There's an unwritten rule about classical painters making crap subjects for biopics going on here...
1. Love Is The Devil
Making a biopic in the style of the artist is one thing; attempting it with Francis Bacon is another. Yet that's the fortè of John Maybury's descent into Bacon's warped world, with Derek Jacobi drinking, shagging and fighting his way through 1950s Soho.
2. Pollock
If you thought Bacon was a bad boy, check out expert dribbler Jackson Pollock, in Ed Harris's Oscarwinning labour of love (pictured). Depressive, adulterous and alcoholic, fag in mouth and brush in hand, Harris stomps across the film like he owns it (which, considering he produced and directed it, he kinda does).
Van Gogh
Where Surviving Picasso was mawkish and dull, Maurice Pialat's version of Van Gogh's final months shows how it should have been done. Brothels, serious drinking and a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Who needs rock'n'roll?
4. Basquiat
Are artists allergic to normal life? A rags-to-riches tale about the original street artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat. From sleeping on a park bench and spray-painting New York to his co-option into Warhol's Factory, his real-life friend Julian Schnabel's film is as accurate as biopics get.
5. Frida
Girls can do it too, though. Salma Hayek (complete with moustache - not so sexy now, is she boys?) pours herself into Frida Kahlo's shoes. All present and correct are the usual suspects: alcohol and adultery (with Trotsky no less). You go, girl!
