It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I realize this is a famous movie, so if you're a Kirk Douglas fan, you're going to end up watching it, but I just didn't like it. For starters, it's a Vincent van Gogh biopic, and I'm not particularly interested in his life. After I watched the movie, I found myself even less interested in his life.Yes, we all know his paintings, but Vincent van Gogh was far from a model citizen. He was moody, mentally ill, mean, and obsessive. Why does treating women badly, yelling at your friends, and caring about nothing but your art mean that Vincente Minnelli should direct a film about your life? I didn't see the point, and even though the fantastic actors Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn played van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, respectively, the movie is far from interesting.If van Gogh is your favorite artist, yes, you'll want to see this one. But for those of you just looking for a good Kirk performance, rent The Bad and the Beautiful. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for Lust for Life, but if you're a fan on the lookout for a great performance, he's much better as an emotionally tortured husband in Hot Spell.

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.

Maybe this 1956 film, made the year I was born, hasn't aged well, but I never quite believed the protagonist here was anyone other than Kirk Douglas of New York City.The biopic tries to convey how lonely, ostracized, and exasperated the artist was, but Douglas's portrayal seemed a little too large for the setting and his exaggerated reactions to things started to grate. Granted, Van Gogh likely was a schizophrenic with some very troublesome behavior but somehow this depiction didn't quite satisfy.The film does a good job of taking us for an art tour through van Gogh's life, as we watch his work develop from the more understated to the exquisitely expressionistic (i.e., Starry Starry Night).This film prompted me to look up the author on Wikipedia. Irving Stone researched the source for this film mostly by reading Van Gogh's letters.Clearly Van Gogh was a tortured person but I wonder if we'd gain a more nuanced idea of him by sticking with the book.

The life of Van Gogh in glamorous Metro-color. The film is quite simply magnificent. Everything is fantastic , from the performances to the cinematography. Kirk Douglas' performance is what carries the film , his charisma and brilliant use of physical acting help convey the conflicting and tormenting emotions and desires felt by Van Gogh. The colour scheme for the film is very clever since it almost parallels the colours and shades in Van Gogh's paintings. The rest of the cast produce great acting that matches the dramatic tones and beauty of the film. A classic from Hollywood and one of the most beautiful and thought provoking films ever made.