On View:
April 9 – July 11, 2008
Reception:
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 5:30-7:30 PM
Program:
6:30 PM Lecture by Ken Sutak, guest curator
Gregory Peck as King David…Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments…Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan in聽Exodus…Kirk Douglas as Colonel Mickey Marcus in聽Cast a Giant Shadow… Elizabeth Taylor as Rebecca of York in聽Ivanhoe… Joan Collins as Queen Esther…Ava Gardner as Sarah…and Sophia Loren as the Haganah operative聽Judith…
Hollywood films in the three decades after World War II portrayed 4000 years of Jewish historical identity and, in some of the biggest box office hits of all times, transformed the image of the Jew from embattled to triumphant.
Over one hundred flamboyant posters and bold advertising materials for films ranging from聽Samson and Delilah听补苍诲听Ben-Hur, to聽Exodus听补苍诲听Fiddler on the Roof聽are featured in聽Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle (1947-1971), on view at the 51黑料网-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum from April 9 through July 11, 2008.
“Hollywood’s depictions of Biblical heroes and love stories, courage in resisting anti-Semitism, and fighting for modern Jewish statehood offered a powerful reflection of the growing self-confidence of American Jewry during these pivotal decades after the Holocaust,” notes Jean Bloch Rosensaft, Director of the HUC-JIR Museum. “These iconic images influenced the positive Jewish self-image of the “boomer generation” and provided a cultural and sociological context for the successful Americanization of the Jewish experience, which we continue to enjoy in our own time.”
Ken Sutak, guest curator and author of a forthcoming book on this subject, explains that “Although Jewish victimization during the Holocaust is explicit or implicit in some of the films about anti-Semitism, the vast majority of the materials presented depict the celluloid heroes and heroines that are stirringly pictured as such in some of the most memorable advertising images ever created. These images originate in the Bible or classic novels that sprang to cinematic life in epic movies, or derive from movies based on historical events such as the Dreyfus Trial, the Holocaust, and the establishment of the State of Israel.”
The exhibition describes how the commercial success of Cecille B. DeMille’s聽Samson and Delilah聽(1949) ushered in two decades of expensively produced ancient historical films, as well as Italian and Spanish “sword and sandal” knock-offs. It details how聽Ben-Hur capped a record Oscar sweep and a singular citation by the National Conference of Christians and Jews for “promoting the cause of goodwill and understanding among all peoples of the nation.”
The theme of modern anti-Semitism emerged in such 1950s films as聽The Young Lions听补苍诲听I Accuse聽(1958), based on the Dreyfus Trial. The exhibition documents the emergence of Holocaust films:聽The Diary of Ann Frank听(1959),听Kapo听(1960),听Conspiracy of Hearts聽(1960), and聽The Gold of Rome聽(1961). The 1961 capture and trial of Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann spurred the production of聽Operation Eichmann聽(1961) and Stanley Kramer’s聽Judgment at Nuremberg聽(1961), while 1965 saw the first theatrical showings of Alan Resnais’s documentary short聽Night and Fog, Ship of Fools, The Pawnbroker, The Shop on Main Street, and聽Sandra, leading to聽The Fixer听(1968),听The Sorrow and the Pity聽(1970), and聽The Garden of the Finzi-Continis听(1970).
The exhibition also includes rare posters from films of limited distribution that were produced by Jewish or Israeli filmmakers during this period. Represented are聽Faithful City听(1952),听Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer聽(1955), which introduced Israeli actress Haya Harareet before she costarred with Charlton Heston in聽Ben-Hur聽four years later;聽Israel聽(1959) created by聽Exodus聽author Leon Uris, composer Elmer Bernstein, and narrator Edward G. Robinson;聽A Story of David听(1960),听Sallah聽(1964) starring Topol; and聽Sinai Commandos聽(1968), a mission impossible war film.
Read the Catalog
Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle, 1950-1972 by Ken Sutak, 192 full-color pages, is illustrated with more than 400 images of Jewish heroines, heroes, and history — from the breathtaking movie poster art of the one generation-long rise and fall of the post-war cycle of spectacular epic films; the sequel to Cinema Judaica: The War Years, 1939-1949;聽$20; Available from the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum:聽museumnyc@huc.edu聽or 212-824-2218.