Watch Julia For Free

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Strong and Moving!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The fact that "Julia" received 11 Academy Award nominations back in 1977 should give you some indication of what kind of movie it is. Movies don't get nominated for that many Oscars unless they are fairly palatable, tasteful, and adhere to a certain sheen of prestige. "Julia" is all of these things, but don't hold that too much against it. It also happens to be a handsome and well-made drama about a female friendship during troubled times.Apparently the film, though about real-life characters like Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett, has little of truth in it and according to many is an outright fabrication. I don't really care, because I don't watch movies for their veracity; I watch them for how well they craft narratives in the language of cinema, and "Julia" does this very well. A large middle section, depicting Hellman's journey by train into Berlin during the rise of the Nazi party in order to smuggle money into the country for use by the anti-fascist underground, is one long sustained nail biter, and showcases director Fred Zinneman's ability to understate to tremendous effect. The film takes a while to get going, and an irrelevant denouement makes the film longer than it needs to be and causes it to end rather abruptly, but overall it's a very good movie.I took a while to warm to Jane Fonda's performance as Hellman. She's mannered and inauthentic in her early scenes, but her performance grew on me as the film progressed, and I came to think she earned the Oscar nomination she received. Vanessa Redgrave, who won that year's Best Supporting Actress award, is astonishing in what amounts to really only one real scene, set in a cafe after her character, the Julia of the title, is reunited with Hellman after a long separation. Both women are fascinating to watch in this scene, but Redgrave especially is mesmerizing. With very little screen time, she is able to make the presence of her character pervade virtually every single frame; even when she's not on screen, which is most of the time, you find yourself thinking about her.In addition to the nominations already mentioned, the film was nominated for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Jason Robards, who won for the second consecutive year, the only person in Oscar history to win back-to-back supporting awards), Supporting Actor (Maximilian Schell, in a puzzler of a nomination given he's barely in the film and has not much to do when he is), Adapted Screenplay (which it won), Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, and Original Score.Grade: A

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.

Jane Fonda is playwright Lillian Hellman. Jason Robards is writer Dashiell Hammett, famous for "The Maltese Falcon" and is her lover. But, Vanessa Redgrave is "Julia." Julia has always felt a strong conviction to stand for what's right, to fight for justice, to not sit back and watch while her world is filled with fascism. Evan at a young age, she was sensitive to those in need. Lilly and Julia grew up as best friends. When Julia needs Lillian's help, Lillian intercedes in some wartime espionage, by smuggling money to those who need it, to those who can be fed, clothed, nurtured. Both Jason Robards and Vanessa Redgrave are excellent in their roles, both earning Oscars. (This may be the only time in Oscar history that an actress won the Best Supporting Actress award for the title character.) But I was in awe of the whole production, as the time and place was real, so very real for the viewer. We are there. We are there. Jane Fonda is good, but I did feel as though, we were watching Jane Fonda. I think Geraldine Chaplin could have knocked this out of the park as Lillian Hellman. But, despite that, this is not to be missed, as it is movie-making at its best, with Robards and Redgrave at the top of their craft. This is really about "Julia," because you think of her even when she's not on the screen and her selflessness is inspiring to us all.

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.