Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

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.

Hitchcoc I really like this film. Paul Muni plays the consummate hero in this as he does everything within his power to overturn the conviction of Alfred Dreyfus, whose only crime was being Jewish. The man who actually committed the crime was out enjoying himself with his freedom intact. Despite every effort of the French military getting in the way of his efforts, he never gives in, even though his status as the most popular author in France is at stake. What started out as an effort to simply approach the law becomes his life's work. This case became one of the most high profile in European history. The reason the movie pulled punches, however, was because Dreyfus was a Jew but most didn't want to recognize the oppression. Of course, Hitler was plying his trade.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . that Capt. Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish victim of French Anti-Semitism, of which Emile Zola was keenly aware in Real Life. THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA won the "Best Picture" Oscar DESPITE totally ignoring this crucial fact, because the voters sensed that Warner Bros. was NOT offering a flick primarily about Dreyfus, or even title character Zola himself. Rather, ZOLA actually was about Hitler's Coming Storm, the threat posed by the Trilaterals and their lackeys making up the Military\Industrial Complex, as well as the millstone around America's neck--that is, an out-dated, Racist 18th Century U.S. Constitution even then (in 1937) really showing its age. "Let there be a trial in the full light of day!" thunders Zola in court, calling for that deeply-flawed original Racist Museum Piece to be Repealed and Replaced at a (perfectly legal) Constitutional Convention. "The Army is the People of America Themselves!" Zola observes, when you substitute the USA for Warner's proxy term, "France." This means that if our so-called military and law enforcement establishment is going to ignore their oaths to defend America against ALL enemies--foreign AND domestic--then its up to We Civilians to take up the slack. "The Truth is on the march, and NOTHING WILL STOP IT!!" shouts Zola, as Warner's way of warning us that even if U.S. Supreme Court Justices sitting in stolen seats need to be PELICAN BRIEFED, so be it. In Real Life, the Dreyfus Affair--which covered up for members of the French High Command colluding with their Natural Enemies, the Germans--led directly to the success of Hitler's Blitzkrieg, the Fall of Paris, and the murder of almost every French Jew. Clairvoyant Warner, an American Institution of warning prognostications, sees this as a perfect parallel to General Traitor Michael Flynn collaborating with America's Natural Enemy, Red Commie KGB Strongman Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin, to rig the 2016 U.S. Election. Shooting Flynn by firing squad will NOT be enough to save America now. It's up to each one of We Union Party Normal Patriotic Loyal Americans to stand up and echo ZOLA by shouting "I Accuse!" until EVERY die-hard Trumpster is deported to Canada!

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.