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Movies / On DVD / The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola

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The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

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Reviews Counted:19

Fresh:13

Rotten:6

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Well-written, well-meaning and solidly acted, the film may ultimately be more earnest than interesting.

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Paul Muni stars as Emile Zola, giving possibly his best performance in this excellent biography of the great writer, which won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The film's most unusual aspect... Paul Muni stars as Emile Zola, giving possibly his best performance in this excellent biography of the great writer, which won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The film's most unusual aspect is its evasiveness regarding the anti-Semitism that led to the terrible injustice of the Dreyfus affair. As Neil Gabler and others have pointed out, this can probably be attributed to the reluctance of the Jewish studio moguls to incur the ire of a society in which they still didn't feel entirely accepted. The film tracks Zola's early years, including his friendship with Paul Cezanne (Vladimir Sokoloff), and his uphill battle to expose in print the social ills that plagued France's lower classes. When success arrives with the publication of NANA, he garners an audience that can appreciate his exposés of the corruption of the nation's government, military, and business community. But it's in the Herculean effort to clear Captain Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut), a victim of anti-Semitism who had been framed on charges of military espionage and sent to Devil's Island, that Zola reveals in full force the tremendous courage that undergirded his achievment. High production values, an excellent cast, and an intelligent script all add to the film's extraordinary quality. [More]

Starring: Paul Muni, Joseph Schildkraut, Gale Sondergaard, Gloria Holden

Starring: Paul Muni, Joseph Schildkraut, Gale Sondergaard, Gloria Holden, Donald Crisp, Louis Calhern, John Litel, Henry O'Neill, Morris Carnovsky, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Ralph Morgan, Dickie Moore, Charles Richman

Director: William Dieterle

Director: William Dieterle
Producer: Henry Blanke
Composer: Max Steiner

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 1, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Life of Emile Zola episodically explores the career of the novelist who championed the cause of France's oppressed. Zola (Paul Muni) is a hugely successful French author who risks all his success and comfort to come to the defense of the unjustly jailed Capt. Dreyfus (Oscar winner Joseph Schildkraut). Winner of three Oscars overall-and of immense critical and popular success-this distinguished film is a must-see portrait of a life that's "a moment of the conscience of man."
  • Source: Warner Home Video
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    Reviews for The Life of Emile Zola

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    1 - 19 (sorted by date)
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    Last week Warner Brothers released a movie which is probably the outstanding prestige picture of the season. It is also one of the best shows.

    Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
    02/17/09
    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A piece of pap.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    03/19/08
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    A moving evocation of an era and a heroic deed.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    02/20/08
    David Parkinson
    David Parkinson
    Empire Magazine

    The film is destined to box office approval of the most substantial character. It is finely made and merits high rating as cinema art and significant recognition as major showmanship.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    01/28/08
    John C. Flinn Sr.
    John C. Flinn Sr.
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This act of altruism on behalf of the brothers Warner was rewarded with the best picture Oscar for 1937; it isn't so much bad as utterly, magisterially bland.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    12/12/06
    Dave Kehr
    Dave Kehr
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    One of Warner's earnest biopics of great men, with good acting from Paul Muni in the lead and Joseph Schildkraut who won a Supporting Oscar for playing the wrongly accused Captain Alfred Dreyfus

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    11/16/06
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    A recurring theme among Oscar winners, Life of Emile Zola's anti-oppression topic rings loudly in the ears of all those who would use war as an excuse to abridge freedoms.

    Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
    10/10/06
    Wesley Lovell
    Wesley Lovell
    Oscar Guy

    The patchy, overly earnest screenplay as well as the typically shapeless direction of William Dieterle keep calcifying the movie into an arid diorama.

    Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
    08/20/06
    Nick Davis
    Nick Davis
    Nick's Flick Picks

    Carefully mounted, well directed and acted, but basically the sort of well-meaning pap out of which Oscars are made.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    The Life of Emile Zola may seem somewhat dated today, its methods and manner a little old-fashioned, and its style rather quaint.

    Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
    02/09/05
    Matt Bailey
    Matt Bailey
    Not Coming to a Theater Near You

    If you sit down to watch The Life of Emile Zola, skip the first third of the movie, because frankly, the beginning blows goats.

    Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    08/08/03
    Matt Easterbrook
    Matt Easterbrook
    Matt's Movie Reviews

    Along with George Arliss, Paul Muni was Hollywood's designated portrayer of Great Men.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    07/30/03
    TV Guide's Movie Guide
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The film finds its focus and its heart when Schildkraut is banished to Devil's Island, and then it can hardly be faulted.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    05/24/03
    Channel 4 Film
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A great and valuable and stirring film document.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    05/20/03
    Frank S. Nugent
    Frank S. Nugent
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Typical, solidly-mounted simplistic biopic from William Dieterle.

    comment Comment
    02/02/03
    Ken Hanke
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    The dialogue is perhaps overwritten, but moments are superb between Zola and his roommate artist Cezanne as they talk of government and injustices.

    Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
    07/03/02
    Michael Szymanski
    Michael Szymanski
    Zap2it.com

    This look at how screwed up the French legal system is can be harrowing.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    07/25/01
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    The strong story line is enhanced by intelligent dialogue and first rate performances by a stellar cast

    Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Arthur Lazere
    Arthur Lazere
    culturevulture.net

    A curiously uninvolving biopic.

    Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    MaryAnn Johanson
    MaryAnn Johanson
    Flick Filosopher
     
     
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