Exodus

Touted as a masterpiece by stout Premingerites; but with one eye on the box-office, the other on avoiding giving offence, this adaptation of Leon Uris' blockbusting novel about the founding of modern Israel could hardly be anything but a compromise. Moral issues are raised, only to be forgotten in urgent deluges of action or romance; characters are all fashioned strictly to stereotype; and for all its caution, it finally comes across (especially in view of subsequent history) as a pretty objectionably blinkered slice of Zionist propaganda. Watchable mainly for the sheer skill and drive of Preminger's direction, although at 220 minutes even that long outstays its welcome.