Movie Critic Article: The Imperialist Design of Khartoum 1966
Movie Critic Article: Part Three The Imperialist Design of Khartoum Summary and Film Specifics: Khartoum (1966) UK, 127 min. Color. Cinerama (wide screen). Available DVD and VHS. United Artists. Director Basil Dearden ; Producer Julian Blaustein; Screenplay Robert Ardrey ; Camera Edward Scaife; Editor Fergus McDonell; Music Frank Cordell ; Art Director John Howell. Khartoum has a prestige cast made of great actors: Charlton Heston as General Gordon, Laurence Olivier as the Mahdi, Richard Johnson and Ralph Richardson as Gladstone the British prime minister. 1966: Academy Award Nomination: Best Original Story & Screenplay. Set in the year 1884, filmed in Egypt and finished in England, Khartoum is a masterpiece both in cinematography and acting. The historical twist to allow for a dramatically impactful meeting of the two main characters, although artistically justifiable, was used to mal-represent the character of the Mahdi and depict him as a...