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It was so bizarre
I couldn't take it. He even asked me,
"Are you going to leave?" When I heard behind me a familiar
step - short, quick, irregular - I turned around in that instant,
as Vincent rushed towards me, an open razor in hand. Of course, there's one episode
that's become more famous than any other in van Gogh's life. A few days before Christmas, he took
his razor and he sliced off his ear. This has come to overshadow
the rest of his life story, and sometimes even his paintings. And to a large extent, the blame for
this lies with the 1956 Hollywood classic Lust For Life, with Kirk Douglas
in the throes of impassioned rage. DRAMATIC MUSIC
I couldn't take it. He even asked me,
"Are you going to leave?" When I heard behind me a familiar
step - short, quick, irregular - I turned around in that instant,
as Vincent rushed towards me, an open razor in hand. Of course, there's one episode
that's become more famous than any other in van Gogh's life. A few days before Christmas, he took
his razor and he sliced off his ear. This has come to overshadow
the rest of his life story, and sometimes even his paintings. And to a large extent, the blame for
this lies with the 1956 Hollywood classic Lust For Life, with Kirk Douglas
in the throes of impassioned rage. DRAMATIC MUSIC
Full Transcript
00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.076
It was so bizarre
I couldn't take it.
00:00:03.076 --> 00:00:06.004
He even asked me,
"Are you going to leave?"
00:00:08.008 --> 00:00:14.092
When I heard behind me a familiar
step - short, quick, irregular -
00:00:14.092 --> 00:00:19.999
I turned around in that instant,
as Vincent rushed towards me,
00:00:19.999 --> 00:00:20.092
an open razor in hand.
00:00:22.036 --> 00:00:25.998
Of course, there's one episode
that's become more famous
00:00:25.998 --> 00:00:27.000
than any other in van Gogh's life.
00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:31.999
A few days before Christmas, he took
his razor and he sliced off his ear.
00:00:31.999 --> 00:00:34.999
This has come to overshadow
the rest of his life story,
00:00:34.999 --> 00:00:36.028
and sometimes even his paintings.
00:00:38.044 --> 00:00:42.072
And to a large extent, the blame for
this lies with the 1956 Hollywood
00:00:42.072 --> 00:00:44.092
classic Lust For Life,
00:00:44.092 --> 00:00:49.000
with Kirk Douglas
in the throes of impassioned rage.
00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.002
DRAMATIC MUSIC
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Movie Summary
Four young British art historians delve into six decades of the BBC archives to discover the powerful way in which television influences our understanding of the world's greatest artists.