Exodus

Released Mar 27, 1960

3h 27m

History

Drama

List

65%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Based on Leon Uris' novel, this historical epic provides a dramatic backstory to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, in the aftermath of World War II. Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman), a passionate member of the Jewish paramilitary group Haganah, attempts to transport 600 Jewish refugees on a dangerous voyage from Cyprus to Palestine on a ship named the Exodus. He faces obstruction from British forces, who will not grant the ship passage to its destination.

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Stuart B

Gripping. And, it is interesting to see the same themes and hopes that have in today's Arab-Israeli interactions were playing out over 60 years ago when Exodus was made.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This classic war movie was pretty good. Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, and the rest of the cast did a pretty good job in this movie. The plot of the movie was dramatic, thrilling, and tragic. It's about fighting for independence and freedom, even if you lose good people in the process. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you may enjoy it. That's what I think anyway.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

GREAT MOVIE A MUST SEE. I CAN'T WAIT FOR A 4K RELEASE

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

robert r

Based on Leon Uris's controversial novel of the same name, Otto Preminger's "Exodus," skates by on its formidable imagery and captivating performances, but provides little else in terms of intrigue or honesty. There's not one point in this movie where you're even slightly convinced that what you're watching is accurate. Anyone with even remote knowledge of the historical matters at hand understands that they're an ethical morass, filled with uncomfortable truths, cognitive dissonances and a whole lot of gray. The music, thematics and narrativity of this film would have you think differently, however, and it just doesn't work. In an age-old conflict with no easy answers, a filmmaker depicting said conflict with such surety and conviction for one side ultimately doesn't move the needle. When you seemingly shrug off acts of terror committed by major characters and then have them continue about the story as if I'm supposed to identify with them as before, though, now you've really lost me. Try as Paul Newman and Sal Mineo might, there's just too much to sneeze at in "Exodus," an unforgivably long, inappropriately earnest slog through a series of events worthy of a much more discerning touch.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

steve d

The acting is really great and the story powerful. The script is not as good.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent movie, history, and superior acting and directing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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Otto Preminger

Director

Paul Newman

Ari Ben Canaan

Eva Marie Saint

Kitty Fremont

Ralph Richardson

Gen. Sutherland

Peter Lawford

Maj. Caldwell

Lee J. Cobb

Barak Ben Canaan

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John Gillett

Sight & Sound

Exodus, then, sees Preminger's sheer movie-making talent at its most extended. Unhappily, the ability to sustain a large canvas does not necessarily result in a good film.

Feb 11, 2020

Full Review

Tom Milne

Time Out

Watchable mainly for the sheer skill and drive of Preminger's direction, although at 220 minutes even that long outstays its welcome.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

In the end, one should take from this picture a shaken feeling of having been through a lot of harsh and ennobling experiences.

Rated: 4/5

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

The depiction of the founding of the modern state of Israel requires an epic film but the film takes a number of liberties--to be fair, the book is historical fiction.

Jul 20, 2021

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Most of the time seems well spent, although Dalton Trumbo's otherwise skilful screenplay includes too many garrulous slowdowns while the characters discuss their conflicting ideologies.

Oct 31, 2019

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

In 1960, Dalton Trumbo served up two hefty screenplays full of incident, emotion and intellectual exchanges -- I prefer Spartacus, although there's something to be said for his streamlining of so much historical content (and, yes, fictional deviations).

Rated: 3/4

Apr 9, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

Based on Leon Uris' novel, this historical epic provides a dramatic backstory to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, in the aftermath of World War II. Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman), a passionate member of the Jewish paramilitary group Haganah, attempts to transport 600 Jewish refugees on a dangerous voyage from Cyprus to Palestine on a ship named the Exodus. He faces obstruction from British forces, who will not grant the ship passage to its destination.

Director: Otto Preminger
Screenwriter: Dalton Trumbo, Leon Uris
Distributor: United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Carlyle Productions, Alpha Films
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 1960, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 3, 2018
Runtime: 3h 27m
Sound Mix: Magnetic Stereo 6 Track
Aspect Ratio: 70mm

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