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

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

clanciai This is probably both William Dieterle's and Paul Muni's best film. It is monumental in its towering pathos of justice, which actually reduces Zola to a mere second character, while the central character is the awesome Dreyfus affair with its character assassination by intentional gross injustice. It was the greatest judicial scandal in the 19th century and perhaps in history, and it is very well presented in the film, especially by minor details, as the scenes from Devil's Island, when Dreyfus fettered to his bed (for security) tries to read Zola's book under his bed and finds it infested with insects, and when his release is illustrated by his incredulousness, walking out of his cell again and again, and returning in to walk out once again.The first quarter of the film is the weakest and least historically correct, "Nana" was far from Zola's first literary success and actually only a minor novel compared to "Gervaise" and "Germinal" for instance, which are not even mentioned. The last three quarters of the film are all about the Dreyfus affair, crowned with Zola's glowing articles and speeches in court, splendidly delivered by Paul Muni, well aware of what opportunity he had here to excel himself in acting and making more than the best of it.All other actors are excellent as well and startlingly convincing every one of them, from Esterhazy and the generals to the ladies and wives, while Cézanne alone is a little shadowy.It's a tremendous film, I saw it as a child 55 years ago and have never forgotten it, and at last I found an opportunity to see it again, and it was exactly equally impressing and moving. William Dieterle made many excellent films, he was German and worked with Murnau, Max Reinhardt, Marlene Dietrich (co-director with Reinhardt in the glorious "Midsummer Night's Dream") and finalized his career in Hollywood with unsurpassed gems like "Love Letters" and "Portrait of Jennie" with Jennifer Jones. They are very different from his great biopics of the 30s, of which this Dreyfus film is the towering masterpiece.

The_Film_Cricket The Life of Emile Zola tells a compelling story, but it has a title that is not exactly accurate. This is not a story of the life of Emile François Zola, the 19th century writer who railed against the injustices in his native France in books like "Nana" and "Germinal." Actually it is the specific story of the trial and injustice done to Alfred Dreyfuss, the blameless officer of the French army who spent 4 years confined to Devil's Island on trumped up charges of treason. Zola's part in his trial is small at best.In all honesty, this is probably best. Zola (played here in an Oscar nominated performance by Paul Muni) was a figure whose writing was filled with fire and energy, but displaying the writing process on screen is a bit difficult, not to mention dull. Zola speaks of his philosophies and then we see the line-up of his books (which is meaningless if you haven't read them), we see eager patrons buying up copies while others rail against Zola for spreading slander against France.Most of this takes place in the film's opening as we meet the young Zola, a poor Frenchman shivering in the cold while his blood boils over the injustices from a cruel and indifferent government more interested in its image then in its citizens. He shares a drafty attic with his lifelong friend, the post-impressionist painter Paul Cézanne (Vladimir Sokoloff). Their friendship is hardly explored and is probably more interesting than any other aspect of his life.Zola's story takes a backseat once Dreyfus is arrested on a charge of treason. A letter is intercepted and suspicions run that an unidentified officer in the French Army is a spy. The top brass run down the list of possible suspects and only draw Dreyfus' name because he is easy to accuse (the film very quickly and quietly points out the fact that he was chosen as a scapegoat because he was Jewish). Dreyfus is arrested, run through a kangaroo court, stripped of rank and given a life sentence on Devil's Island off the coast of French Guyana in South America.Zola's role in the trial is meager at beast. We see the trial being conducted, in the which judge continually silences the defense and keeps them from presenting key evidence that would prove Dreyfus to be innocent. Emile Zola's role in the trial it to sit by in the courtroom until it is his turn to give the closing statement.The story of The Dreyfus affair is far more interesting than anything we learn about Emile Zola. Paul Muni occupies the title role and he does a fine job, but his interpretation of Zola is mainly just a man of good faith and common sense who spoke softly and ran for his pen when a mood struck him. His performance is nearly identical to that one he played a year earlier in The Story of Louis Pasteur. We don't really get to know the inner-man so much as just the red letter details of his life. We do get the information that he was initially uninterested in speaking on Dreyfus' behalf but there is hardly any real reason. As for Dreyfus, we never get to know him either. We see him unjustly arrested, tried, convicted and jailed. A few times we see him in his cell, but there is never a sense of who the man was outside of his circumstances.Still the movie is compelling in its portrait of how the French government was able to hide facts, silence witnesses and overlook evidence. This may or may not be factual but it makes for an interesting story. It is possible that the story was written with the current world situation in mind. At the outbreak of World War II, with the Nazis bulldozing all over Europe, the story of injustice and government corruption couldn't have been timelier

alangalpert This is an extraordinary picture, with wonderful performances. It should be seen by anyone who likes a good drama, but especially by someone who is unfamiliar with the Dreyfus Affair, as it was called. My only complaint is that the title is somewhat misleading. We don't learn a great deal about Zola's life, except that he shared an apartment in Paris with Paul Cezanne, wrote his first major novel about a prostitute he befriended when she was running from the police, was a champion of the poor and downtrodden, and became wealthy from his many books. Eighty-five minutes of the two hour long movie is devoted to the Dreyfus case and Zola's involvement with it, so the title should have reflected that.Paul Muni deserved to win an Oscar for his performance, which he didn't, although he was nominated. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, as well.

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.