Julia (1977)

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

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Lillian Hellman (based upon the story by), Alvin Sargent (screenplay)

Stars:

Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards

Won 3 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jane Fonda	...	Lillian
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Julia
Jason Robards	...	Hammett
Maximilian Schell	...	Johann
Hal Holbrook	...	Alan
Rosemary Murphy	...	Dottie
Meryl Streep	...	Anne Marie
Dora Doll	...	Woman Passenger
Elisabeth Mortensen	...	Girl Passenger
John Glover	...	Sammy
Lisa Pelikan	...	Young Julia
Susan Jones	...	Young Lillian
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Grandmother
Maurice Denham	...	Undertaker
Mark Metcalf	...	Pratt

Storyline

From "Pentimento," the memoirs of late playwright Lillian Hellman, JULIA covers those years in the 1930s when Lillian attained fame with the production of her first play "The Childrens' Hour" on Broadway. Not surprisingly, it centers on Lillian's relationship with her lifelong friend, Julia. It is a relationship that goes beyond mere acquaintance and one for which the word "love" seems appropriate. While Julia attends the University in Vienna, studying with such luminaries as Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, Lillian suffers through revisions of her play with her mentor and sometimes lover Dashiel Hammett at a New England beachhouse. After becoming a celebrated playwright, Lillian is invited to a writers conference in Russia. Julia, having taken up the battle against fascism, enlists Lillian en route to smuggle money through Nazi Germany which will assist in the Anti-Fascist cause. It is a dangerous mission especially for a Jewish intellectual on her way to communist Russia. During a...

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | writer | 1930s | hat | berlin germany | 

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Taglines:

The story of two women whose friendship suddenly became a matter of life and death.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Russian

Release Date:

October 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Júlia

Filming Locations:

Central Station, Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 4,101,519 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Barbra Streisand turned down the role of Lillian Hellman.

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Goofs

June 1934 began on a Friday, not a Monday.

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Quotes

Dashiell Hammett: [after reading Lillian's play] You better tear this up. It's not that it's bad, it's just not good enough, not for you.

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Connections

Featured in The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998)

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Soundtracks

"La Cucaracha"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played as Dance music

User Reviews

Serious, splendidly done drama

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.