Khartoum (1966)

After an Egyptian army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880's, the British government is in a quandary. It does not want to commit a British ... See full summary »

Directors:

Basil Dearden, Eliot Elisofon

Writer:

Robert Ardrey

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
Laurence Olivier	...	The Mahdi
Richard Johnson	...	Col. J.D.H. Stewart
Ralph Richardson	...	William Gladstone
Alexander Knox	...	Sir Evelyn Baring
Johnny Sekka	...	Khaleel
Michael Hordern	...	Lord Granville
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Zobeir Pasha
Marne Maitland	...	Sheikh Osman
Nigel Green	...	Gen. Wolseley
Hugh Williams	...	Lord Hartington
Ralph Michael	...	Sir Charles Dilke
Douglas Wilmer	...	Khalifa Abdullah
Edward Underdown	...	Col. William Hicks
Peter Arne	...	Maj. Kitchener

Storyline

After an Egyptian army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880's, the British government is in a quandary. It does not want to commit a British military force to a foreign war but they have a commitment to protect the Egyptians in Khartoum. They decide to ask General Charles "Chinese" Gordon, something of a folk hero in the Sudan as he had cleared the area of the slave trade, to arrange for the evacuation. Gordon agrees but also decides to defend the city against the forces of the Mahdi - the expected one - and tries to force the British to commit troops.

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Plot Keywords:

british | sudan | military | egyptian | general | 

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Taglines:

Khartoum -- where the Nile divides, the great Cinerama adventure begins!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chartum

Filming Locations:

Al Minyal, Egypt

Company Credits

Production Co:

Julian Blaustein Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length = ~5.9 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~6.2 seconds.

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Goofs

Although Gordon and The Mahdi communicated by courier throughout the siege, they never actually met face-to-face.

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Quotes

Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon: Every man has a final weapon: his own life. If he's afraid to lose it he throws the weapon away.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.96 (2006)

User Reviews

wonderful,semi-historical epic

This film, which I saw in downtown Detroit when I was eight years old,remains one of my all-time favorites.Its a little talky, a little pretentious, but still grand fun, with exciting battle sequences, wonderful, over the top performances,and a truly stirring, if corny score. Robert Ardrey, notorious theorist of the "territorial imperative",wrote the script, and Basil Dearden directed. Martin Scorsese once listed it among his guilty pleasures.