MovieChat Forums > Exodus (1961) Discussion > points about actors

points about actors

posted 16 years ago by scarletto_hare
5 replies | jump to latest

although everyone is entitled to state their point of view; i would like to as well. yes, i have read the book more than once. so this is my opinion for some of the things that have been said throughout the message boards that i have read.

1. Eva Marie Saint: her acting was called i think 'wooden' from reading the book and understanding her character better i believe she was wooden, but only because she was trying to emphasise how she felt like an 'outsider'; as she did say in the film. Perhaps reading the book and watching the film gives a better understanding. Also her wooden appearance could be herself trying to resist Ari. A struggle which she does have continually in the book for various reasons.

2. Dov's lack of story: even though this was done in 1960, it was still a time of censorship, some of the stuff he did say i was surprised to hear when i first watched it, considering the time; and there was the risk of black listing, yes i know the director did hire someone (the screenplay writer i think) who was blacklisted but that was controversial at the time too, and people were still scared of being black listed.

3. Paul Newman not right for the role: I disagreed, despite if he did or did not look like how he was described in the book, that's happened before in other book-to-movie adaptions. I enjoyed his portrayal of the character of Ari and thought he was great in it. Newman did show lack of feeling but I believe that was part of the character, at the end of book he cries and Kitty realises that he 'needs' her at that moment. Ari's character rarely shows feeling even in the book, so 'walking' through the role maybe part of his way to emphasise that. Even though the crying scene was in the book, I think the speech at the end of the movie was the equivalent of it. Additionally, the scene where kitty is on boat and she looks for Ari, and he is sitting on the ground looking a little defeated; is also showing how gradually Ari 'needs' or let's Kitty become the other part of his life. Like she said in the film that a man who is his work is only half a man and the other half should be a woman.

But these are just my opinions.
As for the 'needs' that I have referred to, it makes much more sense when reading the book and looking at the film.
I love this movie and the book they are one of my favorites.
I know people won't always agree with what I say, but this is how I see it.
Also sorry in advance for my lack of grammar and spelling.

The only Abnormality is the incapacity to love

[–] kayekaye-1 16 years ago

I have to disagree - having seen the movie several times (and am watching it again right now), I can't find any good reason for Eve Marie Saint's obviously sub-par performance. Her stiffness seems more to be the mannered and unnatural approach of a actress in a role which needed emotional range and a lot of subtlety, especially in 1 on 1 dialogue/exposition scenes with the other characters. Instead, she copes with the role by over ennunciating and utilising a cliched set of body language responses (like the routine nod 3" to the right when supposed to be contemplating Issues, a 3 sec glance-down and back when Karen Gushes The Truth - the usual sort of thing... you can turn the volume down and still work out what manner of dialogue she's getting told just by these gestures). Anyway, its like watching someone anxious to show they've worked very hard at their acting lessons - and not The Method sort either! (was she a not a sometime student of Strasberg and them? That would be really something to ponder when watching her struggling here...) And finally, not meaning to be bitchy but she looked so drawn and haggard - like a combination demonstration of tiredness and hunger. Rather a bitter irony considering she was not of course playing an Exodus passenger refugee....

When morning comes twice a day or not at all

[–] kayekaye-1 16 years ago

...And you'd have thought the director would have understood that the role of Karen was WAY too important to have then cast the over-elocutioned, over-peroxided, over-dimpled and under-talented British-Stage School 1950s-JonBenet-looky-likey prim little muppet that made her and E-MS so dreadfully well-matched. Sadly not. Compared to these two, I thought Paul Newman did a pretty fair job. And Sal Mineo is always worth watching.

When morning comes twice a day or not at all

[–] scarletto_hare 16 years ago

You could say that the withdrawn appearance and acting could be due to the fact that Kitty is suppose to feel like an outsider. She was also in mourning for her husband and child - in the book her daughter was a older when she died. The character in a very lonely and lost position at the beginning of the film/book. She is lost and searching for some meaning in her life. I've seen Eva Marie Saint in a few movies and she can produce different and extensive ranges of emotion. Karen's role was underplayed meaning the Karen was very important to the story and they didn't focus enough on that but that could be due to time constraints.

The only Abnormality is the incapacity to love

[–] dianecmorales 15 years ago

I've both read the book AND seen the flic a number of times -- Leon Uris is one of my fave authors. Boy, could he tell a story! I agree with whoever said that the movie, while fabulous by today's standards, was not up to snuff in the legendary tradition of Hollywood blockbusters like "Ben Hur," "The Big Country," "Giant" and so on. It could have been so much more, but as one poster said, there was so much background information that it couldn't realistically have fit in one movie, either then or now. The only problem is, the movie would have made so much more sense, even to those who are already well versed in the history of the region.

i thought Paul Newman, one of my very favorite actors of all time, was truly miscast in the role of Ari Ben Canaan. He was such a physical presence that it should have been adhered to. What if Scarlett had been cast as a blonde in Gone with the Wind???? omg!!! Even Rock Hudson had the build, but just not the acting chops to handle the role; Burt Lancaster was too emotive. Charlton Heston wasn't right for it, either. I can't think who could have pulled Ari off any better than Newman did.....perhaps it will come to me later....

I never liked Eva Marie Saint, either, as Kitty, but Kitty was a bit of a stick in the book so perhaps that was well cast. Karen had brown hair in the book and Dov was blond -- reversed in the movie. I am a purist and like things to be as much like the original as possible. Though both Jill Haworth and Dov were terrific.
Actually, Stephen Boyd might have been a good Ari -- he played Messala in "Ben Hur," -- tall, dark, handsome and ruthless. Might have worked.....

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5955) 7 years ago

How about Heston for Ari Ben Canaan? Boyd was not a big enough star to carry such a big movie.