The State of Israel is created in 1948, resulting in war with its Arab neighbors.The State of Israel is created in 1948, resulting in war with its Arab neighbors.The State of Israel is created in 1948, resulting in war with its Arab neighbors.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 7 nominations total
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- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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- TriviaAt the film's premiere, after three hours had elapsed, with twenty-eight minutes remaining, comedian Mort Sahl stood and shouted, "Otto Preminger, let my people go!" The incident became a legendary episode of Hollywood lore.
- GoofsAbout 1:15 into the movie Ari asks Kitty how many Minutemen were at Concord. When she doesn't know he answers 77. But he was mistaking Concord for Lexington Green, the first of British encounters, where there were only 77. By the time they reached the Old North Bridge in Concord, there were over 400 minutemen.
- Quotes
Ari Ben Canaan: This is Taha, Mukhtar of Abu Yesha. And this is Karen, Secretary of the Rooms Committee, Bungalow 12, Gan Dafna. We have no Kadi to pray for Taha's soul. And we have no Rabbi to pray over Karen. Taha should have lived a long life, surrounded by his people and his sons. And death should have come to him... as an old friend offering the gift of sleep. It came, instead, as a maniac. And Karen, who loved her life, and who lived it as purely as a flame, why did God forget her? Why did she have to stumble upon death so young? And all alone? And in the dark? We of all people... should no longer be surprised when death reaches out to us. With the world's insanity and our own slaughtered millions, we should be used to senseless killing. But I am not used to it. I cannot and will not get used to it. I look at these two people, and I want to howl like a dog. I want to shout 'murder', so that the whole world will hear it and never forget it. It's right that these two people should lie side by side in this grave, because they will share it in peace. But the dead always share the earth in peace. And that's not enough. It's time for the living to have a turn. A few miles from here, there are people who are fighting and dying, and we must join them. But I swear, on the bodies of these two people, that the day will come when Arab and Jew will share, in a peaceful life, this land that they have always shared in death. Taha, old friend, and very dear brother. Karen, child of light, daughter of Israel. Shalom.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits shown over a background of flames.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Chelovek ukhodit za ptitsami (1976)
- SoundtracksGreensleeves
(uncredited)
Traditional English air
And it's likewise much harder to accept Paul Newman in the role of a Jewish freedom fighter; though he was already a big star in 1960 (which was no doubt the reason that he was chosen for the part), one cannot evaluate his performance here without recalling all the other high points of his career that were still ahead of him -- "The Hustler," "Cool Hand Luke," "Hombre," and of course his two big triumphs with Robert Redford, as Butch and Sundance and in "The Sting" -- not to mention a career that kept humming even into the 1990s. He's hardly remembered for this role at all today, and though even he isn't in every scene in a sweeping epic like this, it's hard to look at the movie without remembering all that would come later.
What stands out today more than Newman's performance, therefore, are the many secondary characters -- Sal Mineo as the tortured survivor of Auschwitz with secrets that lead him to the Irgun (and a performance that would earn him his second and last Oscar nomination); David Opatoshu as a Menachem Begin-like figure who believes violence is better than negotiation; and Jill Haworth, all of 15 at the time, and who would have a bevy of ingénue roles into the 1960s, but whose career would dribble out by the end of the next decade.
In particular, this was a great role for Opatoshu, who is probably best remembered today for his many guest shots on television (like Newman, most that came after this, in everything from "Twilight Zone" and "Mission:Impossible" to "Star Trek" and "Hawaii Five-O"). Though he is recognizable for those roles, it's worth remembering that he came out of Yiddish Theater and was a controlled, subtle performer who rarely got the kind of meaty role that he had here -- and one that no doubt was important to him.
So, while it's mainly remembered today for Ernest Gold's stirring theme music, "Exodus" is interesting as a window into a different time and a different way of thinking -- both about its subject matter and its main character . . . and the once and future star who played him.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $12,634
- Runtime3 hours 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.20 : 1
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