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Reviews
Exodus (1960)
Read the book first!
While the movie attempts to tell the story of Leon Uris's book "Exodus", the actors, what DID NOT make the movie, and the historical background makes way for overblown drama and Hollywood commentary.
Much of the book, as is true in most Leon Uris's works, is based on fact. I watched the movie as a child, then read the book, and haven't looked at the movie again until this last weekend. How tragic that what is a really historical, compelling time in the history of the world should be stirred together with wooden performances and sobs-over-substance.
I wish someone would remake this film with the correct cast - Eva Marie Saint is too old, and not pretty enough, to play Kitty. Paul Newman does a fair job as Ari Ben Canaan. Lee J. Cobb wasn't commanding enough to play the role of Barak, and why leave out the history of the Palmachniks, the Haganah, and the Irgun (Macabbees in the book)? Tell the story of Jossi and his brother walking to Israel. Leave out the overblown, way-too-long interview with Dov Landau when he's trying to join the Irgun. Dov was a forger and a smuggler, not a demolitions expert. I could go on and on.
I've been to Israel, and the filmography is pretty good, but sadly doesn't really tell the story of the Palestinians and the Jews, which is what Leon Uris was doing in his book.
In short, Exodus is a good movie if you don't care about history - the movie could have taken place in Ireland or South Africa. The uniqueness of the Jewish/Israeli history is smothered by the relationships and the high drama.
A Town Like Alice (1981)
Best movie of all time!
This movie is a sleeper - I've watched every miniseries that was ever on TV, some many times, and this one is the best. Wonderfully cast, superbly acted, and the characters are well-developed. Helen Morse perfectly fits the part of Jean Paget - strident, in control, sharp, and a bit belligerent. She bounces well off of Joe Harmon, the cowboy/taciturn/"It'll be okay" sort of guy. I was sorry that the movie didn't stick to the book, in that there was no romantic interest between Noel Struan and Jean Paget. For those who don't know, this is taken from a true story about English women marched around Malaya for 3 years by the Japanese, who indeed did not know what to do with them. Very few of them survived. Neville Shute talked to one of them, and this is her story. This movie deserves to be in everyone's collection who loves WWII stories.
Centennial (1978)
Great miniseries
What I really enjoyed about this series was the beavers! They, in true Michener style, kept appearing, reappearing, then disappearing. I am still confused about Paul Garrett's ancestry - it says he descended from both Pasquinel and the Loyds. I get the Loyd part (Jim Loyd was his grandfather) but I cannot figure out the Pasquinel connection. Was it through Major Mercy, who married Lisette Pasquinel? I agree with almost everyone else - the first few episodes are the best. Jim Conrad, Alex Karras, and Gregory Harrison are amazing in the roles.
One suggestion: Find the book and read it - it ties some loose ends together and fleshes out the characters a bit better.
Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III (1994)
Hollywood - Get a clue!
First, I read the books. Then, I watched "North & South Book I". No one expects the movie to be like the book, but really....James Read looks like Orry in the book, and Patrick Swayze would make a passable George. In the book, Orry wanted to be a soldier, George not - totally switched in the movie. Elkanah Bent is an obese buffoon in the book, but Philip Casnoff? Did someone owe him a favor? And, there's no Cooper Main. Okay, but the scenery was good, and the acting was watchable - after all, it is John Jakes, so one can't expect serious history.
Then "North and South Book II" appears on TV. Gone is the first Billy, and he's replaced by Kirstie Alley's then-husband, Parker Stephenson. Then Ashton teams up with Bent. Ludicrous. Why, oh why, did George end up in Libby Prison? I will never understand why Hollywood twists the plots from the book.
Then, after several years, along comes "Heaven and Hell". The original Charles Main is gone, Orry is killed by Bent(!), and what happened to Semiramis and Ezra from books I & II? Oh no - here's Cooper Main! He just appears in the middle of the plot - plop.
Please - when a movie is made from books, don't assume no one has read them, or doesn't care. The plot from the books could have easily been followed, so why change things?
War and Remembrance (1988)
No! No! No!
I read the books long ago, and watched "The Winds of War" when it first came out. Don't ever watch a sequel that's made 5 years later than the original - it just doesn't work. I understand Ali MacGraw decided she was too old in 1988 to play Natialie Jastrow - kudos, she was too old in the first - but Jane Seymour? She looks about the same age as Ali, too. Robert Mitchum looked exhausted, his clothes didn't fit, and he had no passion. Hart Bochner, as Byron Henry, was awful - just awful. Briny was indolent, insolent, and quirky - Jan Michael-Vincent was far better, although agreeably too old. Ralph Bellamy did a good job as FDR, but was too small. I know no one who likes a good read is ever satisfied with the movie, but casting is everything in these long sagas - an unknown who fit the part would have been far better.
The Winds of War (1983)
Worth watching, but...
...for anyone who read the book(s) first, the movie is a disappointment, as is often the case. In particular, the miscasting of the major characters was appalling. I read that Robert Mitchum was put into the role because a "big name" was needed. Well, there are many "big names" who would have made this character believable. The Pug Henry of the book was 50ish and virile - Robert Mitchum, while taciturn and upright, just couldn't pull off this role, and it was worse in the sequel, "War and Remembrance". His relationship with Pam Tudsbury was believable and natural in the book, but laughable in the movie. I think Polly Bergen did a fair job, and Jan Michael-Vincent, while too old, was far more believable than Hart Bochner who appears as Briny in the sequel. I notice many of the reviewers criticized Ali McGraw, but I liked her in the role far more than Jane Seymour, who wasn't dark, exotic, or brash enough to play the character in the book. But, all in all, I enjoyed it, I bought it, and I've watched it a couple of times. Not for the faint of heart, or those who like action films. This film takes some time to watch and enjoy.