this movie tells the story of Colonel Mickey Marcus, who came to Israel to help the people there fight against 6(!) different Muslim armies, who came for only one thing:"Throw all the Jews to the sea". this movie showed back then, what the world have to suffer from now: radical Islam, and their approach of "we will not stop killing until everyone is dead". this movie is great, and tell an amazing story, about the founding of a country, who not only managed to survive against all odds, but also managed to become the most dominated one in the middle east. highly recommended.!

I enjoyed Cast a Giant Shadow.Like so many films of its type, it has the obligatory love angles that only slow the film down. Angie Dickinson and Senta Berger are much better actors than their silly parts allow them to be. When Dickinson's characters says to Douglas: "Don't hate me for loving you so much," I wanted to scream. Oh, wait, I think I did scream. After that silliness, I fast-forwarded through the rest of the "love" scenes. As a result, I have no idea what happened in the last scene between Douglas and Berger; somehow I'll still be able to sleep at night.Another reviewer thinks the scene with John Wayne at the concentration camp is ridiculous and hard to believe. I actually thought it very believable and a remarkably directed and acted scene. Douglas's character has been there before. But Wayne as the general hasn't seen the camps first-hand and seems to think the stories have been exaggerated. Wayne and Douglas walk into the camp but the camera remains in a tight shot on them. So instead of showing us the scenes in the recently liberated camp, the camera shows us Wayne and Douglas's reactions to what they're seeing. It's only a short scene, but the few seconds of the look on Wayne's face register powerfully. It's subtle. He doesn't overplay it with a look of obvious horror, disgust, etc. Instead, there's a sort of confused, muffled pain in his eyes. John Wayne was a much better actor than he's usually given credit for. When Wayne turns to his right and goes over to lean on a fencepost with his head down (trying to compose himself? trying not to puke?), well, that was a powerful moment for me. There was something about seeing that tall, broad-shouldered man have to walk away, shut his eyes, and hang his head. I forgot it was John Wayne for a few minutes, and that's a big compliment to any star actor. I won't forget any part of that scene.I agree with another reviewer. Douglas' part has too many wisecracks. It gets old. Still, there are some quite funny lines in this film, and not only spoken by Douglas. My favorite is when Douglas is telling the weapons- and manpower-strapped Haganah commander and the others that they have to attack, hit the enemy hard. And Yul Brynner deadpans: "With what? Noodle soup?" Cast a Giant Shadow is not the greatest film ever made, but it's an enjoyable one. Just fast forward through the romantic scenes and you'll be okay.

Earnest, well-mounted but essentially dreary epic about the real-life involvement of an American Jew in the post-war struggle for Israel's independence – thus sharing its theme with EXODUS (1960), and clearly aiming (but failing) for a "Marcus Of Israel" feel! Kirk Douglas stars as Mickey Marcus – perhaps chosen due to the character's similarities to another historical figure forced by circumstances into leadership, Spartacus, whom Douglas had portrayed in 1960. He's supported by an eclectic cast which includes Angie Dickinson as his neglected(!) wife, Senta Berger as the Israeli girl he falls for, Topol as an ill-tempered Arab sheik, Luther Adler as a local politician, a plethora of reliable British character actors – and even guest appearances by Frank Sinatra (which doesn't amount to much), a glum Yul Brynner as a fellow freedom fighter, and John Wayne as a U.S. General whom Douglas initially falls foul of but the two eventually end up respecting one another (still, seeing Wayne at the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp is about as incongruous as his stint playing the Roman Centurion at Christ's crucifixion in THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD [1965]!).Despite a sharp script and good individual sequences, the film is compromised by its necessity to be both a spectacle and a message picture (the WWII flashbacks, for instance, are unnecessary and merely render the film overlong); unsurprisingly, it works best during the action highlights (complemented by a typically fine Elmer Bernstein score). Apparently, the events have been partially fictionalized – I wonder whether these embellishments concerned the romantic complications and the Hollywood-style ironic ending. For the record, Shavelson had started out as a scriptwriter (and later director) of Bob Hope and Danny Kaye vehicles; this was his most serious effort – a brave try, but not quite the 'giant' film he clearly intended...

Cast a Giant Shadow was a neat movie to watch on Satellite Television. The fight at the Jordanian fort was a good attempt. Here is another readback form Moon 168 Artevan that I skipper. "Opponents of Olmert and Dice must be dub checked L on the Beach Holodeck." David "Mickey" Marcus was the first General of an Independent Israel. Marcus was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. I always wondered if Marcus had faked his death so he could operate from the shadows. Marcus used his D-Day experience to describe Israeli held territory as a beachhead and that offended some Israeli Officers but Marcus was correct to fight like that. Seeing Israel get Independence in a film is a special Hollywood moment. My Jewish Fiancé would never throw a first punch at someone because she doesn't want to be viewed as the aggressor like Israel before the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Get it? Check out Kirk Douglas in 200 leagues under the sea as well.