A moving evocation of an era and a heroic deed.
Comment
02/20/08
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
68 %
Reviews Counted: 19 Fresh: 13 Rotten:6 Average Rating: 6.8/10
Consensus:
Well-written, well-meaning and solidly acted, the film may ultimately be more earnest than interesting.
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
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 is its evasiveness regarding the anti-Semitism that led to the terrible injustice of the... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Paul Muni, Joseph Schildkraut, Gale Sondergaard, Gloria Holden, Donald Crisp
Reviews
1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top Critic
Carefully mounted, well directed and acted, but basically the sort of well-meaning pap out of which Oscars are made.
06/24/06
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.
05/24/03
Top Critic
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.
01/28/08
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.
12/12/06
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
11/16/06
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.
10/10/06
The patchy, overly earnest screenplay as well as the typically shapeless direction of William Dieterle keep calcifying the movie into an arid diorama.
08/20/06
The Life of Emile Zola may seem somewhat dated today, its methods and manner a little old-fashioned, and its style rather quaint.
02/09/05
If you sit down to watch The Life of Emile Zola, skip the first third of the movie, because frankly, the beginning blows goats.
08/08/03
Along with George Arliss, Paul Muni was Hollywood's designated portrayer of Great Men.
07/30/03
Top Critic Top Critic
The dialogue is perhaps overwritten, but moments are superb between Zola and his roommate artist Cezanne as they talk of government and injustices.
07/03/02
This look at how screwed up the French legal system is can be harrowing.
07/25/01
The strong story line is enhanced by intelligent dialogue and first rate performances by a stellar cast
01/01/00
1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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