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Fred Zinnemann's last great movie. Based on part of Lillian Hellman's memoir, the film stars Jane Fonda as Hellman as she recounts her friendship with the enigmatic JULIA, played by Vanessa Redgrave. Fonda is a bit too pretty to be entirely convincing as the homely Hellman, but she gives a gutsy performance, playing well with Redgrave and, to a greater degree, Jason Robards, who plays Dashell Hammett. Alvin Sargent's screenplay cleverly bends time, jumping back and forth as the story of Hellman's friendship with Julia is told. Zinnemann creates a melancholy feel that's sustained throughout. The movie has a deliberate pace not usually allowed in Hollywood. The excellent music by Georges Delerue is haunting and the cinematography by the under-appreciated Douglas Slocombe is beautiful. The supporting cast features Maximillian Schell, Cathleen Nesbitt as Julia's grandmother, Meryl Streep, Rosemary Murphy as Dorothy Parker and Hal Holbrook as Parker's husband Alan Campbell. They're all terrific with the exception of Holbrook, who tries to convey a witty raconteur, but only makes Campbell out to be a real jerk.

Most remarkable, to me, about "Julia" is the understated acting of Vanessa Redgrave. For the amount of time she's on the screen, one would not assume her to be worthy of an Academy Award nomination, let alone the Oscar itself (1977, Best Supporting Actress). But there is something about that marvelous, tension-filled scene in the Berlin restaurant that comes across as nothing short of superior. Much the same can be said of Jason Robards as Dashiell Hammett, i.e. understated and short, and he, too, got the equivalent Oscar, rightfully outpointing co-star Maximillian Schell. What I had supposed would be a "chick flick" faux-biopic turned out to be a gripping drama on the highest order worth four stars from me.

Just cast an eye at the credits (Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Maximillian Schell, Hal Holbroke, Meryl Streep, John Glover and others directed by Fred Zinneman in a story by Lillian Hellman) and you know this film is worth seeing. It delivers fabulous performances by some of the best actors of our time, in a carefully -- yeah, sumptuously -- produced film directed by one of Hollywood's most respected veterans, based on a narrative by a gifted dramatist and tale-spinner.

The screenplay blends the two longest episodes in Lillian Hellman's PENTIMENTO, the third, most engaging, and most imaginative of her memoirs. It traces the (largely factual) struggle of Hellman to develop her talents as a playwright under the tutelage of her long-time lover, Dashiell Hammett, and the (largely fictional) course of her friendship with an anti-Nazi activist. The character of Julia seems to be part fantasy, part composite of women Hellman admired.

The film suffers from this blend of fact and fiction and even more from the episodic nature of the intermixed stories. In addition (and to its credit), it does not minimize Hellman's famously abrasive personality. But the characters are so compelling, the performances so outstanding, and the pacing so canny that it holds the viewer's interest for a full two hours.

A flawed but fascinating flick!

A brilliantly acted masterpiece that thrives on a long time personal conflict many have with idealism versus self indulgence. Lillian Hellman, played by Jane Fonda, is unable to celebrate the thrill of her life time, success as a Broadway writer, as she looks at what's going on in the world, and attempts to ease her conscious by being drawn into European resistance by her longtime friend. Jason Robards plays Dashiell Hammett, her personal success encouragement. Vanessa Redgrave is her friend Julia, the other side of her personal dilemma. Also, the sets are exquisite. The acting is top notch.

"Lillian Hellman in her own mind owned half the Spanish Civil War, while Hemingway owned the other half. She would portray herself in situations that were not true. An extremely talented, brilliant writer, but she was a phony character, I'm sorry to say. My relations with her were very guarded and ended in pure hatred." This is a quote from Fred Zinneman--the man who directed "Julia" and who, apparently, was angry that this supposedly true story turned out to be a fabrication by Hellman. The story behind "Julia" is from "Pentimento"--a fictional memoir (how can you have a FICTIONAL memoir?) by Hellman which was published in 1973. This is because although Hellman described the events as having happened to her, according to several sources, they apparently occurred to another woman, Muriel Gardner.

Despite the story most likely being a lie, the film itself is quite well made. The location shooting was quite nice and Jane Fonda (as Hellman) and the director did very well. It's odd, then, that Oscars went to Jason Robards and Vanessa Redgrave (Julia), as both (particularly Redgrave) were barely in the film. Additionally, Maximillian Schell was nominated even though his role was minuscule in the film (as one reviewer said, he was nominated for 'eating eggs'). Overall, a taut and lovely story. Too bad it's just not real--especially since Hellman's story practically portrays her as a saint!!

Friendships and love. Memory and longing. A film that lets you dwell without forcing you to. The story, a true account, told by Lillian Hellman in "Pentimento" was debased by one of Hellman's fans that became her assistant. Imagine. Trying to destroy your mentor. Real or imaginary the story lived in Hellman's heart and mind. Fred Zinnemann created a world for the story to acquire a true human dimension. A triumph. Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave are extraordinary as the inseparable childhood friends, Lilli and Julia. Jason Robards, is utterly wonderful as Dashiell Hammett. The film is also the first for Meryl Streep in a short, very short but memorable character. The script by Alvin Sargent, magnificent. Highly recommended.

Till now, Fred Zinnerman's "Julia" was for me that film that earned Vanessa Redgrave that very Oscar that inspired the infamous speech where the use of two specific words made the audience gasp in horror... and prompted Paddy Chayefsky to retort with the sharpness of tone he'd made a reputation of.

I'm mentioning this incident because it preceded my viewing for at least one decade and it was so prevalent in my memory that I kept looking for signs of subversions within Redgrave's character or performance... surely a role that ignited such a fire had to be polemical in its core. There had to be something about that Julia.

Well, I saw "Julia" and let me say it is a puzzling movie, quite literally in fact, the plot is structured like a jigsaw puzzle whose final picture is not just that eponymous Julia that keeps popping in Lillian's memory in well-placed flashbacks but also the source of that deep friendship. A friendship that was one encounter away from true love, one that wouldn't have been too subversive during the roaring twenties or in the pre-Nazi Vienna or Berlin.

Anyway, "Julia" could as well be titled "Julia and Lillian" and it's a shame that a film about two fascinating women couldn't allow us to reach any of them. But the film couldn't have been a failure even if it wanted to, for even the intellectual type of movie lover can't be insensible to the beautiful art-direction, a great rendition of the 30s like a sort of miniaturized version of a Lean epic and naturally, the performances.

The cast includes Jane Fonda who plays the famous writer Lillian Herman (author of "The Little Foxes"), Jason Robards is Dash Hammett, her companion (author of "The Maltese Falcon") and Vanessa Redgrave is the mysterious Julia preceded by a shadow of mystery. Maximilian Shell also makes a great impact in a role that only consists of three scenes. All these actors would be Oscar-nominated with Robards taking the other Oscar, although that win made much less noise.

It's a real shame that a film that invested so much talent could lose its way in a needlessly non-linear structure and fail to provide the very insights we expect from a movie dealing with the kind of people (I mean, writers) who expect to bring some three-dimensionality in their creations. The treatment clearly has a pretension of depth but it's very ironic that the screenplay from Alvin Sargeant, the third Oscar win of the film, is perhaps the least deserved.

Indeed, Julia, the very Julia that drives the action and gives a meaning to Lillian's constant torments, is never portrayed outside the realm of sheer idealization or victimization until it culminates with martyrdom. It's one of the few instances I can recall of a story where the subject is an object. And so we see Julia all right but not the real Julia, either from the POV of a friend who admired her deeply or during crucial moments where she follows rules.

We first see her as a young bourgeois girl (Lisa Pelikan) sharing her dreams with her friend (Susan Jones), then a medical student joining the Popular Front against the rise of fascism and later a mastermind of some secret operations, which forces her to spoil the only moment she has with Lillian, set at the present time and where both can communicate. Julia is cruelly two-dimensional, because even when we see her, we get the representation of Julia through Lillian's eyes, and the woman is never allowed to reveal the depths of her persona, why she joined the fight? What was her feelings? Her role simply shuts her down and entraps her in a range made of only two expressions: dignified resilience or resigned suffering.

The irony is that Jane Fonda, on the other hand, covers richer areas, she's selfish, ego-driven, ambitious, nervous, petty, enjoys being famous, throws a typewriter off the window out of exasperation, seeking compliments from her lover, she's so opposite to Julia that she's in fact more accessible, more real, rounded and natural... but even Fonda seems to be wasted in a role that blocks her impulses and give her no latitude to expand her characters except for that brief mission between Russia and Moscow that seems like a long build up to a climax that never happens.

That said, it's a pleasure to watch Jane Fonda and her interactions with Jason Robards are one of the film's highlights. I wonder though what prompted the Academy to make him win his second Oscar for a role that is basically the same than "All the President's Men". I know there's a lot of Oscar trivia involved in the film, which makes it all the more fitting that it's the debut of the most Oscar-nominated star ever: Meryl Streep.

Now, I said the film would please the intellectual type, I'm afraid the little shortcomings in the narrative structure might disappoint those who expect more 'punch' from a film that denounces the horrors of the Nazi regime, in other words, they might find the film boring... and as much as I didn't have trouble following it, it's true this is one of these period pieces forgotten like "Ragtime", "Tess" or "Reds".

I said it's ironic that a film about such fascinating women couldn't allow us to reach any of them, but in a way that echoes how strangely reality can work, it's also ironic that two women known for their radical views couldn't bring to the screen that very life that inhabit their roles... in fact, the film could have worked better if that "Julia" was half as interesting as the same Redgrave who made that speech.

To rediscover Julia in 2017 is an absolute thrill. It was thrilling the first time round but, as it happens, nine times out of ten, thrills don't travel well. Here is the exception. Time, through Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave has added an extra coat of guts and truth. They were magnificent then and they are magnificent now. As actresses, as women. The friendship of Lilli and Julia is a landmark of historical, artistic and human proportions. Fred Zinnemann, the director, clearly knew what he was dealing with, brilliantly. Julia also counts with the extraordinary Jason Robards as Dashiel Hammett and, my goodness, Meryl Streep! in a small but memorable part, making her film debut. I believe this is one of those rare films that will be relevant for ever.

This is a nice thriller with full story. The two girlfriends with one apparently a lesbian, unknowingly. But then again maybe not. Only a great love.

The acting is first class all through. Many actors in big and small roles are very well known now and even are still working in 2022 !!

We can follow a very believable story during the war with the Nazis. We can feel the danger and the tension all the way through. The conclusion is appropriate and exactly how people were feeling at the time. Rage and frustration were common.

A very nicely shot film that deserves the praises it receives. And with heroic women already.

The story of Julia is taken from Pentimento the second of three volumes of memoirs by American playwright Lillian Hellman. Hellman who was still alive at the time this film was made surely must have been flattered by what Jane Fonda and the rest of the cast did with an intimate and painful portion of her life.

Lillian Hellman was a radical and unorthodox character in her life and times. She was the first major American writer to bring a lesbian theme to the stage in The Children's Hour. What she gives us in Julia is a look at her life and how she was able to create the characters of Karen and Martha the schoolteachers from The Children's Hour.

In this story Karen and Martha are Jane Fonda as Lillian Hellman and Vanessa Redgrave as her most intimate friend Julia. Both are Jewish, but Redgrave is British and Hellman is American. Their destinies seeming to be fated for togetherness are driven apart as Julia decides to go to university in Vienna to study under Sigmund Freud.

But while Hellman struggles to create a play under the tutelage of lover and mentor Dashiell Hammett as played by Jason Robards, Jr., Julia gets herself involved in the anti-fascist activities in an Austria already preparing for Anschluss. While Hellman is visiting Julia sustains some very serious injuries during a Nazi inspired riot.

As the story continues Hellman meets great acclaim with her first major hit which turns out to be The Children's Hour, but her communications from Julia become more and more infrequent and somewhat bizarre. Then she's asked on another trip to smuggle money into the Third Reich to aid Julia and others fleeing Hitler's tyranny.

Director Fred Zinneman who was also a refugee from the Anschluss of Austria knew his subject well. He successfully transfers his memories and visions of a frightened people with good reason to be frightened. Fonda's American experience doesn't prepare her for this, but as Hellman she adapts to the environment well for her survival. Her budding celebrity no doubt helps insure her survival.

But the one you will remember is Vanessa Redgrave who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Julia. The last scene of her and Fonda together at a Berlin train stop café is no doubt what won her the Oscar. It will haunt you long after you've seen the film.

Julia won two other Oscars, one for Best Screenplay adapted from another source and Best Supporting Actor for Jason Robards, Jr. as Dashiell Hammett. Sharing sex, literature, and politics wasn't enough for the Hammett/Hellman duo, Robards as Hammett knows well that he runs second as will anyone else in Fonda's life to her lost Julia. But he's secure enough to realize it and enjoy what he has.

Maximilian Schell was also up for Best Supporting Actor in a small, but vital role as an anti-Nazi German who gives cryptic guiding instructions to Fonda on her last visit to Julia. It's through him that the fright of the opposition is seen mostly. Meryl Streep made her screen debut as an upper class snob of a friend that Fonda has and Strepp has a brother in John Glover. Glover specializes in portrayals of truly hateful people on the big and small screen. He confesses a breaking a major taboo to Fonda while drunk and then snickers at her relationship with Redgrave. Jane handles him appropriately.

Julia was also up for a flock of other Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director for Fred Zinneman and Best Actress for Jane Fonda. It's a beautiful and haunting film about Lillian Hellman writing from the heart about a lost love.

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman (Jane Fonda) undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

Somehow this ended up winning three awards at the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor for Jason Robards, Best Supporting Actress for Vanessa Redgrave, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Alvin Sargent's script. Must have been a slow year.

Although this is not a bad film, it suffers from being a load of baloney. The original author made up this tale to make herself look daring and brave, but in reality she had no connection to the events and was a complete fraud. If we accept he story as a story, it is pretty good, but because the film uses all the "real" names, it sort of rewrites history for the worst.

A fairly glossy, good-looking period film, with apt sets and costumes as one would expect, and a haunting atmosphere thanks to some excellent bits of music, the film is nevertheless jarred by the way it changes tone. It begins as a drama, but then it turns into a thriller in the second half, and does not really revert back. This leaves open the question of whether there was any point to the first half of the film at all. It does not help to understand the characters any better, and in fact they all seem rather shallow the whole time. Jane Fonda has some good moments, but she also has a tendency to go over-the-top now and again. Robards and Redgrave won Oscars for their performances, but it is hard to see why against the other nominees. The best acting moments belong to Maximilian Schell as the mysterious Mr. Johann, but Susan Jones, who plays Fonda's character as a youth, also deserves a mention. The train sequences are admittedly exciting, but the scenes that are shown before the film there are only questionably necessary. It is not a great film overall, but it is a good one.

Muddled and pointless drama that really should have been titled Lillian. Fred Zinneman's film is beautifully edited, scored, and photographed, and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, but it's a vapid and self important film that's missing a core. Fonda is miscast as Hellman and she has no character to play and the scenes of Hellman writing, smoking, and drinking are flat and clichéd, as are the scenes between Lillian and Dashiell Hammett. And Julia and Lillian occupy little screen time together hence the basis for their relationship must be assumed. Supporting Oscar winner Jason Robards is typically gruff and Redgrave's Julia is all luminosity. Redgrave won the Oscar for supporting actress, and her controversial acceptance speech is really the most notable thing about Julia. The centerpiece of the film really milks Lillian's smuggling money into Nazi Germany for all the cloak and dagger it's worth, and it's really the only interesting thing about Julia or Lillian.

JULIA is a fine film. Fonda as Hellman is very good as is Robards as Dashell Hammett. But the real prize is the performance of Vanessa Redgrave as Julia. Though her part is small she is absolutely glowing as Julia. Her face is very radiant and she projects so much with her eyes. She is a great actress indeed.

This was one of the best pictures I had ever seen when it was first released, and after almost thirty years, I still think so, especially after watching the steady decline in quality of product that the film industry has turned out since.

Gorgeously photographed, costumed and written, with some of the finest acting on film, "Julia" succeeds in capturing the texture and truly world shattering issues of a time and place, Europe between the wars and on the brink of cataclysm. Everything about it shines, from the scenes of childhood in flashback to the suspenseful and tense train trip, I watch this film over and over waiting for one scene: the scene between Fonda and Redgrave in the Berlin restaurant. I just saw it again two hours ago and once again I was in awe of the acting, from both stars, some of the finest work of their careers, the direction of the scene and the spare, intense writing.

Whether the story itself was factual or not (Hellman might just have made it all up!) it works on so many levels that it's still worthy, and its truth or falsity just doesn't matter.

Julia (1977) Starring Jane Fonda as playwright Lillian Hellman and Vanessa Redgrave (controversially winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) as a longtime childhood friend. Meryl makes the most of her miniscule part as an upper-class snob acquaintance of Ms. Fonda's. Basically it's a story of a friendship. Redgrave's character, born into privilege, becomes part of the Resistance movement in World War II torn Europe while Fonda fights her own political battles in America while becoming a famous playwright.

The story focuses on an episode near the end of the friends' lives, when Fonda goes to Europe to visit Redgrave, now completely consumed in underground resistance activities and (summoning up bravery of her own) smuggles in money to support the underground movement.

The movie succeeds on several levels. The cinematography, though shot in color, successfully evokes a world of muddied browns, shadows and murkiness. The screenplay, based on Hellman's own memoir is translated well, capitalizing on Hellman's unique talent for imbuing simple moments with heroic significance. The personal drama of the friendship is heightened against the intrigue and always threatening possibilities of war.

Julia provides a rare opportunity to see two female characters conducting their lives not as appendages of men, but as independent protagonists. Furthermore, social relationships, both on a personal and political level, are presented, for a change, from a woman's point of view. Though not a Streep showcase, it is a compelling movie that will haunt you.

Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave continued their streak of formidable roles with "Julia". Lillian Hellman (Jane Fonda) was childhood friends with affluent Julia (Vanessa Redgrave). Julia has since abandoned her wealth and devoted her life to fighting Fascism. She is currently helping the resistance movements in Europe. Lillian decides to bring some American currency to help Julia in her struggles. While in Europe, she can certainly see the imprint of Nazism.

This movie does a masterful job not only showing the takeover by the Nazis, but it also puts some other things in perspective. Since I saw it a few days before the US invaded Iraq, I got the feeling of a similarity in that way. Maybe the fact that someone in my dormitory was playing a somber song on the piano (it may have been the "Schindler's List" theme music) also contributed to that. But either way, the perfect direction, script, cinematography, and performances by Fonda and Redgrave, plus Jason Robards Jr as Dashiell Hammett and Maximilian Schell as Julia's friend Johann, make this a perfect movie.

Jane Fonda gives a tough, fierce performance as chain-smoking writer Lillian Hellman, working on her breakthrough play "The Children's Hour" while harking back on her friendship with a political-minded woman-friend who once involved her in treacherous anti-Nazi activities in the 1930s. Adapted from Hellman's short story (part of her book "Pentimento"), yet filled with arty pretensions and unrealized relationships. Jason Robards won a Supporting Oscar for his flashy performance as Hellman's lover, writer Dashiell Hammett, and Vanessa Redgrave also took a statue as the luminous friend, Julia. Still, it is Fonda's energy and amusing drive that keeps the film on track (her outbursts at the typewriter are especially memorable, and perfectly captured). The picture is handsome to a fault, but too long and occasionally inert. Look fast for Meryl Streep in her film debut. **1/2 from ****

Julia is a story of friendship and courage between two women whose relationship is tested by the rise of fascism prior to World War II. The story centers around Lillian who is a struggling writer working on a play as she recalls memories of her childhood friend, Julia, who rebelled against her wealthy family to become a progressive radical. Over the years, as Julia became politically active, the friends see a lot less of each other. Lillian always keeps Julia in her thoughts, and they meet when they can, but the rise of fascism pulls them apart, but also brings them closer together. Lillian never fully understands Julia's political ideology or why she risks so much to fight for her ideals, but when she is called to aid in an effort to resist the Nazis by smuggling funds into Germany on Julia's behalf, she rises to the challenge. Julia is a charismatic figure, and despite only appearing on screen for a few minutes, Vanessa Redgrave's performance is inspiring, making us want to see more of her, just as Lillian wishes to. Jane Fonda plays Lillian in this beautifully crafted film by Fred Zinnemann about the power of friendship to help us rise above our fears and to do more than we think we are capable in the face of great danger.

Although the movie was nominated for 11 Oscars and ended up winning 3, there is not much mentioning of it nowadays, it is seldom on TV etc. My guess is due to the script and topic approach - since 1990ies, there have been so many strong movies about Nazi Germany, resistance to it, fate of Jews, etc, that Julia has became timeworn. The really catchy part of the movie is the smuggling train trip from Paris to Russia via Germany, the rest is so-so, often too trivial and/or insipid. At least to me as man, as the movie had strong focus on women's issues and comprehensions.

Jane Fonda as Lilian Hellman is really great, it was strange that she did not receive an Oscar for such a big and strong role; Vanessa Redgrave as Julia and Jason Robards as Dashiell Hammett (who received this award for supporting roles) were good as well, but they spent rather limited time on screen.

All in all, a good watch, but not among the greatest Oscar winners.

Oscar-festooned as it was, I found my expectations of this film, greatly lowered by my viewing experience. For all its A-List credentials, Fred Zinneman as director, Fonda, Redgrave, Robards and Schell in the leads, I found it a turgid experience.

I've actually for many years been an admirer of Hellman's writings (as well as that of her "beau", the hard-living crime-writer Dashiell Hammett), which should have added an extra piquancy to an on the surface anyway, interesting story, but really this was a film which thinks that lots of pauses and meaningless scenes, no matter how beautifully shot or professionally acted, add up to a convincing drama.

In truth the film would have been better called "Lillian" as it's Fonda's character who's barely ever off the screen and whose struggle to write her first play hardly seems the stuff of a major plot device. And so we're presented with her adventure in war-threatened Europe ostensibly seeking out her conscience-stricken poor little rich girl childhood friend Julia, played by Vanessa Redgrave (perfect casting there!) and a drawn-out train journey to Berlin opposite two other females who may or may not be on her side. For me however, I found almost no tension in said journey nor did I get any sense of dramatic relief when she fulfils her mission and briefly meets up with a now battle-scarred Julia in a bar.

The period recreation is fine, the performances competent enough, although hardly Oscar worthy, indeed Fonda's face seemingly displays only two expressions throughout - fraught and confused.

Quite what the point of the film was I'm not sure, its focus blurred between a celebration of a heroic life in dangerous times, a remembrance of a devoted friendship or an examination of artistic creativity. For me it accomplished none of these and must be judged a failure accordingly.