Lust for Life (film) in the US and Canada and $1,100,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $2,072,000. MGM produced a short film "Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light", narrated by Dore Schary and showing the European locations used for the filming, to promote "Lust for Life". In the film, a 75-year-old woman from Auvers-sur-Oise (not Jeanne Calment, who lived in Arles several hundred kilometers to the south), who claims to have known Van Gogh when she was a young girl, meets star Kirk Douglas, and comments on how much he looks like the painter. This short promotional film is shown on Turner Classic Movies
Lust for Life (film) 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." 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." "The Monthly Film Bulletin" printed a somewhat negative review, writing: "Although one feels that those responsible were determined to 'do right' by Van