Exodus (1960)

Paul Newman as the Haganah activist smoking
 his favourite American brand with the American blonde

I'm sure I wouldn't be alone in declaring this film a bit of a bore. I wanted to like it but it lacked an overall sincerety of intention. What did they have in mind when they took director to camera? Did they want to educate Americans of the sixties about the haulocost? Quite possibly, but unfortunately the film does not try to explain much. At any rate today a lot of water has passed under the bridge since the whole Israeli question was posed at that time in this film. Did the producers want to entertain with a bit of drama and romance? Most likely yes. But the drama is a bit of a fizzler and the romance unconvincing. Without going into the story I'll just say the film was disapponing coming from the great director Preminger, and very dull. Its content (as opposed to the historical event) does not warrant the three and a half hours of screen time. The script is school level, the acting in parts very pedestrian for today's standards, the photography nothing to rave about and one grumpy Paul Newman irritating to watch. The redeeming feature would have to be the filming on location, Cyprus and Israel. I watched this film because as a teenager I remember the promos for this film embedded in it's  music - it lives long after the flick stops. But one good score does not a good movie make.