Pollock (2000)

Director:

Ed Harris

Writers (WGA):

Steven Naifeh (book) and
Gregory White Smith (book) ...

Release Date:

18 May 2001 (Poland)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A True Portrait of Life and Art.

Plot:

A film about the life and career of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.

Plot Keywords:

Life Magazine | Artist | New York City | 1940s | Painting

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Ed Harris	...	Jackson Pollock
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Lee Krasner
Tom Bower	...	Dan Miller
Jennifer Connelly	...	Ruth Kligman
Bud Cort	...	Howard Putzel
John Heard	...	Tony Smith
Val Kilmer	...	Willem DeKooning
Robert Knott	...	Sande Pollock
David Leary	...	Charles Pollock
Amy Madigan	...	Peggy Guggenheim
Sally Murphy	...	Edith Metzger
Molly Regan	...	Arloie Pollock
Stephanie Seymour	...	Helen Frankenthaler
Matthew Sussman	...	Reuben Kadish
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Clem Greenberg

Also Known As:

Pollock (Argentina) (video title) (Spain) [es]
Pollock (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Pollock (France) [fr]
Pollock - La vida de un creador (Spain) (video title) [es]
Pollock, o asymvivastos (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

122 min | Germany:132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:16 | Malaysia:U | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | South Korea:15 (original rating) (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

East Hampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Brant-Allen

Trivia:

Debbie Reynolds appears briefly as herself in several shots; her face appears on the cover of the August 8th, 1949 issue of "Life" magazine seen in several scenes. The cover was her first for "Life". For the filming, the real cover of the "Life" issue was used, but the pages of the Jackson Pollock article inside are reproductions of the original, with Ed Harris's image substituted for Pollock's.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Boom mic shadow on canvas as Jackson works on the mural.

Quotes:

Jackson Pollock: About his critics - If people would just look at the paintings, I don't think they would have any trouble enjoying them. It's like looking at a bed of flowers, you don't tear your hair out over what it means.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.89)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Mahogany Hall Stomp

A good biopic...

Ed Harris has taken the biopic to a new level. Although the skeleton of the film is no more than the troubled life of an alcoholic struggling with fame, the power of the acting and sequence of the film take it a step further. The relationship between Krasner and Pollock mirrors that of Stanley and Stella Kowalski but Krasner is a much stronger character and Marcia Gay Harden more than deserved the oscar she received for the part. The only part that concerned me was the explanation Harris chose to show Pollock's progression to his drip paintings. The arbitrariness of the "revelation" seems stretched to me and suggests that it is actually known how Pollock made that movement. All in all, the movie is excellent and worth seeing.

Just be careful - I cringed every time he got into a car...