If you watch this film with modest expectations, you will probably like it fairly well. It's not "Lawrence of Arabia," not even in the same ballpark; I mention this because I think "Khartoum" got made because of the success of "Lawrence" a couple of years earlier. (Both films depict obsessed and quite weird Brits in the desert.)
"Khartoum" is much too flat and talky, but it definitely has its moments. Olivier's performance as the Mahdi is stunning, unforgettable, filmdom's greatest depiction ever of a radical Islamic fundamentalist who's convinced he can rule the world. The performance is actually far more relevant today than in 1966, when it probably struck many viewers as quaint, an artifact of a bygone era. I don't know if Larry got an Oscar nomination for his work here; if not, shame on the Academy.
The battle sequence at the end is good but it's over far too quickly - the whole darn movie points toward it, and then boom, it's done in maybe 10 minutes - it could have been stretched out to twice as long. (I suppose the filmmakers were more interested in historical accuracy than in dramatic zest; this is often a mistake in films.) The spoken words at the very end are spine-chillingly inspiring if you've got a romantic bent; if you're a hard-headed political realist, they probably will strike you as cheesy. I consider myself a romantic realist so I sort of liked them.
If you get interested in Gordon (the Charlton Heston character), Lytton Strachey wrote a classic profile of him in "Eminent Victorians" that you might enjoy reading.
One more word about Olivier's performance. It strikes some people as hammy and over-the- top. In fact, the Mahdi himself was hammy and over-the-top in the manner of people who (a) believe they are anointed by God and (b) wish to lead superstitious and susceptible warriors into battle and need to generate a certain awe. The Mahdi was an actor as much as anything. Olivier perfectly captures this quality.
"Khartoum" is much too flat and talky, but it definitely has its moments. Olivier's performance as the Mahdi is stunning, unforgettable, filmdom's greatest depiction ever of a radical Islamic fundamentalist who's convinced he can rule the world. The performance is actually far more relevant today than in 1966, when it probably struck many viewers as quaint, an artifact of a bygone era. I don't know if Larry got an Oscar nomination for his work here; if not, shame on the Academy.
The battle sequence at the end is good but it's over far too quickly - the whole darn movie points toward it, and then boom, it's done in maybe 10 minutes - it could have been stretched out to twice as long. (I suppose the filmmakers were more interested in historical accuracy than in dramatic zest; this is often a mistake in films.) The spoken words at the very end are spine-chillingly inspiring if you've got a romantic bent; if you're a hard-headed political realist, they probably will strike you as cheesy. I consider myself a romantic realist so I sort of liked them.
If you get interested in Gordon (the Charlton Heston character), Lytton Strachey wrote a classic profile of him in "Eminent Victorians" that you might enjoy reading.
One more word about Olivier's performance. It strikes some people as hammy and over-the- top. In fact, the Mahdi himself was hammy and over-the-top in the manner of people who (a) believe they are anointed by God and (b) wish to lead superstitious and susceptible warriors into battle and need to generate a certain awe. The Mahdi was an actor as much as anything. Olivier perfectly captures this quality.