Julia (1977 film)

Julia
File:Julia imp.jpg original film poster by Richard Amsel
Directed by	Fred Zinnemann
Written by	Alvin Sargent
Produced by	Richard A. Roth
Starring	Jane Fonda Vanessa Redgrave Jason Robards Hal Holbrook Rosemary Murphy and Maximilian Schell
Cinematography	Douglas Slocombe
Edited by	Marcel Durham Walter Murch
Music by	Georges Delerue
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	October 2, 1977 (1977-10-02)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	Template:Film US
Language	English
Box office	$20,714,400

Julia is a 1977 film made by 20th Century Fox. It is based on Lillian Hellman's book Pentimento, a chapter of which purports to tell the story of her relationship with an alleged lifelong friend, "Julia," who fought against the Nazis in the years prior to World War II. The film was directed by Fred Zinnemann and produced by Richard Roth, with Julien Derode as executive producer and Tom Pevsner as associate producer, from a screenplay adapted by Alvin Sargent. It won three Academy Awards.

Plot

The young Lillian and the young Julia, daughter of a wealthy family being brought up by her grandparents in the U.S., enjoy a childhood together and an extremely close relationship in late adolescence. Later, while medical-student/physician Julia (Vanessa Redgrave) attends Oxford and the University of Vienna and studies with such luminaries as Sigmund Freud, Lillian (Jane Fonda) suffers through revisions of her play with her mentor and sometime lover, famed author Dashiell Hammett (Jason Robards) at a beachhouse.

After becoming a celebrated playwright, Lillian is invited to a writers' conference in Russia. Julia, having taken on the battle against Nazism, enlists Lillian en route to smuggle money through Nazi Germany which will assist in the anti-Nazi cause. It is a dangerous mission, especially for a Jewish intellectual on her way to Russia.

During a brief meeting with Julia on this trip, Lillian learns that her friend has a child named Lily, living with a baker in Alsace. Shortly after her return to the United States, Lillian is informed of Julia's murder. The details of her death are shrouded in secrecy. Lillian unsuccessfully looks for Julia's daughter in Alsace and also discovers that Julia's family wants nothing to do with the child, if she exists, probably for financial reasons.

Cast

• Jane Fonda as Lillian Hellman
• Vanessa Redgrave as Julia
• Jason Robards as Dashiell Hammett
• Maximilian Schell as Johann
• Hal Holbrook as Alan Campbell
• Rosemary Murphy as Dorothy Parker
• Meryl Streep as Anne Marie
• John Glover as Sammy
• Lisa Pelikan as Julia (younger)
• Lambert Wilson as Walter Franz

Julia features the first film performances of Meryl Streep and Lisa Pelikan.

Production

The film was shot on location in England and France. Although Lillian Hellman claimed the story was based on true events that occurred early in her life, the filmmakers later learned that most of it was fictionalized. Director Fred Zinnemann would later comment, "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."

Awards

Julia won Academy Awards for:

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jason Robards);
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Vanessa Redgrave);
• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Alvin Sargent)

It was nominated for an Academy Award for:

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Maximilian Schell);
• Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jane Fonda);
• Best Cinematography;
• Best Costume Design;
• Best Director;
• Best Film Editing;
• Best Music, Original Score;
• Best Picture.

It also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film.

External links

• Julia at IMDb
• Julia at Rotten Tomatoes