Exodus | ★★★★★

For years I have wanted to watch this movie but kept putting it on the back burner - it sat on my Netflix queue for a long time. Maybe it was the almost four hour length or possibly the serious nature of the movie - not sure. Last weekend Ann and I settled in for a long night of viewing.

Firstly, even though it was not completely factual (the script was developed to tell the story), I thought that the movie was a bit educational. It tells the story of post World War II Jews that lived in limbo until the nation of Israel was established in 1948. I thought that it spoke much to the attitudes of all peoples involved in the resettlement of the Jews to Palestine - Jew, Arab and Gentile alike.

Secondly, I think that the movie was made in the image of many epics of that film era. I felt that it was unnecessarily long and a bit tedious in many places. If I edited it today I think that I would have kept everything until the ship, named Exodus, landed in Palestine. After that I would have narrowed the focus quite a bit and left out the somewhat obligatory romantic interactions of the star actors, Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. I would have entirely cut the whole imprisonment and escape scenes - it simply did not add to the story.

Lastly, I think that the movie would have been quite different if it was made today. It seemed odd to me to watch Gentile actors in the roles of Jewish people.. but I do think that was pretty common in Hollywood in those days. I also wonder what the action scenes would look like if shot today.. not sure that the newer technology would add much to the movie.

So, I guess I was glad to see the movie - sort of. You might find the movie interesting if you are interested in this aspect of history. One a scale of ten I give Exodus ★★★★★.