Cathardincu
Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Freeman
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Leofwine_draca
KHARTOUM is a lavish and endearingly old-fashioned retelling of the last days of the famous General Gordon as he held Khartoum against the overwhelming hordes of the Mahdi, a religious fanatic who led an uprising in 19th century Sudan. The film has much of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA about it, with sweeping desert vistas and sand-swept derring-do. It's no classic - there's not quite enough depth to it for that - but fans of historical adventure yarns will find themselves delighted by the film's refreshing unswavering attitude and Charlton Heston's well-judged turn as Gordon, playing him as a man of principle. The film is full of British actors in brown face make up, with Laurence Olivier the sinister Mahdi and a supporting cast replete with familiar faces (including the inevitable foreign-looking likes of George Pastell, Roger Delgado, and Marne Maitland). Richard Johnson and Ralph Richardson supply the requisite stiff upper lips, and if it all feels a little slow and sedate at times, it soon builds to a rousing climax which could well be considered the British Alamo.
grantss
Underwhelming. I am a big fan of military dramas, especially those based on historic events, so this movie should have been a lock in terms of liking it. However, it fails to deliver.The biggest setback is Charlton Heston's accent. He's an American putting on a posh English accent, and he sounds it. Just feels so...superficial. Whatever possessed the producers to go with an American in as a 19th century English general is beyond me. At the time, Heston was the go-to actor for heroic roles, so that might explain it.Laurence Oliver is slightly better, as the Mahdi. Hardly recognisable, his accent is someones quite hilarious, and sometimes quite offensive (I would think). Were there no middle-eastern actors available at the time?Plot also seems quite padded. Yes, the political intrigues had to be there to show why General Gordon was in the situation he was in, and did what he did. However, there seems to be a lot of pointless scenes in the movie, particularly in the first half.This said, there are some good battle scenes. Plus, the movie seems fairly true to history (which you can't say about all historical dramas), so is useful as a history lesson.
joel-280
A great romp, camp galore, starring a multi-gorgeous-uniformed, shining young Charlton Heston as Gen Gordon and a walnut-colored Laurence Olivier as his opponent The Mahdi. Stupendous walk-ons of Prime Minister Gladstone and other chin-whiskered VIPs in the House of Commons -- this flick can be enjoyed either high or sober, according to the viewer's taste.One of many high points is Gordon's triumphal entry into Khartoum, which may be where Paul Wolfowitz got his fantasy about how US forces would be welcomed into Baghdad after liberating it from Saddam Hussein. Too bad life did not imitate art in this case. If you want a greatly entertaining epic about paternalistic imperialism (or just over-the-top design of military uniforms), this flick's for you!
kosmasp
Mr. Heston in another monumental movie. I watched this one as a 70mm print, too, but unfortunately it was a German version/print. Heston is great in this movie as mentor/leader and of course also idol, for many people in the movie! The story itself is based on true events and concerns the British Empire and their colonies. Some might not like what they'll see here in this movie, but that doesn't mean the movie wasn't right in showing some things. Still it evolves to much around the Heston character, for my taste and that's why I didn't rate it as high as it could've been, regarding it's story. But watch it, if you like monumental movies and see for yourself.
