The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Genre: Drama / Biography
Duration: 116 minuten
Alternative title: Het Leven van Emile Zola
Country:
United States
Directed by: William Dieterle
Stars: Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard and Joseph Schildkraut
IMDb score:
7,1 (10.055)
Releasedate: 2 October 1937
The Life of Emile Zola plot
"He'll hold you in silence as deep as your emotions!"
The film tells the life story of Emile Zola. From Paris in 1862 we see, among other things, the Dreyfus affair and French anti-Semitism.
Actors and actresses
Emile Zola
Lucie Dreyfus
Capt. Alfred Dreyfus
Alexandrine Zola
Maitre Labori
Nana
Charpentier
Colonel Picquart
Anatole France
Major Dort
Reviews & comments
MaartenF
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- 112 messages
- 2442 votes
The Life of Emile Zola is the first biopic to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The film is, as the title suggests, about Emile Zola. Before watching this film, I had no idea who he was. Fortunately, you don't need any background information to follow the film, because it explains well what kind of person he was.
Emile Zola was a writer from the nineteenth century. In his books, Zola expresses his opinion on various problems prevalent in society at the time, such as poverty and a bad government. He essentially wrote books to protest against society. As a result, Zola had both supporters and opponents.
Zola's rise to fame is what the film focuses on in the first half. The rest of the film focuses on the Dreyfus affair. This affair concerned a man who was convicted of a crime he did not commit, purely because he was Jewish. Emile Zola was an important figure involved in this affair. I found the Dreyfus affair to be the strongest part of the film, with the courtroom scenes standing out in particular.
Unfortunately, The Life of Emile Zola has not entirely stood the test of time. At many moments, it comes across as dated, and additionally, the film has a rather slow pace. Nevertheless, it is a reasonably interesting film to watch, mainly due to the good acting of Paul Muni and the subject matter. After the film ended, I delved deeper into Emile Zola and the Dreyfus affair. The film therefore succeeded in sparking my interest in the subject. In terms of entertainment value, however, it falls significantly short. A decent biopic, but nothing more.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Vinokourov
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- 3143 messages
- 2909 votes
I knew very little about Emile Zola and the Dreyfus affair. At most, I had heard about it somewhere, but that was about all I had picked up. This biopic depicts the life of Emile Zola, and primarily the role he played in the Dreyfus affair. I found it quite fascinating how it all unfolded. Part of it takes place in a courtroom, which I always find a bit less appealing, but the way Paul Muni delivers his speech at the end is impressive. I also found him by far the strongest member of the cast. The rest was slightly disappointing, especially the way they reel off the lines. That came across as somewhat unnatural.
Translated from Dutch · View original
starbright boy (moderator films)
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- 22644 messages
- 5259 votes
Almost by chance, Watner found a prestigious specialty for himself. They didn't have the budgets of Paramount and especially MGM to make glamorous films or epic films. But suddenly, The Life of Louis Pasteur was a hit. A film made with modest resources that won awards, won over the critics, and was successful. So they started doing that more often.
A year later, this film was released. The film is a slick biography of Zola but focuses primarily on the Dreyfuss affair, causing the protagonist to fade somewhat into the background in the second half. The story is molded into a Hollywood format. Zola's sympathy for socialism is absent from the film, and the antisemitic background of the affair has also almost completely disappeared.
And yet, it has something irresistible about it. Muni exaggerates Zola but plays his theatricality very well. And the idealist who saves an innocent is certainly fodder for 1930s Hollywood. A clear separation between good and evil, little attention to the machinations that made Dreyfuss's conviction possible. It is served up tastefully. I quite enjoyed watching this film. And so it won Best Picture at the Oscars. Otherwise, he would be even more forgotten now, like most Warner biographies.
Seven more Oscars for Best Picture
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