Awesome Movie

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Col. Marcus (Kirk Douglas) is recruited to fight for an independent Israel. He must organize the disparate fighting forces to win against overwhelming odds.The action is pretty good and the underdog story is very compelling. Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner make for very charismatic leaders. Seeing Frank Sinatra in the movie breaks the tension. He's in it more for the comedy and probably the box office. And similarly, the same can be said of John Wayne. He's more of a distraction from the main story. Angie Dickinson has little to do as Mrs Marcus. Senta Berger is the Israeli love interest and she overacts in a pivotal scene. There's a lot of melodrama going on with her.The saving grace is Kirk Douglas. He is the magnetic personality that glues the movie together. He's the driving force, and it's him that makes this movie works. It is a bit of a sided propaganda piece, but I don't think it should be penalized for it.

Col. Mickey Marcus (Kirk Douglas) had just returned home from WWII when David Ben-Gurion and the fledgling Jewish freedom fighters asked him to come to Palestine to organize their forces into a real army. Although he had a wife (Angie Dickinson) at home, Marcus missed the excitement and agreed to help. As the Palmach, Haganah, and other underground groups join forces to fight the Arabs bent on their destruction, Mickey becomes the first general of the new Israeli army.This movie covers the same basic ground as 1960's "Exodus," but isn't as successful. Douglas' Colonel Marcus is such a jovial, sarcastic, and über-confident charmer that he just doesn't seem to take the war seriously and makes it look like a walk in the park. Mickey's non-stop wisecracks left me wishing he would cut it out and just talk normally. The requisite battlefield love story with freedom fighter Senta Berger is too predictable and she doesn't have much range as an actress. Casting John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and Yul Brynner doesn't help matters either; they look out of place and distract from the story, although Wayne is likable as an American General who locks horns with Mickey and gradually comes to respect him. Topol plays the only Arab with a speaking part as a bumbling buffoon.Partially filmed in Israel, the location does help to show the difficulties faced by the army. We see several battles that Mickey actually commanded; there are explosions and a lot of gunfire, but they are sanitized to the point of being virtually bloodless. Col. Marcus was certainly an important, heroic man but this movie doesn't do him justice.

After service in World War II, assimilated Jewish-American lawyer Kirk Douglas (as David "Mickey" Marcus), is offered a dangerous assignment in Palestine. There, Allied victors and the United Nations are supporting the formation of Israel through partition. Arriving, Mr. Douglas finds himself on the ground floor of what will dominate the remainder of 20th century in ways they couldn't have imagined in 1966 - the Arab/Israeli conflict. Reluctantly, Douglas finds himself leading the charge… "Cast a Giant Shadow" is well-named. First, it begins with giant shadow-casting footage of three larger-than-life figures - Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin (at Yalta). Second, it features "special appearances" by giant shadow-casters who normally star in features - Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner, and John Wayne (as the General). Third, you have sexy shadow-casting Senta Berger (as Magda Simon), who helps Douglas get over still smokin' wife Angie Dickinson (at home).This film is what you'd expect, considering the politics and time. Douglas is always a strength; his performance holds the film together through some tough times, and his varied selection of projects is appreciated. A couple of the big name supporting players, once you get over the initial distraction, present real characterizations. Director Melville Shavelson and cinematographer Aldo Tonti make attractive use of the locations. The real story is Douglas juggling Ms. Berger and Ms. Dickinson, not war.***** Cast a Giant Shadow (3/30/66) Melville Shavelson ~ Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Stathis Giallelis, John Wayne

Excellent cast, intelligent script, heart-warming scenes of loyalty, determination, re-discovered faith, sobering scenes of the cost of freedom, wow! I was completely engrossed watching this film, the story of General David "Mickey" Marcus (Kirk Douglas), who in 1948 became the first Israeli general since Joshua of Biblical times. This film came out when I was 14 and I have somehow missed seeing it all these years. I had no idea what I was missing. What I don't understand is the grumbling and complaining about what a "bad" film this is. Huh? I loved it! Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Yul Bryunner, Senta Berger and Frank Sinatra were perfectly cast in their roles. The script covered the highlights of the War of Independence during the brief time time Marcus was involved, and I don't know what more you could expect for a feature film. To tell the story of the war completely and thoroughly would take a miniseries of 20 hours or more. Yes, the special effects look dated now, but you can't fault something because it doesn't use technology that hadn't been invented yet. Also, learning that Senta Berger's character was fictional and apparently only inserted to make a good story, was a disappointment. However, her character was a wonderful metaphor for Marcus' newly found love for Israel and re-discovery of his faith, after living as a secular American Jew for his entire life. (At one point Marcus says he hasn't been to temple since his bar mitzvah). Also, I must say that I think the person who complained here on IMDb about John Wayne's reaction to seeing the Dachau concentration camp in the World War II flashback is completely off the mark. Wayne, as Pattonesque American general Mike Randolph, struggles to keep his emotions intact as he looks at the horror of the camp his troops have recently liberated. He orders his adjutant to give Marcus whatever he needs to tend to the Dachau survivors and turns away, his back to the camera. He leans against a fence, head down, physically and emotionally overcome. What would you want him to do in such a situation? I suspect the objecting person just doesn't like John Wayne no matter what the film or what his role. His son Michael Wayne was co-producer with the film's director and screenwriter Mel Shavelson, and Wayne's Batjac Productions is one of four production companies listed. Another reviewer here has cynically suggested most of the budget went to Wayne's salary and I say balderdash! I'm quite sure the Wayne family's interest and participation in this film was not merely financial. I'm equally sure they wanted to help tell this story of the Israeli struggle for freedom they thought the world should hear. Then and now, for that matter.I want to thank the Showtime networks for airing this film in the USA on May 16, 2009, which happened to be two days after the 61st anniversary of Israeli independence day. Nice touch, and a terrific weekend to see this film.