Khartoum

Annotation for KRRR! 2014 by Marcel Hornych

After declaring a holy war in defense of Islam, its leader Mohammed Ahmed (Laurence Olivier) leads a rebellion in Sudan in 1882 against British-Egyptian rule. The British send an army of ten thousand to prevent the campaign of the fanatical Sudanese leader, who considers himself the savior of the Islamic faith, the Mahdi. However, the army is unexpectedly scattered by poorly armed Muslims, who thus obtain the necessary weapons and ammunition. After this humiliating defeat, the British Prime Minister (Ralph Richardson) decides to send one of his best generals, Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston), to Khartoum, a strategic city at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, to which armed enemies are approaching, and from where Gordon is to transport and rescue thousands of Egyptians.

The star-studded historical film continues the tradition of film epics produced in Hollywood since the 1950s. Monumental costume films such as Ben Hur (1959) and Spartacus (1960) were, among other things, a response to the introduction of television, which discouraged audiences from visiting the cinema. These colossal productions attracted viewers to beautiful scenery, spectacular battles and magnificent crowd scenes. This trend began to decline in the USA in 1965, but it was met with a European response in the form of Italian sandal blockbusters such as The Colossus of Rhodes (1961), Romanian epic films such as The Dacians (1966) and, in the UK, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) or Khartoum (1966). Basil Dearden's film was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay, focusing on the determination, faith and intransigence of the main leaders of the opposing sides. The narrative shifts its focus between the Mahdi's camp, the city of Khartoum, which Gordon defends, and the British government. The intimate conversations of the characters alternate rhythmically with the narrative line of the war campaign. This procedure increases the tension and expectations arising from the presented events. In addition, the past of the characters, their motivations and character are revealed in the interaction between the individual inhabitants within these areas and between Gordon and Mahdi. Even though the general and the Sudanese leader fight for different beliefs, in the end it turns out that they are very similar in some features. Khartoum is the last film shot in the Ultra Panavision 70 film format and intended for screening in the Cinerama system. This historical film used the 70mm film format, thanks to which numerous battles and huge army campaigns stand out against the backdrop of desert scenery.