Editing Lust for Life (1956 film) (section)

==Reception==
[[File:Self-Portrait9 Van Gogh.jpg|thumb|upright|Vincent van Gogh, ''Self-Portrait'', mid-1887, Paris<br />[[Van Gogh Museum]], [[Amsterdam]] (F77v)]]

===Critical reaction===
''[[The New York Times]]'' critic [[Bosley Crowther]] praised the film's conception, acting and color scheme, noting the design team "consciously made the flow of color and the interplay of compositions and hues the most forceful devices for conveying a motion picture comprehension of van Gogh."<ref>{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=September 18, 1956 |title=Screen: Color-Full Life of van Gogh |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/09/18/archives/screen-colorfull-life-of-van-gogh-lust-for-life-tells-story-through.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=39 }}</ref> Whitney Williams of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' said, "This is a slow-moving picture whose only action is in the dialog itself. Basically a faithful portrait of Van Gogh, ''Lust for Life'' is nonetheless unexciting. It misses out in conveying the color and entertainment of the original Irving Stone novel."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Williams |first=Whitney |date=September 5, 1956 |title=Film Reviews: Lust for Life |url=https://archive.org/details/variety204-1956-09/page/n5/mode/2up |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |page=6 |via=Internet Archive }}</ref>

''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' wrote that the film had been given "an excellent production" and that "Kirk Douglas does outstanding work as Van Gogh, and Anthony Quinn is very good as Paul Gauguin, his friend."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 8, 1956 |title='Lust for Life' with Kirk Douglas |url=https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports38harr/page/n167/mode/2up |magazine=[[Harrison's Reports]] |page=144 |via=Internet Archive }}</ref> [[John McCarten]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote, "Even if the movie doesn't delve as deeply as it might into the mental processes that made van Gogh behave the way he did, it nevertheless, in the person of Kirk Douglas, confronts us with a character well worth our absorbed attention. Mr. Douglas, who, wearing red whiskers, bears a striking resemblance to van Gogh's self-portraits, succeeds most skillfully in arousing a conviction that he is, in truth, a painter beside himself to capture light and hold it forever on canvas."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McCarten |first=John |date=September 29, 1956 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |page=86 }}</ref>

[[Richard L. Coe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the film "a remarkable achievement, combining a rich adventure in the art of color with a perceptive study of a creative personality. In this biography of Vincent Van Gogh, Kirk Douglas adds to his advantage of striking resemblance a performance of powerful sensitivity."<ref>{{cite news |last=Coe |first=Richard L. |date=September 21, 1956 |title='Lust for Life' Real Triumph |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=79 }}</ref> Edwin Schallert of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film a "remarkable and poignant study," and forecast that the artist's 'stellar portrayal' by Kirk Douglas "will be recognized for Academy honors."<ref>{{cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=September 22, 1956 |title='Lust for Life' Reveals Saga of Tortured Artist |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381176894/ |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=8 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' printed a somewhat negative review, writing: "Although one feels that those responsible were determined to 'do right' by Van Gogh, this biographical tribute never rises above the level of the popular novel on which it is based ... Despite a remarkable physical resemblance, Kirk Douglas' performance remains essentially an American study in neuroticism; also, the presentation of the aesthetic controversy between Van Gogh (humane and intuitive) and Gauguin (intellectual and brusquely cynical) is both oversimplified and somewhat misleading."<ref>{{cite journal |date=March 1957 |title=Lust for Life |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=24 |issue=278 |page=29 }}</ref>

===Box office===
The world premiere was held at the [[Caley Picture House]] as part of the [[Edinburgh Film Festival]] on 19 August 1956. It subsequently opened on 17 September 17 at the Plaza Theatre on [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan#58th Street|East 58th Street]] in New York City as a benefit for the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]'s student program.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 15, 1956 |title=Museum Lends van Gogh to Premiere of Film on Artist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/09/15/archives/museum-lends-van-gogh-to-premiere-of-film-on-artist.html |work=The New York Times |page=23 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> It played there for a record 37 weeks, grossing $450,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=June 19, 1957|title='Lust's' $450,000 Plaza, N.Y. Gross|url=https://archive.org/details/variety207-1957-06/page/n155/mode/1up|page=4|access-date=April 19, 2019|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

Despite its accolades, the movie was a financial failure. According to MGM records, the film earned rentals of $1,595,000 in the US and Canada and $1,100,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $2,072,000.<ref name="Mannix"/>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[29th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] 
| [[Kirk Douglas]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1957 |title=The 29th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706094056/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/29th-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Anthony Quinn]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Adapted]]
| [[Norman Corwin]]
| {{nom}}
|- 
| [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction – Color]]
| Art Direction: [[Cedric Gibbons]], [[Hans Peters (art director)|Hans Peters]], and [[E. Preston Ames]]; <br> Set Decoration: [[Edwin B. Willis]] and [[F. Keogh Gleason]]
| {{nom}}
|- 
| rowspan="4"| [[14th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/lust-for-life/ |title=Lust for Life |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=April 1, 2021}}</ref>
|- 
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]] 
| Kirk Douglas 
| {{won}} 
|- 
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]] 
| Anthony Quinn
| {{nom}} 
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]] 
| [[Vincente Minnelli]]
| {{nom}} 
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1956|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|4th Place}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1956/ |title=1956 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[1956 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Kirk Douglas
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1956 |title=1956 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |publisher=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|}