The life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola (original title: The Life of Emile Zola ) is a 1937 film directed by William Dieterle . The film tells the life story of the French writer and journalist Émile Zola and in particular his appearance in the Dreyfus affair . The Life of Emile Zola received the Oscar for Best Picture in 1938 .
action
At the beginning of the film, Zola lives with his friend, the painter Paul Cézanne , in a poor Paris attic. By chance he meets the prostitute Nana, who is on the run from the police after a raid. This inspires him to write his novel Nana , which is about the dark side of Parisian society and quickly becomes a bestseller. More successful books follow and Zola attains literary fame and prosperity. After marrying Alexandrine, they live together in a comfortable villa. One day his old friend Cézanne, who is still unknown and poor, visits him and wants to leave Paris. Cézanne accuses Zola of having become complacent through his success and is no longer the zealous reformer of his youth. In addition to his personal life and his rise to become a famous man, the film primarily focuses on Zola's late life and his role in the Dreyfus affair :
A French secret agent intercepts a letter addressed to a high-ranking German officer. The letter shows that a high-ranking French officer is working as a spy for the Germans. Without much thinking or questioning, the French officers decide that the Jewish army captain Alfred Dreyfus is the traitor. Dreyfus is banished to Devil's Island as the victim of an intrigue . Later, the new head of the secret service, Picquart, discovered evidence that it was not Dreyfus but Major Walsin-Esterhazy who was the spy. However, Picquart is ordered by his superiors to remain silent about the new evidence and is soon transferred to another post. At the request of Dreyfus' honorable wife, Lucie, Emile Zola eventually takes over the captain's case, despite worries about his respected reputation and comfortable life, saying that his days as a fighter are over. But Lucie keeps getting new evidence, which now also makes Zola believe in Dreyfus' innocence.
By publishing his article " J'accuse ", Zola takes a stand and brings evidence against the high-ranking military. These incite a mob from which Zola can only escape with difficulty. He is defamed in public and eventually charged. His lawyer Maitre Labori tries his best, but the Dreyfus affair is not allowed to be talked about during the trial and only numerous officers who lie under perjury appear as witnesses , only Picquart cannot testify with perjury and is accused of lying. Zola gives a fiery defense speech in court, but is found guilty for one year in prison and has to flee to London . There, however, he continues his fight in the judicial scandal. Finally, a new military leadership establishes Dreyfus' innocence and almost all those responsible lose their offices, are arrested or commit suicide; only the real traitor Ferdinand Walsin-Esterházy can escape. Zola is rehabilitated and returns to Paris, now more respected than ever. Dreyfus is also set free.
The evening before Dreyfus is brought back to his old rank in a ceremony, Zola writes late in the evening. He inhales toxic gases from his clogged chimney and dies of carbon monoxide intoxication .
Production notes
The source material for the script was Zola and His Time by Matthew Josephson. The film was shot from March 8 to May 14, 1937 at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank. Anton Grot acted as production designer . It premiered on August 11, 1937 in the Hollywood Theater, New York, and was released on October 2, 1937. In Germany, the film was first shown on January 11, 1964 on ZDF .
reception
The life of Emile Zola can be included in the many biopic pictures that were made in Hollywood in the 1930s.
At the time of its creation, the biography film was a great success, both with critics and audiences. Only in France was the film banned. Because the French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier was of the opinion that the film would "harm the honor of the French army", he was withdrawn from the official selection for the 1938 Venice Film Festival. Even today, the film receives largely positive reviews, so it was included in the National Film Registry in 2000 and classified as particularly worth preserving.
“Not a portrait oriented towards historical and intellectual history, but superficially entertaining; great in the interpretation of the main role. "
A critical voice for the film came in 2013 from the American critic David Denby . He criticized the fact that the clearly anti-Semitic attitudes towards Dreyfus are not mentioned and ignored in the film. That would have protected oneself from the growing Nazi regime in Germany.
Honors
- Best movie
- Best Supporting Actor : Joseph Schildkraut
- Best original script : Heinz Herald, Géza Herczeg and Norman Reilly Raine
-
nominated:
- Best Actor : Paul Muni
- Best score : Max Steiner
- Best production design : Anton Grot
- Best assistant director : Russ Saunders
- Best director : William Dieterle
- Best note : Nathan Levinson
- Best original story : Heinz Herald and Géza Herczeg
- Inclusion in the 2000 National Film Registry
Web links
- The Life of Emile Zola in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilhelm (William) Dieterle - actor, director . In: CineGraph - Lexikon zum Deutschsprachigen Film , Lg. 22, F 24 f.
- ↑ George Whyte: The Dreyfus Affair. The power of prejudice. Frankfurt am Main 2010, p. 423.
- ↑ The life of Emile Zola. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 30, 2017 .
- ↑ David Denby, "Hitler in Hollywood," The New Yorker, September 16, 2013