Waste of time

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

"Khartoum" is a very obvious case in bizarre casting. Sir Laurence Olivier plays the Mahdi (a Sudanese man) and Charlton Heston plays a Brit! Seeing Olivier in his heavy makeup made his face look like rubber and Heston's British accent sounded a bit odd to me. I assume real Brits would find his accent silly. And, why cast a 6'3" American to portray a 5'5" British man in the first place?! The story is about an uprising in Sudan in the 1880s. It seemed that a man called 'The Madhi' was seen as a holy man--a man who would help his people conquer and instill a government based on Sharia law. When an army of Egyptians went up against him, it was wiped out completely. So, General Gordon agrees to go to Sudan to lead a Sudanese army without much chance of success. As for the British government under Gladstone, it was hesitant to act--after all, he felt this was an internal affair and should be handled by the Africans. To see what happens in this historical film based on real characters, you can either watch this decent film or read up on it in Wikipedia! Overall, a beautifully made film with great music and locales--but the story itself is curiously unmoving and the two leads are not even close to being at their best. Perhaps this might not be true for folks in the UK--as soon after Gordon, the British government finally decided to intervene in the affair.

Khartoum tells the story of British general Sir Charles Gordon (Charlton Heston) who accepted the assignment of liberating English citizens and Egyptians from the Sudan city of Khartoum, which was being invaded by The Mahdi (Laurence Olivier) and his Arab forces.Directed by Basil Dearden and written by Robert Ardrey, Khartoum is an effective historical story piece that has wisely spent its budget to make it looks fabulous. Shot in Ultra Panavision and Technicolor on location in Egypt, it goes without saying that the film needs to be witnessed on the biggest screen available to you. As is normally the way in this type of film, historical accuracies come under scrutiny, to which Khartoum, except for a couple of major character meetings that never happened, is happy to hopefully entertain while it educates. But it's talky, very talky. Which while that works for those who like a touch of political intrigue in their historical epic diet, those more inclined to gorge on action over substance movies are sure to still be hungry come the end. What action there is is excellently choreographed by stunt coordinator Yakima Canutt, and as productions go, Khartoum is lavish and acted with no little skill by a fine cast (Ralph Richardson, Michael Horden & Nigel Green complementing Messrs Heston & Olivier).But Khartoum is something of an enigma in that it has a lot going for it yet it remains a genre piece that's hard to recommend with confidence. In fact it's very much like another of Heston's historical epic pictures, 55 Days at Peking, in that it has many fans yet is rarely spoke about in genre circles. Of course there's now issues in this day and age as regards races and how they are portrayed, so for the politically correct amongst us, it's probably best to avoid this "touchily topical" period in Heston's career. And while Ardrey's screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award, one can't help yearning for some more depth given to the lead players, Gordon & The Mahdi, as opposed to expansive conversations involving political machinations back in Blighty. However, its literary value is still very high, which when coupled with the magnificent visual touches (Edward Scaife on cinematography duties) make it a genre piece of note; to the discerning observer that is.A mixed bag for sure, but it doesn't waste the money afforded it, while it's certainly far better than some of the silly and shallow epics that came our way post 1970. So a cautionary 7/10.

Not quite on a par with 'Lawrence Of Arabia' or 'Zulu'; 'Khartoum' still looks good in an age when squillions of human extras would be replaced by a dubious CGI riot.Charlton Heston is in tip-top form as the knight-errant. He plays it as stiff-necked and resolute as Ben Hur, though he never really cuts it as an Englishman. Lawrence Olivier is for once out of his depth as the Mahdi with a muddled accent, determined to drive the infidel from Arabia. Theirs is a collision-course.Some 90% of the movie addresses the political shenanigans that lead up to the siege of Khartoum and Gordon's sacrifice. It doesn't present Britain in a very positive light. And although a host of liberties are probably taken with historical fact, the dilatory blundering depicted here is entirely typical of every overseas campaign to which Britain has been a party, including both World Wars, Eden, Suez, the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan. We never, ever learn.When the siege finally happens it is short and sweet and very much an anti-climax. Even as a very amateur tactician/strategist, I wouldn't have fought it in quite the same way Gordon did. Being substantially outnumbered, he should have turned the enemy's hoards into a weapon against themselves, as the Romans used to do. And in the months leading up to the conflict he could have trained the 12,000 or so adult male civilian population into a viable auxiliary army. However; it's easy to be wise with hindsight.Well worth a watch if you get the chance. It's authentically placed, colourful, dramatic and epic, with excellent script and fine performances all-round.

What makes KHARTOUM so relevant to today's world, is the characterization of The Mahdi (LAURENCE OLIVIER) as a religious zealot, a Muslim fanatic who wants to wage a Holy War against the infidels and keeps proclaiming himself with the words: "I am the Expected One." Although this depiction of a true story is based on events that happened in the 1880s in the Sudan, it's timelier than ever when one connects the dots to Osama Bin Laden. And who doesn't? It's another story in the grand tradition of all those Hollywood epics that dealt with the British Empire and its expansion of colonies with British soldiers engaged in desert warfare against fanatic enemies. CHARLTON HESTON sometimes lets his British accent slip, but gives a persuasive performance in the kind of role he was born to play, even if his motivations are never completely clear. As to why he even assumes such an impossible mission, one can only wonder when the odds were so stacked against him in what seemed like a hopeless assignment. However, he's always in full command of his role.So is LAURENCE OLIVIER in dark-skinned make-up and using a convincing accent that makes his character seem true to life, seeing himself as the chosen one to lead his tribe against British rule. The confrontations between him and Heston are well staged and both actors appear at their best in these highly literate scenes that reveal the depth of their beliefs.Frank Cordell's score is fascinating and Yakima Canutt's staging of the battle scenes adds a great deal to the authenticity of the desert battles. RALPH RICHARDSON is fine as Prime Minister William Gladstone, anxious to save the reputation of his country after a humiliating defeat, and RICHARD JOHNSON is excellent as Col. Stewart, the man assigned to accompany Heston to the Sudan.The screenplay is an intelligent examination of the events and deservedly won an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay written directly for the screen. Tighter editing might have improved the lengthy film that runs two hours and fourteen minutes.