Khartoum

UPC: 027616875808

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Questionable for Children]

Summary: After declaring a holy war to rid the Sudan of Anglo-Egyptian rule in the 1880s, the fanatical Sudanese leader Muhammad Ahmad (Laurence Olivier) massacres a British-led force of 8,000 and marches on the strategic city of Khartoum at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The British government of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (Ralph Richardson) then sends one of its greatest generals, Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston), to Khartoum to make peace and save the city. Gordon had previously served with distinction in the Crimea, China, India and South Africa. Most important, he had also served as governor of the Sudan in the late 1870s at the request of the khedive of Egypt, instituting administrative reforms, reducing the slave trade and bolstering the economy. However, before Gordon reaches Khartoum with his aide, many of his former Sudanese friends defect to the Mahdi. Nevertheless, Gordon receives a rousing reception when he arrives in the city in February 1884. Heartened, he meets in the desert with the Mahdi to try to forge a peace agreement, but the Arab leader tells Gordon he is bent on taking Khartoum. What's more, he means to conquer other cities -- Cairo, Mecca, Baghdad and Constantinople -- to establish a vast empire under his leadership. Convinced that more war is inevitable, Gordon and the loyal Egyptian troops under his command prepare for battle. Meanwhile, in London, the Gladstone government is reluctant to dispatch troops to support the outnumbered Khartoum forces because colonial meddling has become bad politics. To forestall disaster, Gordon diverts the Nile to create a moat around Khartoum and leads a foray in which he steals cattle from the Mahdi's herd to supply the besieged city with food. But when the Nile recedes, the stage is set for the final battle that will decide the fate of Khartoum. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Category: Epic

Awards: Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Original theatrical trailer
English stereo Surround
Spanish stereo Surround
English, French & Spanish language subtitles

Khartoum

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/07/2002

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 136 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Main Title/Overture
2. Holy War in the Sudan
3. "The Expected One"
4. Who Can Explain War?
5. "Come Back Safe"
6. Aide or Spy?
7. "You Killed My Son!"
8. Hail the Proud Savior!
9. A Peace Offer Refused
10. Failure Is No Option
11. Opening the Floodgates
12. Divide & Conquer
13. "Conniving Politicians"
14. "The British Are Coming!"
15. No Chance, No Choice
16. Impossible Missions
17. Executing Proclamations
18. Giving False Messages
19. Threatening Miracles
20. Last Stand at Khartoum

Mike Cummings

This film's scenario is an old one: Dig in. Take aim. Then fight to the last gasp. But director Basil Deardon's Khartoum executes the scenario on a grand scale. Set mainly in and near the Sudanese city of Khartoum between 1884 and 1885, it features massing armies, booming canons, and a desert landscape alternately beautiful and brutal. Both Charleston Heston as Gordon and Laurence Olivier as Ahmad are in top form as they define the central conflicts: Gordon's ego vs Ahmad's ego, the Christian God vs the Muslim God, and Sudanese rule vs Anglo-Egyptian rule. A memorable scene in the film is a confrontation between Heston and Olivier in the Mahdi's tent. There, they clash verbally as Olivier reveals his plan to take not only Khartoum, but also Cairo, Mecca, Baghdad and Constantinople. Although both actors infuse their characters with unyielding resolve, Olivier is the more overtly fanatical and menacing, but Heston, for his part, refuses to cower, and his always imposing film presence serves him well in presenting Gordon as larger-than-life visionary. Some reviewers, however, criticized the film for both Olivier's use of blackface make-up and for being a bit "talky." If good writing, acting and pacing constitute talkiness, then the film is indeed guilty of that offense. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ronald Leigh-Hunt  Actor 
Hugh Williams  Actor 
Richard Jordan  Actor 
Leo Genn  Actor 
Julian Blaustein  Producer 
Frank Cordell  Composer (Music Score) 
Basil Dearden  Director 
Robert Ardrey  Screenwriter 
Charlton Heston  Actor 
Laurence Olivier  Actor 
Richard Johnson  Actor 
Ralph Richardson  Actor 
Alexander Knox  Actor 
Johnny Sekka  Actor 
Michael Hordern  Actor 
Zia Mohyeddin  Actor 
Marne Maitland  Actor 
Nigel Green  Actor 
Douglas Wilmer  Actor 
Edward Underdown  Actor 
Alec Mango  Actor 
George Pastell  Actor 
Peter Arne  Actor 
Alan Tilvern  Actor 
Michael Anthony  Actor 
Jerome Willis  Actor 
Leila  Actor 
Ralph Michael  Actor 

Country: UK