Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh (1988); documentary. I found this documentary of Van Gogh's life rather disappointing. The filmmakers used images of nature, and pictures of Van Gogh's works, as illustration, and over these images the actor John Hurt read some  of Vincent's letters to his brother Theo. If you don't already know Van Gogh's life story, it may prove difficult to get anything out of the movie. Even Vincent's suicide is illustrated with footage of a country lane, and no explanatory text. Plus, the DVD lacks any sort of subtitles for the hearing-impaired. Although in this case Hurt's reading of the letters was clear and understandable, there might be some viewers who would profit from subtitles or closed captions. The sole redeeming feature of this film for me were the shots of Van Gogh's artistic works, some of which are just astonishing. Grade: B