Films about artists

From 1998. A bit disjointed, and I'm sure they took many liberties with the story, but the performances by Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig are excellent, and it's really quite riveting in it's way. Very, very dark and unsettling. But you do get to see Daniel Craig naked.

 

Who plays Andy in that film? Seems like there have been quite a few Andys. Crispin Glover was pretty good and so was David Bowie. His scenes with Dennis Hopper in Basquiat where they fight over postcards is pretty funny.

 

Wow - did not know there was a movie about Bacon. Daniel Craig sounds perfect. Sort of like Ed Harris as Pollack. Will have to check this out. Thanks!!!

 

Actually, Jacobi plays Bacon, Craig plays John Dyer, the thief who quite literally dropped into Bacon's flat. If you check the photos of the real Bacon and Dyer you'll see that the casting is perfect.

 

Cool! I know nothing about Bacon other than that I love his insane paintings. Looking forward to it.

 

This is gonna be a great weekend for you.

As an animation enthusiast, this sat neatly atop my Top 5 for the year (of all films). One has to be prepared for that "computer-animated movement" sensation to get beyond it, to ease your distraction. My viewing was off a blu-ray from the distributor, in a smaller, 80-seat auditorium, and the effect was not an issue at all. That might be more noticeable on a home screen, but more modern sets usually offer that "videotape-like"-motion setting film purists hate, which often enhances a good animated presentation - so def try that out.

No doubt you may get that similar sensation you might have had the first time you screened Kubrick's Barry Lyndon: sudden recognition of the mis-en-scene (waitinnng forr iiiit, and it's juuust about...-there! - brilliant!...). This marvel has more sources of Van Gogh originals in it than you think you know, and then a couple of characters will pause for a second, you'll "recognize" it (or at least, you'll just instinctively "get" it)...and then they move on, and it's over...

I'm only intending to hold out until a) I get a newer set with that "motion" setting available, and b), Criterion puts it out in a 4D transfer! Then...quiche and wine-tasing at my place...doily, anyone...?

 

Waste Land. Excellent film based around a project by artist Vik Muniz in the world's largest landfill outside Rio de Janeiro.

 

This is near enough to the topic to include. Some years back David Hockney scandalized the art world by putting forth the proposition that a lot of the old masters used optical devices to help them with their accuracy. The art establishment clutched their pearls, saying, 'Oh no, never!' Hockney published a fascinating book, Secret Knowledge, which makes his case fairly convincingly.

A bit later, inventor Tim Jenison set up a studio which closely reproduced Vermeer's studio. With minimal artistic talent, he was able to produce a very accurate copy of one of Vermeer's paintings. Teller (of Penn & Teller) directed a documentary (Tim's Vermeer) about the process. I think it's available on Amazon Prime. Fascinating.

Tim's Vermeer - Wikipedia

 

All these postings are about great artists. I'm going to include a film about a terrible one, Ed Wood. Universally acknowledged to be one of the worst movie directors, if not the worst director of all time, Ed Wood is obsessed with making films. His films are awful, though. Johnny Depp is convincing in the title role. Martin Landau won an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi.

 

Um thanks, that last fact is not a drawcard for me but i will pass it on to the women in my office.

 

That would be Guy Pearce, and I think he's very well suited to the look:



Other than a few odd casting missteps (Jimmy Fallon as Chuck Wein, and a small role as one of Warhol's fans given to Mary-Kate Olsen) the look of the characters and the sets captures the era really well. Great cinematography. As mentioned earlier it suffers from a truly abysmal script though. Silly dialog, and if you follow the story it makes Andy look like an idiot, Edie look like an idiot for being interested in him, and there are some segments featuring Hayden Christensen as "Billy Quinn" (a supposedly young Dylan), which reduce him to a cliche. Again, the look is phenomenal... even the Christensen role works visually.

 

I'd love to see that...Hopkins, has to be excellent!

 

Moulin Rouge (1952), about Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Probably a few inaccuracies, but so beautiful that what the heck (pardon my French).

 

Got around to watching it. It was cool to see some of Van Gogh's iconic pieces put to life, like the Cafe Terrace, landscapes, and various portraits etc... The close up shots of the characters didnt look right though. The flashback portions in B&W and clean lines didnt work for me either. Something I've always admired about Van Gogh's art is the aesthetic while being somewhat crude.

Overall it was quite an achievement and I am glad to have seen it. Kind of figured it would be like Waking Life or Scanner Darkly.

 

Concerning Loving Vincent,

I'm guessing you watched at home? Yeah, I was concerned standard TV viewing might make the lines stand out, particularly in the closeups. I was fine with the monochrome, myself; mixing "reality" of mis-en-scene with the natural expectation of well-known painting is tough, particularly for an animator who has established his own quality of drawing, then has to make those concessions. And, this is the thing: I'm a pretty tough grader myself, but seeing this in an actual theater, I did not come out with the quality in which the animators presented the material. I've come to expect a"artifacts" like that from the Linklater films you mentioned, but that did not distract me here.

I was just impressed they managed to fit so much of his subjects into context of the story. Glad you could get enough out of it to find something to enjoy.

 

Here are three more. While these are all based on historical events and people, I don't know how many liberties were taken with the actual history. All are good movies, though, well worth watching.

Camille Claudel--(1988) Isabelle Adjani plays the title role, about a young sculptor who becomes Auguste Rodin's assistant, then his lover; complications ensue. Gerard Depardieu plays Rodin.

Modigliani--(2004) Andy Garcia in the title role, about the tragic life Italian artist Amadeo Modigliani, his struggles in Paris and his rivalry with Picasso. More complications ensue.

Sirens--(1994) Based on a Australian artist, Norman Lindsay (played by Sam Neill). In the movie, he has painted a controversial painting and is visited by an Anglican priest (Hugh Grant) and his wife. They are shocked by the bohemian lifestyle and open sensuality of his existence. And as might be imagined, with lovely models cavorting around, even more complications ensue.

While I understand that this last movie did stretch the truth, there were some accurate themes; Lindsay was considered very controversial in his day. He created an ink drawing, The Crucified Venus, which folks at the time considered scandalous. (Google 'lindsay crucified venus' and see for yourself.) And at the outbreak of WWII, he shipped sixteen crates of his drawings and paintings to the US for safekeeping. Unfortunately, they were discovered when the train carrying them caught fire. US officials found them, seized them, and subsequently burned them as pornography. While Lindsay is known in Australia, he really deserves to be better known elsewhere.

Norman Lindsay - Wikipedia

 

one of the betters films about a writer imo

 

I guess it's time to mention Jarman's Caravaggio.

 

I saw this last year. It's in French, and you probably should know a bit about the subject before you go in, but it's worth it even just for the French countryside.

 

On the lighter side, I just watched a Mr Bean movie, where he escorts Whistler's Mother to California, and chaos ensues.

At one point, after Bean has trashed the original work of art, I thought the plot might lead to finding the painting he destroyed was actually a forged version the original, and that a more valuable masterpiece was underneath Mum.

As to the farce of the Art World, just came across this article

How Does the Art World Live With Itself? I Live and Breathe It and I’m Not Sure.

by Jerry Saltz

 

Is this Tara Fitzgerald's finest hour? I suspect it really is.
Great film though. Had forgotten all about it. Might hit Amazon, see if the DVD's still available.