Exodus (1960 Film)

Exodus (1960 film)

Exodus is a 1960 epic war film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger, the film was based on the 1958 novel Exodus, by Leon Uris. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo, which represented the breaking of the Hollywood Blacklist. The film features an ensemble cast, and its celebrated soundtrack music was written by Ernest Gold.

Widely characterized as a "Zionist epic", the film has been identified by many commentators as having been enormously influential in stimulating Zionism and support for Israel in the United States. Although the Preminger film softened the anti-British and anti-Arab sentiment of the novel, the film remains controversial for its depiction of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and for what some scholars perceive to be its lasting impact on American conceptions (or misconceptions) of regional turmoil.

Due to early 1960s censorship, the film also eliminated several sex scenes found in the novel.