The Film (3.5/5)

Khartoum is one of several action adventure films set in the Middle East pre-1900. The movie is based on historical accounts of General Charles Gordon's defense of Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army.

In Khartoum which takes place in Sudan the years 1884 and 1885, a group of inexperienced Egyptian forces have been slaughtered by a Muslim Army led by an insane religious fanatic, the Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmed (Laurence Olivier). This results in The British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (Ralph Richardson) sending British General, Charles Gordon (Charlton Heston) and an aide Col. John Stewart (Richard Johnson) to Khartoum. They are to defend Khartoum and its citizens against an invading Muslim Army led by Ahmed. Gordon, a hero to the citizens of Khartoum defies the orders that were given to him by the Prime Minister and starts rallies and other events that he was not sent to Khartoum for, leading to an incredible amount of tension and pressure among Gladstone and the British government. Gordon’s Egyptian forces and the Madhi’s army ensure in a brutal battle to the death and for the control of Khartoum

Basil Dearden’s Khartoum is a fascinating well-done film that should easily appeal to fans of this genre. The movie has solid acting, tremendous fight scenes when they occur and great cinematography. The fighting scenes between the armies are well staged and surprisingly bloody and violent for its time, but outside of that, the film still fails to hold interest for the over 2 hour running time. The film is dialog heavy tends to lag on a bit long at certain moments.

The actors all hand in top notch performances, as one would expect from Olivier, Heston and Johnson. Supporting cast members, Ralph Richardson as William Ewart Gladstone (who was nominated for the Best British actor from BAFTA), Prime Minister Alexander Knox as Sir Evelyn Baring, Consul-General of Egypt, Nigel Green as General Wolseley and Johnny Sekka as Khaleel are also excellent in their respective roles. In today’s society those who have seen Khartoum might be a little resentful about Laurence Olivier’s blackface to play the evil Madhi. I’m sure in 1966 this wasn’t even a mere thought to the director or anyone else.

Khartoum was filmed by cinematographer Ted Scaife in Technicolor, who did a fantastic job capturing the beautiful Egyptian locations. The wonderful musical score is courtesy of Frank Cordell.

Audio/Video (3.5/5)

Eureka Masters of Cinema releases Khartoum on Blu ray and overall it’s stunning. There are some moments during the film’s presentation that boast some simply divine outdoor scenery that are ravishing; one could just watch the movie for the views only. Some scenes do tend to look a little soft but nothing so distracting to ruin the viewing experience. Black levels during evening scenes look fine , however there are few scenes with the shadowing being unbalanced and might have some difficulty seeing everything clearly. Film grain is present, with no use of DNR applied.

English LCPM 2.0 is the audio used and the dialog, action noises and music sound phenomenal. The lossless audio has done wonders for this movie in the sound department. Optional English SDH subtitles are offered as well.

Extras (3/5)

This release gets the same audio commentary as the Twilight Time release featuring film historians Nick Redman, Julie Kirgo and Lem Dobbs where they discuss the film, it’s cast, crew and other behind the scenes information. Also in this package is a new interview with Sheldon Hall – who discusses the history of Khartoum, and explains how the cast were selected. Die-hard fans should not pass on watching the extras for this release. The original theatrical trailer and a booklet round out the supplemental material. A DVD is also included with the same material. This is a Region B release. 

Overall (3.75/5)

While Khartoum may not be a film that interests everyone, those who love and support the genre will have a field day watching and enjoying the film. The presentation is a very good one, with great audio/video quality and a couple of outstanding extras to make this one fine package.