While this dramatizes American involvement in two different wars (overlapping in the film's structure even though they take place several years apart), it is presented in a forward manner that is never confusing. Of course, one of those wars is the second world war, and the other one is what little involvement that the American military had in the attempt to create a Jewish state in Israel. At the center of this is Jewish American Kirk Douglas, an army attorney with his own ways of viewing situations, often to his detriment and on occasion to the bemused smirk of his superiors.
With John Wayne as a two star general and Yul Brynnur as the Jewish leader fighting for the independent state, there's sure star power. Angie Dickinson is pretty much in the background as Douglas's wife, but has a few moments of greatly influencing her idealistic husband. Senta Berger plays an Italian Jew who teaches Douglas the ways of the Jewish Nationals who consider Douglas an American outsider.
One poignant moment has Douglas showing Wayne around Dachau and observing Wayne becoming sick inside as he realizes the horrors. Future Tevye, Topol, plays a classic music loving Arab leader struggling for peace in his changing world. A walk-on by Frank Sinatra as a pilot seems almost gratuitous. Michael Hordern appears briefly as a politician who tries to urge Douglas to convince the Jewish Israelis to proceed slowly, giving the indication that America would only support the leaders who would aide them in getting oil.
At a lengthy 140 minutes, this manages to fly by pretty quickly with moments intense and poignant, violent and peaceful, traditional and modern. I really felt that I was getting a pretty authentic view of some of the situations that could have gone on, taking account that this war for control has never really ended, only getting more complex as new leaders and technologies have become involved. Indeed, no matter how much money and power a country at war has, the results are usually the same as those countries which don't.
With John Wayne as a two star general and Yul Brynnur as the Jewish leader fighting for the independent state, there's sure star power. Angie Dickinson is pretty much in the background as Douglas's wife, but has a few moments of greatly influencing her idealistic husband. Senta Berger plays an Italian Jew who teaches Douglas the ways of the Jewish Nationals who consider Douglas an American outsider.
One poignant moment has Douglas showing Wayne around Dachau and observing Wayne becoming sick inside as he realizes the horrors. Future Tevye, Topol, plays a classic music loving Arab leader struggling for peace in his changing world. A walk-on by Frank Sinatra as a pilot seems almost gratuitous. Michael Hordern appears briefly as a politician who tries to urge Douglas to convince the Jewish Israelis to proceed slowly, giving the indication that America would only support the leaders who would aide them in getting oil.
At a lengthy 140 minutes, this manages to fly by pretty quickly with moments intense and poignant, violent and peaceful, traditional and modern. I really felt that I was getting a pretty authentic view of some of the situations that could have gone on, taking account that this war for control has never really ended, only getting more complex as new leaders and technologies have become involved. Indeed, no matter how much money and power a country at war has, the results are usually the same as those countries which don't.