Subgenre Sampler
Arts & Artists: 427 Films to Buy & Rent
Agony and the Ecstasy, The (1965)
- Dir. Carol Reed
Feat. Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento
- Hollywood portrait of Michelangelo's struggle to paint the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of belligerent Pope Julius II. Rex Harrison fares…
Empty Canvas, The (La Noia) (1963)
- Dir. Damiano Damiani
Feat. Bette Davis, Horst Buchholz, Catherine Spaak
- Unsuccessful painter Buccholz falls for a young model who spurns his love and drives him to both ruin and his overbearing mother. Based on the novel…
Ken Russell at the BBC (Elgar; Debussy; Always on Sunday; Isadora; Dante's Inferno; Song of Summer) (1962-1968)
- Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Oliver Reed, Vladek Sheybal, Vernon Dobtcheff…
- The engrossing early works of the controversial director comprises six of his famed artist portraits
Testament of Orpheus (Testament D'orphee) (1960)
- Dir. Jean Cocteau
Feat. Jean Cocteau, Yul Brynner, Jean-Pierre Leaud…
- Cocteau's swansong is an intensely personal odyssey, with the director himself immersed in a world of his cumulative creation. Like a moving…
Horse's Mouth, The (1958)
- Dir. Ronald Neame
Feat. Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Renee Houston
- This impressively subtle portrait of a tortured artist stars Alec Guinness as a deteriorating painter whose pursuit of creative perfection has him on…
James Dean Story (1957)
- Dir. Robert Altman
Feat. Martin Gabel
- Martin Gabel narrates this portrait of James Dean created shortly after his death, which assembles the material available at this time, including…
Mystery of Picasso, The (1956)
- Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Famed director Henri–Georges Clouzot gains exclusive entry into Pablo Picasso's inner creative sanctum, observing the master painter at work on…
Lust for Life (1955)
- Dir. Vincente Minnelli
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn
- Kirk Douglas makes a stirring, enthusiastic Van Gogh in this biopic, choosing to echo the empassioned melancholia of his work rather than drawing…
Houdini (1953)
- Dir. George Marshall
Feat. Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher
- Drama exploring the life of magician and illusionist Harry Houdini, with then husband–and–wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh playing…
Films of Charles & Ray Eames, The (1952-1982)
- A collection of the cinematic work of Charles and Ray Eames, the 20th century industrial designers and married couple, who channelled their separate…