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Original title: Life of Emile Zola, The
DVD Release Date
• R1: Feb 1, 2005
Running Time
1 hour, 56 minutes
Country USA
Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures
Studio Franco London Films, Warner Brothers
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
• Das Leben Emile Zolas (1937)
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Genre: Drama, Biography, Courtroom, Military, Prostitution, Prison
Tagline: He'll Hold You In Silence As Deep As Your Emotions !
Plot: 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.
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| Directed by |
William Dieterle
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Portrait of Jennie, The Devil and Daniel Webster |
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| Cast |
Paul Muni
Scarface, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, The Good Earth |
 | | | | Donald Crisp
The Birth of a Nation, How Green Was My Valley, Mutiny on the Bounty | | John Litel
Houseboat, The Sons of Katie Elder, Jezebel | |
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| Music By |
Max Steiner
Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Arsenic and Old Lace |
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