At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 21 wins & 26 nominations total
Gérard Buhr
- Passport Officer
- (as Gerard Buhr)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe shadowy person sitting in the fishing boat at the beginning and end of the film is actually Lillian Hellman. Jane Fonda did the voice-over. It was Lillian Hellman only film.
- GoofsWhen Lillian enters the Tuileries Garden with Johann in the long shot, the windshields of modern-day cars can be seen "zooming" past The Louvre faster than cars of the time period would.
- 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.
- SoundtracksMy Blue Heaven
(1927) (uncredited)
Music by Walter Donaldson
Played on a record and Danced by Lisa Pelikan and Susan Jones
Featured review
What a cast! What a production!
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!
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!
helpful•224
- BookWorm-2
- Feb 14, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- 茱莉亞
- Filming locations
- Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, England, UK(The New England beach and beach house scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,840,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,714,400
- Gross worldwide
- $20,714,400
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