Khartoum
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Movie Reviews of Khartoum
Movie Review: One of Chuck's best
Summary: 4 Stars
Before he was NRA junta chief and in between making movies where a planet of apes evolved from men and Soylent Green was people, Charlton Heston was a pretty damn fine actor. His performance is pre-"method" but commanding, and he definitely holds his own in all the scenes with Olivier. This film is based on the actual seige and capture of Khartoum in the Sudan in 1884. The events are of couse slightly disorted (as usual) but the essence of the story is correct. I don't think the box office reciepts would have been too good if they actually showed Gordon (Heston's character) as being 5'2" in boots. The real story is rather chilling and sad but the film manages to make it inspiring to a point, the situation being one where victory may be impossible but heroism, a willingness to fight the "good fight", is not.
As to the quality of the disc itself, there are no extras except the trailer. The sound quality is merely ok, but the picture transfer is beautiful. A+ on that count. If you saw the recent film of "The Four Feathers" I would recommend this film over it. It is a little leisurely in pace ealy on but it is well crafted and very well written.
Movie Review: In the spirit of Lawrence of Arabia
Summary: 4 Stars
This film was made on a very large scale, but not quite the epic scale of Lawrence of Arabia. Also, the dialogue is not quite as sharp as David Lean's Lawrence. There's a depth there that's missing here.
Still, this is a perfectly good combination of action, history, and political maneuvering. A very enjoyable evening's entertainment.
Although Ben-Hur is my favorite film, and Chuck Heston will be best remembered as Moses, I believe Chinese Gordon is one of Heston's best performances on film. He's even better in A Touch of Evil, but very good in Khartoum.
This story is tragic, but Gordon's heroism and determination make it seem more triumphant than tragic. As a man of conviction and honor who stood up to Muslim fanatics, even without the support of his government, he stands as a lesson for today. He did not cower in the face of barbarism. He confronted it head on, no matter the personal cost.
I don't know how many Disney movies I've watched with the trite theme "Follow Your Heart." "Chinese" Gordon followed his heart. A very large heart it was, loyal to the land and people he loved, to the bitter end.
Movie Review: New film to me, but I was not disappointed
Summary: 4 Stars
I had never known that they made a film about this subject until I saw it sitting on the shelf at a local store. It was made well before my time, you see. But, being an avid history reader, and by coincidence, reading a book on the Victorian colonial wars at the time, I took a chance and bought it without having viewed it before. The previous reviews here flesh out the historical merits and flaws well, so the only thing I can say is that it does have that glossy, "historical epic" touch of 60's Hollywood, but is an all around solid film. Maybe it's not as strong as other epics of the time, but the casting and their subsequent performances are stellar. The film lacks a lot of the gritty violence of today's war films, and maybe it paints a bit of a naive, politically incorrect portrait of General Gordon, but overall, it's great, and I would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in the topic, historical epics, or the actors involved.Movie Review: Gordon's End
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't think I personally would pick Charlton Heston to play "Chinese Gordon" but Heston is definitely the hero type and, with all his flaws, so was Gordon.
The movie does a good job of telling the story of Britain's role in Egypt and the Sudan, of the politics which left Gordon virtually alone with a handful of Egyptian soldiers and local civilians to fight off the army of the Mahdi, or what we would call these days "Jihadists." Short on trained soldiers and worldliness, the Mahdi nevertheless had ambitions to take over the entire Islamic world and, eventually, the rest as well. The blind fanatacism and belief that they would be rewarded in the afterlife for their martyrdom made the Jihadists of these times almost as dangerous as the ones we have now. At least back then we didn't have Christiane Amenpour trying to get the head-chopper's point of view.
A fun movie and historic epic.
Movie Review: The Mahdi in 1885 Speaks like Bin Laden!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an old movie made in the days when Hollywood could hire several hundred extras. It's the story of General "Chinese" Gordon who was just crazy enough to try to take on the Mahdi - an Islamic leader who was conquering The Sudan. Gordon holed up in Khartoum and was eventually killed as were all his men.
Hoever, the treason you should see this movie is to hear the speech that the Mahdi gives about Islam conquering the world. Could be said today in Pakistan where bin Laden is holed up.