Khartoum (1966)

Directed by

Basil Dearden

Genre

drama film, adventure film, war film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

2h 14m

Rated

14

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 127 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 1884, British general Charles Gordon goes to Khartoum to defend the city against a rebel army led by the Mahdi. The film shows the siege and the clash between the two leaders.

epicdramatichistoricalgrand-scalesomberintensestatelyconflict-driven

What happens

Khartoum is a 1966 British epic war film written by Robert Ardrey and directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Charlton Heston as British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon and Laurence Olivier as Muhammad Ahmed (a Sudanese leader who proclaimed to be the Mahdi), with a supporting cast that includes Richard Johnson and Ralph Richardson. The film is based on historical accounts of Gordon's defence of the Sudanese city of Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army, during the 1884–1885 Siege of Khartoum. The opening and closing scenes are narrated by Leo Genn. Khartoum was filmed by cinematographer Edward Scaife in Technicolor and Ultra Panavision 70, and was exhibited in 70 mm Cinerama in premiere engagements. A novelisation of the film's screenplay was written by Alan Caillou. The film had its Royal World Premiere at the Casino Cinerama Theatre, in the West End of London, on 9 June 1966, in the presence of Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon. Khartoum earned Robert Ardrey an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. The film also earned Ralph Richardson a BAFTA Award nomination for Best British Actor. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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