"Khartoum" is a very obvious case in bizarre casting. Sir Laurence Olivier plays the Mahdi (a Sudanese man) and Charlton Heston plays a Brit! Seeing Olivier in his heavy makeup made his face look like rubber and Heston's British accent sounded a bit odd to me. I assume real Brits would find his accent silly. And, why cast a 6'3" American to portray a 5'5" British man in the first place?!

The story is about an uprising in Sudan in the 1880s. It seemed that a man called 'The Madhi' was seen as a holy man--a man who would help his people conquer and instill a government based on Sharia law. When an army of Egyptians went up against him, it was wiped out completely. So, General Gordon agrees to go to Sudan to lead a Sudanese army without much chance of success. As for the British government under Gladstone, it was hesitant to act--after all, he felt this was an internal affair and should be handled by the Africans. To see what happens in this historical film based on real characters, you can either watch this decent film or read up on it in Wikipedia! Overall, a beautifully made film with great music and locales--but the story itself is curiously unmoving and the two leads are not even close to being at their best. Perhaps this might not be true for folks in the UK--as soon after Gordon, the British government finally decided to intervene in the affair.

American screen icon Charlton Heston heads an otherwise all British cast in this recreation of the battle of Khartoum in early 1885.

Heston plays General Charles Gordon known to the British public as Chinese Gordon for his years of service in the Orient before arriving in the Middle East. Gordon never married, devoted his entire life to two things, Christianity and the military. He was an idealist and he saw the expansion of British power in Africa as a leavening civilizing influence among the heathen.

Unfortunately Heston was faced with an opponent who was as fanatically religious in his own way as Heston was. Laurence Olivier used the same makeup and accent from Othello to play Muhammed Ahmed, the self styled Mahdi who gathered an army and was busy conquering the Sudan and laying waste to those who didn't think of him as an Islamic Messiah.

The Prime minister of the UK at the time was William Gladstone who did not want any British commitment any more than was necessary to defend the new Suez Canal which his predecessor Benjamin Disraeli had acquired after the French company that built it went belly up. Gordon was ordered to go to Khartoum and get the Egyptians and Europeans out of there.

But Gordon had other ideas, seeing himself as the either the victor in an apocalyptic clash with Islam or a martyr to his faith. Either way that man had a spectacular finish for his career planned. He stays and organizes a defense of Khartoum and wages a media campaign to get the British public on his side.

I hope all this sounds familiar because it should. Some valuable lessons could be learned by today's political strategists of several nations.

Charlton Heston does a very good job in portraying Gordon on all levels of his personality. His Gordon is idealistic and shrewd and also sometimes a bit of a fathead as well. There's a scene where Gordon goes with Sir Evelyn Baring the British viceroy in Egypt played by Alexander Knox to visit a former big shot in the Sudan played by Pakistani actor Zia Moyheddin. Mind you Gordon a few years back had executed Moyheddin's son for slave trading. Now he thinks he can cut a deal with him. This was his first option in bringing order back to the Sudan. Moyheddin tells him to take his offer and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

In watching that I was thinking of George Bush summoning Saddam Hussein to the White House saying all was forgiven, could he please go back and help get a handle on Iraq.

Ralph Richardson is Gladstone and he's pretty much as I have conceived Gladstone. Michael Hordern as Foreign Secretary Lord Granville and Nigel Green as General Garnet Wolesley are also true to historical type.

Richard Johnson played Gordon's aide Colonel John Stewart and Charlton Heston says that this was the start of a long friendship with Johnson. He and Heston did many joint projects on film and on stage after Khartoum.

The movie is magnificently filmed, should be seen in theaters really or in letterbox for television. The Mahdi and Gordon never met, just like Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor never met, but it had to be for dramatic effect.

No one knows exactly what happened in Khartoum, but it could have happened as the film portrays it. See it for yourself and judge if you think it could be accurate.

This large scale epic film is rightly based on historic deeds . Set in the Sudan , in 1884-85 , and deals with the Major General Gordon (Charlton Heston , but Burt Lancaster turned down the role) who participated in Crimea war (1854-56) and vanquished the Taeping's riots in China is assigned by Gladstone (Prime Minister and leader of Liberal party who along with Disraeli -Tory leader- forged the colonial empire) stifle Sudan's rebellious tribes ruled by the Mahdi (Laurence Olivier),nicknamed the ¨expected one¨ . The devout Christian Gordon had been governor of Khartoum for five years and he will have to dominate them but is besieged by the Arabs tribes in 1884 . The Anglo-Egyptian forces led by Major Gordon made a heroic defense during ten months against the invading Muslim army . The expedition of help commanded by Lord Wolsey and the famous Kitchener (who soon after he'd finish Anglo-Boer war and created the first concentration camp) would arrive late .

The picture has extraordinary interpretations from main actors . Charlton Heston as the thoughtful and impulsive General Charles George Gordon is top-notch and Laurence Olivier as the fanatic Muslim is awesome . Heston actually did bear a remarkable resemblance to Major General Gordon , but he was considerably taller than the real Gordon . While Laurence Olivier has an extreme make-up to incarnate the religious fanatic , Ahmed El Mahdi , ¨the Expected One¨ . The support cast is equally outstanding , thus : Ralph Richardson (as Gladstone),Nigel Green (Wolsey) , Peter Arne (Kitchener) , among others . The film was based on facts , though was really criticized for neglecting to mention the many very good reasons why Prime Minister Gladstone was reluctant to send an army into the Sudan . The colorful and shimmer cinematography by Edward Scaife is magnificent , being well reflected in desert landscapes ; it was shot in Ultra Panavision , though was later reduced for exhibition in 70mm and 35mm release prints . Production design is overwhelming , it is the best part of the film , including a giant screen originally exhibited in Cinerama venues . Battles staged by Yakima Canutt are spellbound and spectacular . Frank Cordell's musical score is rousing and impressively adjusted to historical film . The motion picture was perfectly directed by Basil Dearden , though Lewis Gilbert was attached as director at one point . The yarn will appeal to historic epic buffs and Charlton Heston fans . Rating : Very Good . Above average, well worth watching .