Exodus (film)
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| Exodus | |
|---|---|
| Image:Exodus poster.jpg Original film poster | |
| Directed by | Otto Preminger |
| Produced by | Otto Preminger |
| Written by | Dalton Trumbo Leon Uris (novel) |
| Starring | Paul Newman Eva Marie Saint Ralph Richardson |
| Music by | Ernest Gold |
| Cinematography | Sam Leavitt |
| Editing by | Louis R. Loeffler |
| Distributed by | United Artists MGM (DVD) |
| Release date(s) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg 15 December, 1960 |
| Running time | 208 min |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Exodus is a 1960 epic war film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Otto Preminger from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo from the novel, Exodus, by Leon Uris. The Super Panavision 70 cinematography was by Sam Leavitt.
The film stars Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Sal Mineo, John Derek, Hugh Griffith, Gregory Ratoff, Felix Aylmer, David Opatoshu, Jill Haworth, Marius Goring, Victor Maddern and George Maharis.
The movie was shot entirely on location in Cyprus and Israel.
Contents |
[edit] Story
The film depicts events associated with the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, and is very loosely based on the events surrounding the ship Exodus 1947.
Nurse Katherine (Kitty) Fremont (Eva Marie Saint) is an American volunteer nurse at the Karaolos detention camp in Cyprus, where thousands of Jews - Holocaust survivors - are being held, as they have no homeland to return to. They sit in anticipation of the day they will be liberated. Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman), a Haganah rebel who previously was a Captain in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army in World War II, obtains a cargo ship and is able to smuggle 611 Jewish inmates out of the camp for an illegal voyage to Palestine before being found out by military authorities. When the British discover that the refugees are in a ship in the harbor of Famagusta, they blockade the harbor. The refugees stage a hunger strike, during which the camp's doctor dies; then the British relent and allow the Exodus safe passage.
Meanwhile, Kitty has grown very fond of Karen Hansen (Jill Haworth), a young Danish-Jewish girl searching for her father, from whom she was separated during the war. She has taken up the Zionist cause, much to the chagrin of Kitty, who had hoped to take young Karen to America so that she can begin a new life there.
Meanwhile, opposition to the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states is heating up, and Karen's young beau Dov Landau (Sal Mineo) joins the Irgun, a radical Jewish underground network, led by Ari Ben Canaan's uncle Akiva (David Opatoshu). Because of his activities, Akiva has been disowned by Ari's father, Barak, who heads the mainstream Jewish Agency trying to create a Jewish state through political and diplomatic means. He fears that the Irgun will damage his efforts, especially since the British have put a price on Akiva's head. When the bombing of the King David Hotel leads to dozens of fatalities, Akiva is arrested and sentenced to hang. Meanwhile, Karen's father has been found, but he is suffering from clinical depression and does not recognize her. Karen has gone to live at Gan Dafna, the Jewish kibbutz near Mount Tabor at which Ari was raised.
Kitty and Ari have fallen in love, but Uncle Akiva's imprisonment is an obstacle, and Ari must devise a plan to free the prisoners.
Dov Landau, who had managed to elude the arresting soldiers, turns himself in so that he can use his knowledge of explosives to rig the Acre prison and plan an escape route. All goes according to plan; hundreds of prisoners, including Akiva, manage to escape. But Akiva is fatally shot by British soldiers while evading a roadblock set up to catch the escaped prisoners. Ari, who was driving, is badly wounded. He makes his way to Abu Yesha, an Arab village where his lifelong friend, Taha, is the mukhtar. Kitty is brought there and treats his wound.
A liberated Israel is now in plain view, but Arab radicals commanded by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem plot to attack Gan Dafna and kill its villagers. Ari receives prior warning of this attack from Taha, and he manages to get the group out in a mass overnight escape. Karen, ecstatic over the prospect of a new nation, proclaims her love for Dov, and Dov reciprocates. They while away the night-time hours thinking of the long and happy life that lies ahead of them. But as Dov sleeps, a wandering Arab radical kills Karen, and in the morning, Dov's patrol finds her lifeless body. That same day, the body of Taha, Ari's friend, is found hanging in his village, killed by the same Arab extremists who had killed Karen. Karen and Taha are buried together in one grave. At the Jewish burial ceremony, Ari swears on their bodies that someday, Jews and Arabs will live together and share the land in peace.
[edit] Cast
- 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
- Michael Wager - David
- Paul Stevens - Reuben
- Victor Maddern - Sergeant
- George Maharis - Yaov
[edit] Trivia
- Director Otto Preminger helped to end the stigma of the Hollywood blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo to adapt the screenplay for the film
- John Gielgud turned down the role of General Sutherland.
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Academy Awards
- The music score, written by Ernest Gold won the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 1960 Oscars. The main theme from the film has been widely remixed and covered by many artists (such as piano player Anthony Burger for the Homecoming titled "I Do Believe"), remixed by techno-crossover pianist Maksim, even being used as the sample for the T.I. song Bankhead, and the original version was used as theme song for professional wrestler "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. Trey Spruance of the Secret Chiefs 3 rescored the theme for "surf band and orchestra" on the album 2004 Book of Horizons. Another professional wrestler, Bill Goldberg, used a version of the main theme as his entrance music while in WCW as a nod to his Jewish heritage. Furthermore, Howard Stern tends to use it for comedic effect when discussing aspects of Jewish life.
- The film was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Sal Mineo) and for Best Cinematography (Sam Leavitt)
[edit] Golden Globe
- Sal Mineo won the Best Supporting Actor Award
[edit] Grammy Award
- Ernest Gold won Best Soundtrack Album and Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 1961 for the soundtrack and theme to Exodus respectively. It is the only instrumental song to ever receive that award to date. Oddly, the first notes of the great dramatic theme are identical to the opening theme of a somewhat obscure orchestral piece by Quincy Porter, New England Episodes, premiered in 1958 in Washington, DC.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Exodus at the Internet Movie Database
- Exodus at the TCM Movie Database
Image:United States film.png American films of the 1950s |
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| 1950 •1951 •1952 •1953 •1954 •1955 •1956 •1957 •1958 •1959 |
Films directed by Otto Preminger |
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Die große Liebe • Under Your Spell • Danger, Love at Work • Kidnapped • Clare Booth Luce's Margin for Error • In the Meantime, Darling • Laura • A Royal Scandal • Fallen • Centennial Summer • Forever Amber • Daisy Kenyon • That Lady in Ermine • The Fan • Whirlpool • Where the Sidewalk Ends • The 13th Letter • Angel Face • The Moon Is Blue • Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach • River of No Return • Carmen Jones • The Man with the Golden Arm • The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell • Saint Joan • Bonjour Tristesse • Porgy and Bess • Anatomy of a Murder • Exodus • Advise and Consent • The Cardinal • In Harm's Way • Bunny Lake Is Missing • Hurry Sundown • Skidoo • Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon • Such Good Friends • Rosebud • The Human Factor |
es:Éxodo (película) eu:Exodus (filma) fr:Exodus (film) it:Exodus (film) he:אקסודוס (סרט) ja:栄光への脱出 pt:Exodus (filme)
Categories: 1960 films | American films | English-language films | Historical films | Drama films | War films | Films based on fiction books | Films based on actual events | United Artists films | Films shot in 65mm | Films over three hours long | Films directed by Otto Preminger | Screenplays by Dalton Trumbo
