Review: Exodus


Eva Marie Saint, an American widow and nurse in Cyprus, gets involved with the Jewish cause for Israel’s independence, when she meets and falls for rĂ©sistance leader Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman). Newman is trying to lead a boat containing 600 Jewish refugees from British-controlled Cyprus to freedom in Palestine. Sir Ralph Richardson is the smart but somewhat ambivalent British General Sutherland, who knew Saint’s husband, and can see right from wrong, but doesn’t much want to get involved. Peter Lawford plays a thoroughly disagreeable, anti-Semitic, pompous military man. Lee J. Cobb is Newman’s stoic father, whilst David Opatoshu scores highly as Cobb’s brother, whose ambitions for his people are the same, but whose methods are much different from his brother’s, with the latter the leader of an underground movement. Troubled young Sal Mineo has one of his best roles as a tempestuous young Jew who offers his services to Opatoshu’s somewhat dangerous group. Hugh Griffith has a high old time as a somewhat opportunistic player in the Israeli cause.



Needlessly overextended, not always convincing, but still fascinating, 1960 Otto Preminger (“River of No Return”, “Anatomy of a Murder”) epic, tackling the difficult subject of the 1947 struggle for Israel’s independence. Blue-eyed, all-American Newman isn’t physically convincing as an Israeli Resistance leader, but he tries his best in the role nonetheless, and is quite impassioned. Saint, meanwhile, is saddled with a frankly dopey, ignorant character the audience can’t quite warm to, especially in the first half of the film (Were people really ever this stupid? Wait...I don’t wanna know).



The supporting cast mostly succeed, with Mineo and Lawford doing some of their best-ever work, and some terrific, scene-stealing turns by Felix Aylmer, Richardson, Cobb, Griffith, and Opatoshu. Superb music score by Ernest Gold (“On the Beach”, “Judgement at Nuremberg”) earned an Oscar. If only it didn’t drag on and on so much! Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo (“A Guy Named Joe”, “Spartacus”), from a novel by Leon Uris (“Gunfight at the OK Corral”, “The Angry Hills”).



Rating: C+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chilly t
Read more

Review: Cinderella (1950)

The story of poor young Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods), treated as a servant by her nasty stepmother (voiced by Eleanor Audley), and dismissed by her thoroughly rotten, ugly stepsisters. Her only friends are a group of mice, who are forever being menaced by a cat named Lucifer (or as I call him, Grumpy Cheshire Cat). The King (hoping to find a wife for his charming son) is throwing a ball and every available young woman is invited to attend, and Cinderella is most excited to go. However, her stepmother and stepsisters do all they can to prevent this from happening. But with help from the mice and one fairy godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) later, and Cinderella looks set to attend the ball. You know the rest, folks.   Lovely 1950 Disney animated movie from directors Clyde Geronimi ( “Peter Pan” , “Lady and the Tramp” ), Wilfred Jackson ( “Fantasia” , “Alice in Wonderland” , “Peter Pan” ) & Hamilton Luske ( “Pinocchio” , “Fantasia” , “Peter Pan” ), that is a bit too s
Read more

Review: Eugenie de Sade

Eugenie (Soledad Miranda) makes a deathbed confession to author/biographer (Jesus ‘Jess’ Franco himself), recounting the tale of how her depraved stepfather (Paul Muller) groomed her into a life of depravity, debauchery, and murder.   Not to be confused with the similarly titled “Eugenie…The Story of Her Journey into Perversion” (by the same director) or “Justine de Sade” (which is not to be confused with Franco’s own “Justine” for that matter), this 1973 Marquis de Sade adaptation from writer-director Jesus Franco ( “99 Women” , “A Virgin Among the Living Dead” ) is perhaps the perfect marriage of Franco, sleazy material, and actors. Basically this is what Franco’s “She Killed in Ecstasy” might’ve been like if it were based on a Marquis de Sade work. There’s a few slow spots here and there, but overall I actually think this is Franco’s best film. Yes, even better than my previous choice “Vampyros Lesbos” , and better than his more ‘respectable’ films like “Count Dracula” (a
Read more