Shmuel Rodensky Movies
- 1986
In this teen drama, after an aunt comes to stay with her nephew Alex and his family, the young nephew develops an adolescent crush on her. Actually, she's in town looking for her boyfriend who has been out of touch for some time, so her stay is not going to be permanent. The humor is dominated by various sexual encounters and occasional references to the Holocaust and voyeurism. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hana Roth
This thrill-packed fact-based action-adventure from Israel chronicles the daring rescue of 104 passengers from a hijacked plane in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 4, 1976. The film is also known as Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yehoram Gaon, Ori Levy, (more)
- 1977
In this family comedy, an Israeli girl is overwhelmed by the kind attentiveness of her mother and two aunts. The most powerful figure in this triumvirate is her Aunt Clara. When it becomes clear that she loves someone the aunts don't approve of, they conspire to send her to stay with her uncle in England. When she returns to Israel, she declares that she still loves her "unacceptable" boyfriend, and she finds a way to make marrying him possible. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hanna Maron, Shmuel Rodensky, (more)
In this action-packed spy drama, a retired CIA agent reluctantly returns to espionage at the request of his treacherous student, who messed up and went to the Soviet side. Now the agent wants out, causing both the US and the USSR to send out their best hit men to get him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Oliver Reed, (more)
Originally filmed for British television as a six-hour miniseries, Moses appeared in the U.S. in 1975 as a 2 1/2-hour theatrical release. God's lawgiver (Burt Lancaster) is chosen by God to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and into the promised land of Canaan. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quayle, (more)
The Odessa File is set in Hamburg in the winter of 1963. Jon Voight plays Peter Miller, a German reporter who is investigating the whereabouts of missing Nazi war criminals. After reading the diary of a Holocaust survivor who has recently committed suicide, Miller goes on the trail of in-hiding SS officer Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell). The reporter finds his investigation blocked by members of a secretive group called Odessa. With the help of Israeli activists, Miller persists in his search. Schell's sister Maria also appears in The Odessa File as Miller's mother, the widow of a German soldier. Based on a nailbiting novel by Frederick Forsyth, The Odessa File is highlighted by the exquisitely Teutonic score of Andrew Lloyd Webber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, (more)
This spy thriller from future Death Wish (1974) director Michael Winner stars Burt Lancaster as the enigmatic Cross, a CIA agent who has hired a government assassin, Jean Laurier (Alain Delon), to kill an Arab terrorist. Once they return home, Laurier is arrested by his superior, McLeod (John Colicos), who wants to know why Cross is still alive, as Laurier was ordered to kill him as well. Laurier doesn't think that Cross is guilty of the crime, but he relents and agrees to carry out the contract for a higher price. Cross, suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets, learns that his life is in danger and flees to Vienna, where he is aided by a former comrade-in-arms from WWII, the sympathetic KGB agent Sergei Zharkov (Paul Scofield). When Cross learns that his wife (Joanne Linville) has been murdered by McLeod, he returns to the U.S. and kills him, leading to a bloody final confrontation with a reluctant Laurier, who is shocked to discover that his lover (Gayle Hunnicutt) is in league with Cross. Scorpio (1973) was the writing debut of David W. Rintels, who went on to author several critically respected made-for-TV films. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, (more)
- 1971
This film moves the Romeo and Juliet story to Tel Aviv, has the rival families be insurance brokers Katz and Karosso, and changes the number of tragic couples from one to two. In this Israeli comedy, the story has a happy ending. One interesting feature of the film is the astonishing number of barely concealed merchandising plugs it contains: in that regard it is practically a filmed yellow pages. Adjustments in the plot appear to have been made to accommodate the use of name-brand items. While it is not surprising that this film was not well-reviewed, it is a great curiosity piece. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
In this comedy, a matchmaker has a matchless daughter. Try as he might, he cannot seem to find anyone for her. He is then hired to find a match for the daughter of a wealthy person. He sets her up with a village idiot, a look-a-like for the young woman's tutor upon whom she has an enormous crush. Unfortunately, her father rejects his daughter's beau because he is too middle-class. The clever girl then pretends to fall for the dolt and therefore is able to keep seeing her tutor. The confusion continues until the rich girl and the tutor marry. The matchmaker's daughter marries the simpleton. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Burstyn, Rina Ganor, (more)
- 1966
In this fast-paced musical farce--the first made in Israel--a wealthy but uneducated fellow attempts to marry his stuttering son to the daughter of a snobbish family. The family eventually accepts him because his father is so wealthy. Unfortunately, the young man loves another, who in turn loves someone else. Her true love, the family outcast, cares little for the rigid Orthodox Jewish traditions and he bears a striking resemblance to the speech-impeded son. Romantic mayhem ensues. "Kouney Lemel" is Yiddish for a person with few talents who is easily manipulated by others. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rafael Klatchkin, Germaine Unikovsky, (more)
- 1957
American documentary filmmaker Larry Frisch put up his own money to coproduce, write and direct the Israeli comedy Tel Aviv Taxi. The titular vehicle breaks down, stranding its five passengers. To pass the time before help arrives, the fivesome begins reminiscing on the past. Most of the film is consumed by flashbacks, which for the most part are only as interesting as the person flashing back. Tel Aviv Taxi was filmed twice, once in English and once in Hebrew; try finding either version these days. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rafael Klatchkin
