Khartoum (1966)

Directors:

Basil Dearden
Eliot Elisofon

Writer:

Robert Ardrey (written by)

Release Date:

15 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

They say the Nile still runs red from the Battle of Khartoum!

Plot:

After an Egyptian army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880's...

Plot Keywords:

Sudan | Battle | 1880s | Crusade | Defense

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
Laurence Olivier	...	The Mahdi
Richard Johnson	...	Col. J.D.H. Stewart
Ralph Richardson	...	William Gladstone
Alexander Knox	...	Sir Evelyn Baring
Johnny Sekka	...	Khaleel
Michael Hordern	...	Lord Granville
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Zobeir Pasha
Marne Maitland	...	Sheikh Osman
Nigel Green	...	Gen. Wolseley
Hugh Williams	...	Lord Hartington
Ralph Michael	...	Sir Charles Dilke
Douglas Wilmer	...	Khalifa Abdullah
Edward Underdown	...	Col. William Hicks
Peter Arne	...	Maj. Kitchener

Runtime:

134 min | USA:128 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #21216) | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:U (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Al Minyal, Egypt

Company:

Julian Blaustein Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Burt Lancaster turned down the role of Major General Gordon.

Goofs:

Continuity: The attack on Khartoum starts with an artillery shell completely destroying the top of a tower located in the city, yet later in the film a night shot displays the tower again intact.

Quotes:

Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon: Colonel, what are the chances of my sacking you as my aide?
Col. J.D.H. Stewart: If any exist General, please be assured that I'd be the first to point them out to you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.96)" (2006)

Drama and Detail

Khartoum is an account of the 1885 massacre of British General Charles (Chinese) Gordon (played by Charlton Heston) and British Egyptian troops in Khartoum in the Sudan by the hard-line Muslim forces of The Mahdi (The Chosen One), played by Sir Laurence Olivier--good make-up job.

This is an even-handed job (meaning, of course, all the favorable sides of things might have been assumed to be with Gordon, but they are not)--the views of both sides of the struggle are sympathetically represented, and Gordon's vanity is not spared. Nevertheless, he clearly has heroic stature, embellished by dramatic flourishes and some historical bending. Indeed, there is substantial historical detail in the tradition of epic films, much of it basically true, but certain parts are pure fantasy. In a film like this, neither is a problem for me--after all, isn't the point of this event its sheer drama, a white man mystic hero being massacred in a lonely outpost and achieving martyrdom? And I am one who is all for the historical stuff, and a checker of detail. The cadences of the screenplay and the swirling climax are entirely appropriate and make for great entertainment. Although Gordon's conduct in handling the situation was less unobjectionable than presented here (and not to say that there were no criticisms brought to the forefront in the film), it is likely his passion for the Sudan and the Sudanese and his desire for martyrdom are not much exaggerated. One of my favorites.