The 5: Films About Painters

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This Week on the Five: Great Movies About Great Artists

One of the great mysteries in life is where art begins and how it is created.  Nobody will ever really understand the process of another artist, or where they draw their inspiration, but these five films do a great job at getting as close as we can.  Here are 5 Great Films About Painters.

  • Basquiat.  This was the first film by Julian Schnabel and he chose a topic he knew well. It’s a biopic about his fellow artist and friend-slash- competitor in the art world, Jean Michel Basquiat. Jeffry Wright plays Basquiat and David Bowie gives an amazing turn as Andy Warhol. Some critics claim the film is more about Schnabel than Basquiat.  Schnabel actually based one the characters on himself — the fictional character, Albert Milo portrayed by Gary Oldman.  Art fans will enjoy the fact that as he is painting, the artist must also create himself as a sellable brand. It’s visually haunting as portrait of lower Manhattan in the 1980’s and the soundtrack is excellent as well.
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring.  Colin Firth portrayed the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in the 2006 film Girl with a Pearl Earring.  Based on a book by Tracy Chevalier, it’s a fact-based fictional story about what could have inspired the famous painting. The film is as much about Muse as it is about artist and Scarlett Johansson plays Griet the young girl who sirs Vermeer’s passion.  The film has some problems but it is visually enchanting with a great score, and if you love art, you will enjoy getting lost in the lighting and colors of the film.
  • Frida.  Salma Hayek received an Oscar nomination for her role as Frieda Kahlo in the 2002 film Frida, and Alfred Molina is amazing as her husband Diego Rivera. This is a gritty, lustful and explosive look at two artists that who transformed art and their times.
  • Pollack.  It seems as if Ed Harris was born to play abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock . They share focus, intensity and explosiveness. The scenes when Harris is painting feel as if we are watching a Jackson Pollack documentary and it’s easy to get caught up in the hypnotic rhythm.  Marcia Gay Hardin won an Oscar for her portrayal of Lee Krasner, Pollack’s wife and an artist herself.
  • Vincent and Theo.  This Robert Altman film is beautiful and oddly overlooked. The genius and madness of Vincent Van Gogh is brought to life by Tim Roth in one of his finest roles. Paul Rhys plays his art dealer brother Theo who basks in his genius and is the prime target of Van Gogh’s rage. It’s beautiful and tragic .
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Basquiat

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeTT9XYesnw&feature=related]

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Girl With Pearl Earring

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg4P-u8tu-8]

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Frida

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zudfarZ-ZNk]

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Pollack

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0xiovbDML0]

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Vincent and Theo

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7T-D3gScRQ]

The Editor
The Editor