Pollock (2000)

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

Director:

Ed Harris

Writers:

Steven Naifeh (book), Gregory White Smith (book)

Stars:

Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Robert Knott

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Harris	...	Jackson Pollock
Robert Knott	...	Sande Pollock
Molly Regan	...	Arloie Pollock
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Lee Krasner
Sada Thompson	...	Stella Pollock
Eulala Scheel	...	Arloie's Baby (as Eulala Grace Harden)
Matthew Sussman	...	Reuben Kadish
Bud Cort	...	Howard Putzel
Amy Madigan	...	Peggy Guggenheim
Everett Quinton	...	James Johnson Sweeney
Annabelle Gurwitch	...	May Rosenberg
John Rothman	...	Harold Rosenberg
John Heard	...	Tony Smith
Kenny Scharf	...	William Baziotes
Tom McGuinness	...	Franz Kline

Storyline

At the end of the 1940's, abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is featured in Life magazine. Flashback to 1941, he's living with his brother in a tiny apartment in New York City, drinking too much, and exhibiting an occasional painting in group shows. That's when he meets artist Lee Krasner, who puts her career on hold to be his companion, lover, champion, wife, and, in essence, caretaker. To get him away from booze, insecurity, and the stress of city life, they move to the Hamptons where nature and sobriety help Pollock achieve a breakthrough in style: a critic praises, then Life magazine calls. But so do old demons: the end is nasty, brutish, and short.

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Plot Keywords:

painter | life magazine | artist | painting | pulitzer prize source | 

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Taglines:

A True Portrait of Life and Art.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pollock, o asymvivastos

Filming Locations:

Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$44,244, 17 December 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,596,914, 22 July 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,558,970, 31 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brant-Allen, Fred Berner Films, Pollock Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second film that Marcia Gay Harden and Jeffrey Tambor appear in together. The first being Meet Joe Black (1998)

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jackson Pollock: [drunk] Who's the greatest drummer in the world?
Sande Pollock: What?
Jackson Pollock: Krupa

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Connections

Referenced in NCIS: Los Angeles: Disorder (2010)

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Soundtracks

Mahogany Hall Stomp
Written by Spencer Williams
Performed by Louis Armstrong
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

portrayal of life, lack of meaning

a good film, though perhaps i was expecting a little more. The psyche of a troubled artist is somewhat predestined these days and maybe it is just that our assumptions are correct as they are all portrayed in a predictable way. If this is how the artist truly was then then Harris could have done nothing different, it just seems a little distant. I didn't feel at one with the artist, i couldn't sympathise with him or feel his pain. The 'intellectual' artistic debates and gendredising continuously used by his wive left me with no sympathy for her. She appears desperate from the first scene pretentiously trying to be involved with the next big thing. The most depressing part of this film is that two people can be stupid enough to waste their lives on each other without searching for the happiness which they truly seek. The emphasis is on Pollock as a man whereas i would like to see more of him as an artist, did his individual paintings have meaning or did he just do them out of hate for the world.... i guess i didn't feel you see his mind and its true agony's, maybe he was just generally mad at the world.

Really not a bad film for what it is, just to me it lacked true emotion.

sio