"Rembrandt", officially a British film, was something of an international collaboration- a film about a Dutch painter made in Britain by a Hungarian director (Alexander Korda) and a French cinematographer (Georges Périnal) and based on a story by a German author (Carl Zuckmayer, at the time in exile from Nazism). The action begins in 1642, shortly before the death of Rembrandt's beloved first wife Saskia, and then follows the rest of his life and career. It explores the central paradox of Rembrandt's life, namely why a man today regarded as one of the greatest painters who ever lived should have gone bankrupt and died in poverty. As he was seen as a great artist even by his contemporaries, the answer is not that stock cliché about the unrecognised genius starving in a garret and being rewarded by a grateful posterity with the fame and honour that were denied him during his lifetime.
The answer, at least according to the film, is that Rembrandt's talents as an artist were equalled, or nearly so, by his talents for wasting money and for alienating people. He insists on painting as he likes, without regard to his patrons' wishes, and when his patrons attempt to remonstrate with him he roundly abuses them for their pains. In his dealings with the wealthy burghers of Amsterdam he insists on his status as a man of the people- he was a miller's son- but in truth he does not get on any better with the common people than he does with the burghers. On a visit to his father's mill in the countryside he insults the local peasantry and gets into a brawl in an inn.
The above synopsis might make it seem as though Rembrandt was a most unpleasant fellow indeed, but that is not quite how he is played by Charles Laughton. (Laughton had previously worked with Korda on "The Private Life of Henry VIII"). Laughton's Rembrandt is indeed a flawed character, but he is also a man of great vitality with a great love for life. He has a number of redeeming characteristics, such as a deep love not only for Saskia (who does not actually appear in the film) but also for his second wife Hendrickje, who is played by Laughton's real-life wife Elsa Lanchester. He is also resourceful, something shown by his scheme to frustrate his creditors who will not allow him to paint unless he hands over all his completed paintings to them. At times Laughton could overact frantically, Hitchcock's "Jamaica Inn" being a case in point, but his performance in this film is a fine one. Lanchester is also good as Hendrickje, but the actor who really steals the show is Roger Livesey as the beggar whom Rembrandt asks to pose for one of his pictures.
This is one of those films which might have looked better in colour. The set designers obviously went to some lengths to capture the look of seventeenth century Holland, or at least the look of seventeenth century Dutch art. Both the interiors and the exteriors recall the work of Dutch painters of the period, not only Rembrandt himself but also Vermeer and De Hooch. In 1936, however, colour film was an expensive luxury, so black-and-white it had to be. This possibly explains why so few of Rembrandt's actual pictures (apart from "The Night Watch", which plays an important role in the plot) are actually seen.
Despite this, however, "Rembrandt" is a film which stands up well today, something one cannot say about a lot of films from the thirties. Korda, Zuckmayer, Laughton and the other talents involved combine well to produce an entertaining, at times witty and at times moving look at the life and times of one of the key figures of European culture, and also to say something about the nature of artistic creativity. 7/10
The answer, at least according to the film, is that Rembrandt's talents as an artist were equalled, or nearly so, by his talents for wasting money and for alienating people. He insists on painting as he likes, without regard to his patrons' wishes, and when his patrons attempt to remonstrate with him he roundly abuses them for their pains. In his dealings with the wealthy burghers of Amsterdam he insists on his status as a man of the people- he was a miller's son- but in truth he does not get on any better with the common people than he does with the burghers. On a visit to his father's mill in the countryside he insults the local peasantry and gets into a brawl in an inn.
The above synopsis might make it seem as though Rembrandt was a most unpleasant fellow indeed, but that is not quite how he is played by Charles Laughton. (Laughton had previously worked with Korda on "The Private Life of Henry VIII"). Laughton's Rembrandt is indeed a flawed character, but he is also a man of great vitality with a great love for life. He has a number of redeeming characteristics, such as a deep love not only for Saskia (who does not actually appear in the film) but also for his second wife Hendrickje, who is played by Laughton's real-life wife Elsa Lanchester. He is also resourceful, something shown by his scheme to frustrate his creditors who will not allow him to paint unless he hands over all his completed paintings to them. At times Laughton could overact frantically, Hitchcock's "Jamaica Inn" being a case in point, but his performance in this film is a fine one. Lanchester is also good as Hendrickje, but the actor who really steals the show is Roger Livesey as the beggar whom Rembrandt asks to pose for one of his pictures.
This is one of those films which might have looked better in colour. The set designers obviously went to some lengths to capture the look of seventeenth century Holland, or at least the look of seventeenth century Dutch art. Both the interiors and the exteriors recall the work of Dutch painters of the period, not only Rembrandt himself but also Vermeer and De Hooch. In 1936, however, colour film was an expensive luxury, so black-and-white it had to be. This possibly explains why so few of Rembrandt's actual pictures (apart from "The Night Watch", which plays an important role in the plot) are actually seen.
Despite this, however, "Rembrandt" is a film which stands up well today, something one cannot say about a lot of films from the thirties. Korda, Zuckmayer, Laughton and the other talents involved combine well to produce an entertaining, at times witty and at times moving look at the life and times of one of the key figures of European culture, and also to say something about the nature of artistic creativity. 7/10