Exodus (1960)

The state of Israel is created in 1948, resulting in war with its Arab neighbors.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo (screenplay), Leon Uris (novel)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Ari Ben Canaan
Eva Marie Saint	...	Kitty Fremont
Ralph Richardson	...	Gen. Sutherland
Peter Lawford	...	Maj. Caldwell
Lee J. Cobb	...	Barak Ben Canaan
Sal Mineo	...	Dov Landau
John Derek	...	Taha
Hugh Griffith	...	Mandria
Gregory Ratoff	...	Lakavitch
Felix Aylmer	...	Dr. Lieberman
David Opatoshu	...	Akiva Ben Canaan
Jill Haworth	...	Karen
Marius Goring	...	Von Storch
Alexandra Stewart	...	Jordana Ben Canaan
Michael Wager	...	David Ben Ami

Storyline

The theme is the founding of the state of Israel. The action begins on a ship filled with Jewish immigrants bound for Israel who are being off loaded on Cyprus. An Intelligence officer succeeds in getting them back on board their ship only to have the harbor blocked by the British with whom they must negotiate. The second part of the film is about the situation in Israel as independence is declared and most of their neighbors attack them.

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Plot Keywords:

israel | jewish | arab | nurse | cyprus | 

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Taglines:

The drama and the passion of one of the epic events of the twentieth century !

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1961 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Éxodo

Filming Locations:

Acre, Israel

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carlyle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

208 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Newman later regretted starring in this film. Newman was a left-wing Democrat who frequently disagreed with successive Israeli governments. He was also very disappointed with the finished film.

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Goofs

There are many moments throughout the film where the shadows of the camera equipment can be seen.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cypriot guide: The island of Cyprus, madame. World famous for beauty, and long, tragic history. Been conquered many times, conquered by Phoenicians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians; also conquered by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Turks. Purchased from Turkey by your esteemed self, the British Empire. All Cyprus most wanted the British.
Kitty Fremont: [correcting him] I'm an American.
Cypriot guide: Fond of Americans, also; we Cypriots are fond of everybody.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits shown over a background of flames.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998)

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Soundtracks

Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E flat major
(1830-31) (uncredited)
Music by Frédéric Chopin
Background music as Sutherland arranges for Mrs. Fremont to meet Carol

User Reviews

"Exodus", the book and the movie

Adapted from one of the best books of the last century, Otto Premenger's "Exodus" (1960) had all the components of an exiting, deeply moving masterpiece. It was made by a very talented and celebrated director ("Laura" , "Anatomy of a Murder"); most scenes of the film were made in locations where the original events had occurred; one of the best ever American actors(Paul Newman) played the main character, Jewish hero, a fearless Freedom fighter, Ari Ben Canaan; Sal Meneo gave an absolutely compelling performance as Dov Landau, a young man, a boy really who had survived the horrors of Auschwitz, the only survivor of a big family from Warsaw. Ernst Gold won an Academy award for his truly magnificent musical score. Sadly, "Exodus" is not a masterpiece – it is an overlong, heavy handed, and rather unimpressive movie that caused satirist Mort Sahl to say, "Otto, let my people go" as he watched the film's 220-minute preview. Ironically, with all this running time, the best, the most inspirational parts of the book did not make it to the film. Among them are historical events dealing with the origins of ghetto system, pogroms in Russia, the long and fascinating journey of two brothers from a small Russian town to Palestine by foot, the ideas of Theodor Herzl, the birth of kibbutzes in Palestine, and enormous labor of kibbutznicks to make the land fertile, to grow plants and trees where the desert, rocks, and swamps had been, as well as the tragedy of European Holocaust and dramatic story of United Nations voting for partition of Palestine in 1947 and the war of the infant state against its multiple and hostile neighbors for the right to exist and be an independent country. I watched the movie just before I left for my trip to Israel a few weeks ago and I took the book with me there. Reading the book while be able to see the places it describes with such passion and love, to see the land that is called "promised land" or "Holy land" WAS one of the most emotional and unforgettable experiences in my life, watching the movie was not. It is just an illustration to the fantastic book – no more, no less. IMO, the book deserves the same treatment that Puso's "Godfather" had received – it should've been adapted into several movies, not just one. Like in Godfather, Part II, the scenes of the past and present should've alternated, given the viewers deeper insight in the events and the passions and politics behind them. Or even better, perhaps "Exodus" should've been adapted into TV mini-series format where every important character would've had enough time for his/her story.