Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

evanston_dad Half biopic, half fictionalization of the famed Dreyfus affair, "The Life of Emile Zola" nabbed Warner Bros. its first Best Picture Academy Award in 1937.It's a handsome, intelligent production, even if it is a bit sanctimonious and heavy handed in its hagiography of Zola. I expected that from a film of this time period, though, so it didn't get in the way of my enjoyment. I had the same reaction to Paul Muni in the title role that I always have to his performances -- in his opening scenes I didn't know if I would be able to handle two hours of his eye-rolling, scenery-chewing overacting, but before very long, he had won me over and impressed me with his range. Joseph Schildkraut won the Best Supporting Actor award in what was only the second year for that category for his portrayal of Dreyfus. Gale Sondergaard plays Dreyfus's suffering wife the year after she won the very first Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in "Anthony Adverse." "The Life of Emile Zola" is an early example of how important the art of makeup is outside of monster movies in physically transforming actors into the characters they're playing.In addition to its wins for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, the film was awarded the Oscar for Best Screenplay. It received ten nominations total, which was a new nomination record at the time. The categories in which it was nominated but did not win were: Best Director (William Dieterle), Best Actor (Muni), Best Original Story, Best Assistant Director (Russ Saunders), Best Art Direction, Best Scoring, and Best Sound Recording.Grade: A-

mikegordan Okay, before I begin my review, here's a quick little correction I have to make regarding my Great Ziegfeld review...twice: This film is not a Musical. I apologize for the mix-up; they have 2 things in common: A similar-sounding title (I always got them mixed up), and a specific genre they supposedly share (again, I always got them mixed up). And that genre is the Biopic, or Character Study as it were.And speaking of which, it was actually better than I thought going into this thing, but I don't know if I'd call it good. I'd certainly watch it over Cavalcade or The Great Ziegfeld, but how many times? What is it about? Well, the title is quite self-explanatory in that light, only trimmed down for our benefit (unlike Ziegfeld), but the question one should ask in this case is, who is Emile Zola? Well, Emile Zola was a French Author and his prolific writing career, including his friendship with French painter Paul Cezanne, and his involvement in the Dreyfuss Affair in which (an espionage-related scandal during the Militarized state of 19th Century France) he plays a part in until his untimely death. There's more to the story, obviously, but if you're curious, you could do one of 2 things: Research on the matter yourself, or see the movie.Now is it worth seeing? Well, I'll get to that later. The movie is written okay, it is directed okay, heck, even the acting is pretty darn good for its time. I can at least see why it won Best Picture in 1937, and it is a rather important film in the Biopic genre as it led to the Academy's recognition of the genre in a serious light. The cinematography and art direction is pretty good too (for the time), but it at least does well in the most important elements of the Character Study: The acting and the writing. However, the film, while important, is quickly dwarfed 4 years later by a film regarded as the Best ever made (which I'll cover later).With all that said and done, I would probably only recommend this film to hardcore film buffs, fans of character studies as a whole, and those who might be interested in, in more ways than one, the actual life of Emile Zola. This film does have an audience to this day; in fact, back in 2000, it was one of 25 films selected by the National Film Registry for immortalization in the Library of Congress. So it's not like the film is awful or unwatchable. Personally, it's not my thing, but people like it okay, so why ruin it for others. Take it for what it's worth; I'll give it a 6 out of 10.

sme_no_densetsu "The Life of Emile Zola" won the Academy Award for best picture in 1937, thus earning Warner Bros. their first such honour. While ostensibly a biography, the film focuses mainly on Zola's involvement in the infamous Dreyfus affair, wherein he challenged the French government in an attempt to clear the name of a military officer falsely accused of treason.Of the three Oscars that the film won, perhaps the most significant was the award for best writing, screenplay. Co-writers Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg & Norman Reilly Raine may have taken a few liberties with the truth (which, frankly, is to be expected) but their script stays true to the spirit of the man and his outrage at the injustice perpetrated by the French military. While some have complained that the story is bland and over-earnest I found it compelling, perhaps in part because I wasn't familiar with the Dreyfus case except on a superficial level.Zola is portrayed by Paul Muni and I'd have to say that he did an excellent job. While some of his acting is a bit bold for today's tastes he nevertheless imbued his character with authenticity and passion. He justly received an Oscar nomination for his performance but Joseph Schildkraut did him one better by actually winning an Oscar for his supporting role as Captain Dreyfus. While I don't really recall anything that made him stand out I will say that the general level of acting on display was admirable.Longtime director William Dieterle garnered the only Oscar nomination of his career for his workmanlike direction here. The film was also recognized for its art direction, sound and score (by Max Steiner). In general, the film shows the polish of a serious production in all areas, a fact no doubt instrumental in landing the film its Best Picture Oscar.In conclusion, I found "The Life of Emile Zola" to be a satisfying film but I can understand why some deride it. It might have been better served by focusing solely on the Dreyfus affair but that would rob the film of important character development. In the end, what makes the film memorable to me is the passion in the writing and the acting that comes through on screen.

gpeevers A biography of sorts about the noted French author and journalist Émile Zola (Paul Muni) who is perhaps best remembered for his activism.The film recounts the bulk of Zola's life fairly quickly, beginning with the impoverished period of his life when he became friends with the painter Paul Cézanne. There are a few scenes involved with the publication of one of his best known works the novel Nana, and then we fairly quickly move forward to his involvement in the infamous Dreyfus affair. There is little to no discussion of Zola's other works or his journalism.The most important part of the film is Zola's impassioned defense of Captain Dreyfus a Jewish officer wrongly convicted of treason. Zola wrote an open letter to the French President to which the media attached the headline "J'accuse!" (I accuse!). For this Zola would be charged with libel and in the course of his defense he would attempt to expose to the world the truth behind the conviction of Dreyfus. The aspects of anti-Semitism in the case are barely acknowledged in the film.While I was impressed with the both performances and the production values (particularly for the period) of the film, I did find something lacking. Perhaps its simply the fact that there have been so many great court room dramas produced subsequently.Paul Muni gives a powerful and effective performance though his style may appear dated to some. Over the course of the film Zola's appearance changes considerably and Muni does an impressive job of virtually disappearing into the role. Muni had one the Oscar in the previous year (for another biographical role in The Story of Louis Pasteur) and would be nominated another 4 times as well, including for this role.