Customer Reviews

Exodus

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Exodus is a sprawling, 3 and half-hour epic that sets several fictional characters against the backdrop of the founding of modern Israel after the Second World War. The story opens in Cyprus, where thousands of European Jewish refugees are being detained by the British. The refugees are trying to make it to Palestine--which the British control--and form a new Jewish state. Eva Marie Saint plays an American nurse, recently widowed, who becomes involved in the refugees' plight, especially that of a young girl, Karen (Jill Haworth), searching for her father. Paul Newman is an Israeli freedom fighter who is determined to get a shipload of the refugees out of Cyprus to Palestine--while finding time to romance Saint. Karen worries about her friend Dov (Sal Mineo), an Auschwitz survivor who wants nothing more than to join a Jewish terrorist organization, which happens to be facilitated by Newman's uncle (David Opatoshu).

Exodus was a huge blockbuster back in 1960-61, with Ernest Gold's memorable, Oscar-winning score even making the Top 10 charts. The film also places a footnote in Hollywood history, as it was one of two films that year that dared to credit blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo (his other 1960 credit was Sparticus); Trumbo's adaptation of the Leon Uris book is largely straight-forward, focusing more on the plotting than on the characters. Fortunately, with Otto Preminger in command, the flick moves along briskly, what with glorious wide-screen vistas of Cyprus and Israel and several genuinely exciting action sequences--especially a terrific prison break-out. The film's somber coda is even more moving considering that the issues it raises are still unresolved to this day.

Newman and Saint are nice to look at, but there's not much chemistry between them--he seems stiff and she's just, well, saintly. The supporting cast is much better. Mineo received an Oscar nomination for this (he lost to Sparticus' Peter Ustinov), primarily for his emotional interrogation scene where he recounts his experiences at Auschwitz. Haworth is delicate but headstrong. Opatoshu, for my money, was the best thing in the whole movie--methodical, yet quietly commanding--there's a wordless scene between him and Lee J. Cobb (playing his brother) that is just marvelous. The cast of thousands also includes Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Hugh Griffith, John Derek, Gregory Ratoff, and George Maharis.

This being an MGM DVD, there isn't much in the way of extras--just the original theatrical trailer and several choices for subtitles. As noted elsewhere, the quality of the transfer isn't as high as one would like--the sound, especially, should've been remixed while the the picture quality is terrific sometimes and other times less than perfect. Hopefully, they'll reissue it with improved specs.

The movie itself is what I expected, having seen it before. It is a captivating epic motion picture faithful to the book by Leon Uris.
Sadly, the transfer to DVD was done on the cheap. Occasional artifacts from the worn master film are evident. And while it is a "Widescreen" format, it is not Anamorphic or "Enahanced for 16x9 TVs". This means that if you have a wide-screen TV, the picture needs to be viewed is zoomed 4X3 mode to fill the screen. This lowers the resolution of an already poor copy.
In sum, buy it for the story but don't expect a vivid viweing experience for your home theater system.

The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo differs from the book but captured the essence of the story of Exodus. A close obsever and listner will learn much of the climate and environment of the time, noted scene, the broadcasting of news to refugees aboard the Exodus while declaring a hunger strike in a harbor on the island of Cyprus. Paul Newman is not particularly strong as Ari Ben Cannon. The character in the book was a bit more masculine. Eva Marie Saint and Sal Mineo are great, and Sir Ralph Richardson. Sal Mineo desrved an oscar. Otto Priminger was atypical for the day, choosing to film outside of a sound stage on location as much as possible. There are mistakes, shadows of the camera on the faces of actors at times but his unique style of direction is the film's power. Ernest Gold's score is stirring and powerful and beautiful. Some may find the story telling a bit slow by today's standards. If patient, a complex, historical and significant drama will unfold. This is an excellent film. See Schindler's List first and then Exodus. Actually, the sequence here should go somthing like this: Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List, and Exodus. What a history lession of the Middle East. Enjoyable, too. The widescreen format is the only way to thoroughly enjoy this film.

I wont even go into the story line or the actors roles. I want to ..I have to tell everybody about the transfer to DVD of this classic movie. The picture looks like a bad VHS copy done by an amatuer! The sound.....oh my God the sound is absolutely horrible! I watched this on my Sony 36 inch tv and I immediately cleaned my DVD player thinking there was something wrong with it! I adjusted the sound on my Sony ES (Professional Grade) Reciever several times and into several modes from Mono to Theatre EX to basic stereo and nothing would improve it. MGM be ashamed!! LOUIS B MAYER is rolling over in his grave!!!

The One Star is not for the film but for MGM Home Video's abominable DVD transfer. What a disgrace! How MGM could release this epic film in such a fashion is beyond belief. The image is virtually unwatchable. I'm surprised more readers on this site haven't complained about how this famous movie has been treated by MGM Video. This DVD edition does not represent the movie whatsoever. Hopefully a remastered DVD edition will come out in the not too distant future to rectify the problem.

I love this movie. Beyond capturing the drama of the events leading to the establishment of the state of Israel in May 1948, this film suggests some of the political, ideological, and social conflicts within the Zionist movement as the British Mandate came to an end while hundreds of thousands of displaced Jews, homeless and without other refuge, were smuggled into Palestine. The film is a fictionalized account of a very real crisis, and does a good job of fairly representing both the attitude of the British authorities (including the anti-Semitism of some British officials and officers) and of different factions that threatened to rip the Zionist movement apart.

Of particular interest to me was the way in which the tension between the Haganah and the Irgun was represented. The Ben-Gurion-like character, Barak ben Canaan, is played by Lee J. Cobb, representing the mainstream Zionist movement, with its emphasis on diplomacy and maximizing the number of immigrants who could reinforce the population of the Yishuv. This character reflects the pioneering spirit of early Labor Zionism and the kibbutzim, with their emphasis on building a new homeland and constructing viable productive and self-sufficient communities. The military arm of this movement, the Haganah, is ably represented by Paul Newman through the character of Ari ben Canaan, the young Sabra who is prepared to use force to defend the Yishuv but desires peace. Against this is the quasi-Begin-like charismatic character of Akiva ben Canaan, played by David Opatoshu, one of the leaders of Irgun (this character, unlike Begin, did not survive the period represented in the movie). The Irgun and Stern gang spirit is ably represented here, as is its tension with the Haganah. My own instincts and sympathies are with the Haganah in this quarrel, but the film represents both sides fairly and seems to suggest that both were necessary for Israel to achieve statehood.

The film also suggests the sinister role of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in the violence of 1947-1948, who, as the film points out, spent World War II in Berlin as a guest of the Fuhrer (and this foreshadows the increasing influence of anti-Semitism in the Arab world). As is too often forgotten, none of the Arab states in 1948 -- not Egypt, not Syria, not Jordan -- had any intention of allowing the establishment of any kind of Palestinian state, hoping rather to carve up the territory amongst themselves (as they demonstrated by their policies of control over Gaza and the West Bank from 1948 to 1967). Yet the Grand Mufti rejected the 1947 partition, thus losing the best chance that the Palestinians had of achieving their own independent state through cooperation rather than conflict with the Israelis.

In my own view, however, the film is more charitable toward the Irgun position than is justified. At the same time, the filmic representation of the bombing of the King David Hotel is spectacular, and Sal Mineo gives a brilliant performance as the young embittered Auschwitz survivor struggling to give a new meaning to his existence. Unfortunately, Eva Saint Marie completely fails to move me as the American nurse who falls in love with the Paul Newman character. The film also fails to give adequate treatment to the situation and dilemmas facing ordinary Palestinians caught in this crisis. On the other hand, the film is a movie, not a historical study, and it's already more than three hours long. A great movie, and good companion film to follow "Schindler's List."

Love this movie BUT the transfer was so pathetic that I returned it to the vendor. This DVD is absolutely the WORST transfer I have ever seen. MGM goofed on this classic.

Words from the theme song of Exodus written by Pat Boone.

I had heard instrumental versions of this song on some albums that my parents had and have always thought that it was the theme song for The Ten Commandments produced by Cecil B. DeMille. I first heard the actual words sung by Marty Goetz on a CD I recently purchased. When I realized Otto Preminger produced this film in 1960, I had to see it.

This modern day Exodus story, told in the novel written by Leon Uris, takes place in 1947 right before the U.N. voted on partitioning palestine into jewish and arab areas. (I've discovered that 75% of that land given to the jews was desert). The plight of the jews was so pathetic then following the holocaust they had so recently survived. This movie captures, however, the jews' indomitable spirit documented throughout scripture and historical records. I've not read the book but have been told it contains a lot more detail than the movie. Regardless of how you view events going on in Israel, past and present, one must realize how pivotal this time period was in the creation and survival of the nation of Israel.

Paul Newman plays Ari Ben Canaan, a Sabra, a palestinian born jew who falls in love with a vacationing American nurse played by Eva Marie Saint. (A sabra is a fruit endemic to Israel which has a prickly, tough exterior but a sweet interior). Ari's task is to smuggle jewish lives into palestine safely from Cyprus. To do so, he must sometimes rely on illegitimate means, for example, when he states they need a jeep and seeing one not far from the dock which belonged to a high ranking church official ordered that they "steal it, paint it, hide it".

This movie is one of the most moving, beautiful films I've ever seen, and actually I don't see it as being anti-palestinian, since one of Ari's close friends is a palestinian muslim. The words to the song could be seen that way since they begin with 'This land is mine, G_d gave this land to me'. However, realizing how tenuous their situation was, since noone wanted to accept them into their country, those words can't be understood to be threatening or aggressive. I can't believe this movie did not win more awards.

This is the WORST transfer of a movie (that is not a tape-to-tape before DVD bootleg) that I have ever seen. Many scenes in the daylight show a jiggling reflected lights, or so it appears, and lines dance around with the sound. It was so bad I thought it was in individual damaged DVD, until I read other reviews here and on IMDB.

This is far worse than most cheapie transfers that are no longer owned but are in the public domain. At least in those instances they usually have the excuse that the print they are working from is old and worn. I have a much better video of Exodus on VHS tape in EP!

And this movie is currently being offered at Amazon for $14.95. Don't bother! Tape it off TCM and you'll have a far higher quality visual record.

As for the movie itself, despite good actors and one of the most wonderful music scores, it's very flat. Kirk Douglas would have been a far better choice than Newman, who acts like he just came off a binge after a losing pool streak. Nonetheless, it should not be sold with in lousy visual copies.

Otto Preminger is often maligned by film historians because he didn't have a stereotype. He made films as diverse as "Laura", "Carmen Jones", "Porgy & Bess" and "The Cardinal". He also made "Exodus". I first saw this film as an 11 year old kid. I grew up in the sheltered German-Polish southside of Milwaukee, and, apparently for obvious reasons, I knew very little of the plight of the Jews. The attention span of an 11 year old is often a subject of scorn, but I've never forgotten how powerful an effect this film had on me. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo was concise, since Leon Uris' novel was quite explicit in detail. As I said, as a history lesson, your kids should see this, especially if you're a non-Jew. I was riveted. 42 years later, I'm seeing the same story but being a little more critical. It's still a wonderful piece of film-making, with brilliant photography of actual locations (a bit faded at times, even on MGM's DVD version); previous reviewers have already commented on the plot and other things so I'll not go on about the lack of chemistry between the leads. Sal Mineo is often joked about, but this is his second Oscar-nominated performance (after "Rebel W/O a Cause") and there is a true nuance about his character aside from the tirades in which he indulges. His eyes flash at moments when you don't expect it, leading to a "cute" romance with the beautiful and admirable Jill Haworth. Mineo WAS talented. Still, the film only garnered 3 Oscar nominations: Mineo (supporting), cinematography and a win for Ernest Gold's legendary score. This all said, the essence of the message can be interpreted as a history lesson. I was particularly moved by Newman's final speech: "(Someday) Arab & Jew will share a peaceful life in this land they have always shared in death" Maybe it's a little more relevant now than we thought.