church, set him upon a different path. He'd become a painter instead, and quickly become preoccupied with sketching the plights of the lower classes. For Vincent, the poor and the downtrodden came to represent a certain "truth". He empathised with their suffering, identified with their despair, and saw divinity in their lives, squalid homes and craggy faces.Vincent's career would last about ten years. Much of this time was spent in poverty, depression and isolation. Occasionally he'd hang out with prostitutes and fellow painters, but they did little to stave off the suicidal thoughts festering in his brain. Despite his unhappiness, Vincent worked at a feverish pace. He'd produce thousands of sketches and over 800 paintings, his work slowly transitioning from social realism to vibrant post-impressionism. Much of this work was done in Arles, in the South of France, where Vincent would famously chop off his ear. Afterwards he'd spend a year in a mental asylum, where he suffered a series of mental breakdowns. His last completed paintings would portray ominous wheat fields. Writing of these paintings, Vincent would say: "they depict vast, distended fields under angry skies, and I did not have to go out of my way very much in order to try to express sadness and extreme loneliness." He would die days later, after fatally shooting himself in the chest. Vincente Minnelli directed "Some Came Running" in 1958 and "The Sandpiper" in 1965. Both films find artists refusing to be absorbed by a culture or society they deem to be conformist, staid or offensive. Mocked for dedicating their lives to vague artistic calls, and pushed to the margins of society, Minnelli's artists quickly find themselves on suicidal or self-destructive paths.Released in 1956, Minnelli's "Lust for Life" tells a similar tale. It stars Kirk Douglas as Vincent van Gogh, and touches upon all the now famous cornerstones of van Gogh's life. Whilst not as great a film as Robert Altman's similarly themed "Vincent and Theo", Minnelli's film nevertheless offers a good example of 1950s, big studio, auteurist melodrama. Minnelli's film is grand, voluptuous, every emotion and gesture ridiculously larger than life, every frame bursting with strange colours. More interestingly, Minnelli fills his picture with subtle references to countless van Gogh paintings, figures and compositions. Elsewhere he throws in clever references to other prominent painters, like one scene in which we see George Seurat painting his 1884 masterpiece, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte". The marvellous Anthony Quinn costars as post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin, another painter who rose to prominence only after his death.Minnelli has too many films about artists to list. A subset of these films, though, seem preoccupied with "tortured artists" ("Lust for Life", "The Cobweb", "Two Weeks in Another Town", "Some Came Running", "The Sandpiper") who seem incompatible with the outside world. A large chunk of Minnelli's filmography is itself "about" the problems individuals face – sometimes linked to gender issues - fitting in with crowds. Minnelli was himself a gay man, but most biographies portray him as an openly and proudly homosexual artist who rose, seemingly effortlessly, above the problems faced by the tortured artists of his films.8/10 – See "Art School Confidential", "Young Man with a Horn", "In a Lonely Place", "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" and "Vincent and Theo".

Kirk Douglas becomes Vincent Gogh and is terrific in this film. Just watch it for the portrayal.Vincent Gogh lived a very complicated film, as shown in the film perhaps. But to adapt to the complications and portray them without any compromise would have been the most challenging part. Kirk Douglas, the fine actor he is has done this effortlessly. Kudos to the great man for his acting itself.Expectedly, the art direction is wonderful, as this is a film about painter, his paintings in itself would make the shots beautiful. The cinematography was adequate if not great. The lines were good and the editing was fine. But mind you, this is a biopic so it would take some liberties in terms of length in showing few important aspects of the life of Vincent Gogh.Vincent Minnelli was one of the most celebrated directors of his time and he did this film with a great grand vision as his earlier films. But, he somewhere lost his vision in the making. He made a clichéd biopic that is definitely good but must not great. I suppose that the script did little justice to the emotions which Kirk Douglas portrayed and also what Vincent Gogh could have gone through emotionally. This is good for a one time watch just for acting. A 3/5 for a good film and of these, 2 stars only to Kirk Douglas and the remaining star for the film overall. It's a good film but tests our patience at times.

It is the Quiet and the Non-Verbal that Impress the Most in this Biopic of Van Gogh, because Kirk Douglas' Overripe, Very Loud Performance and an Intrusive Musical Soundtrack do Nothing to Enhance the Experience.What does are Scenes that Show the Artist, in one of the Many Moments of Intense Frustration, looks up and upon an Oil Lamp, nothing is Said, and in the Next Shot there is the Painting of the Lamp, again Nothing is Said. Plain and Profound it is a Beautiful Transition from Observation to Mind to Art.What also makes the Film Beautiful is the Original Artwork Constantly Filling the Frame and the Number of Outdoor Scenes of the Artist Reveling in His Beloved Sunlit, Natural World. Another Positive and Enlightening Aspect is the Portrayal of Van Gogh's Lust for the Human Condition and how he Transposes these Folks at Work in Back Breaking, Soul Depleting Toil to the Canvas.There are Many Good Things to Enjoy in this Movie but the Dialog, Sound, and Overacting is not Among Them. But some of that is Muted by the Color Schemes, the Settings (both indoor and out), and the Insight of the Struggle to Find Beauty, Apply that to Art that Touches People, while at the Same Time Reflecting on the Devastating Hypocrisy and Ugliness that, Especially in Van Gogh's Life, was more than He could Bare.

When I first heard Hollywood had made a film about a great artist and Kirk Douglas(although a fine actor) was the lead I thought automatically of how poor it would be. But i was very wrong, I really consider this, if not a great film then certainly a very very good one. It pleasantly surprised me with its use of Van Gogh's artistry as somewhat the main character. Its a solid cast also, James Donald is quite interesting in the part of Theo(Vincents brother), Anthony Quinn as Paul Gauguin is very good(he won the Oscar for supporting actor)although his part is very small, and Kirk Douglas gives probably the best performance I've seen him give in a film. The soundtrack is also very powerful and Vicente Minnelli certainly puts in a good shift in this thoroughly enjoyable film.