Khartoum (1 Viewer)

[mikemiller1955]

I watched Khartoum last night....delivered from Netflix....

In this epic tale of the British Army's travails in North Africa, two acting giants appear together for the first and only time: Charlton Heston portrays General Charles "Chinese" Gordon, who in 1883 led the defense of the Sudanese garrison against a Muslim rebellion. And Laurence Olivier plays the instigator of that uprising -- Mahdi, the "spiritual leader" of the Sudan. Robert Ardrey received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay.

The movie was epic style...which I love...large detailed battle...the ending was abrupt...but what else can you do after he dies I guess.

I recommend it...especially to anyone intersted in Jenkins upcoming Khartoum figures.

You had to stretch your imagination a little on Laurence Olivier as the dark skinned muslim Mahdi...but not as bad as with John Gielgud in Lion of the Desert though.

Omar Shariff...Anthony Quinn...somebody else...I think Oliviers role wasn't cast well.

They certainly made Gordon Pacha a strange character...all in all...a good watch.

 

[PolarBear]

Michael

I hope this means you wiil be collecting the Sudan

Regards,

The Pied Piper (kogu's nickname for me)

 

[mikemiller1955]

Randy....I'm so undecided...such a quandary...hehehehe...you know I love John and his work...I have never had a manufacturer treat me like he has and it certainly has instilled a loyalty on my part...not to mention I love his work...

I know I have not gotten on the band wagon with this...I'm still dealing with the aftershock......I am trying to be enthusiastic and open minded now that he has taken a different direction from the FIW and 7 Years War...I was holding out for Bushy Run, Ticonderoga, New Orleans or Creek Wars...so I'm in denial right now.

this was an epic movie and definitely an epic battle...

if John just plans to do the last scene of Gordon Pasha...

I don't know...

maybe...

but ....

if he does the entire seige...I think he's going to need a lot, and I mean a lot of Dervish warrior figures (30,000-40,000) and another substantial offering of figures for the Egyptian side too (7,000)...and a fort...plus at least 2 celebrity figures of the Mahdi and Gordon (which he has already) and probably one of Khaleel....so again...if he does the entire conflict...I think this would be the biggest battle John has attempted...making dwarfs of Quebec and B of M.

On the plus side...the Nile gun boat scene in the movie was really cool...I don't know what his intentions are there...that would be tempting...but you know me...once I get one piece...I need them all.

My problem is that I like to play with epic scale series...the bigger the better...I know you prefer the smaller vignettes...so if this turned out to be a full production of the siege...I would probably start collecting POA, or just slow down to the series I already collect...but don't hold me to that.

Such a predicament...hehehehe

 

[marco55]

Mike,
Gordan Pasha was a strange character.That's why the British high command recommended hin for unusual projects.
Mark

 

[glossman]

*
Overall, I enjoyed the movie with fine performances by 2 great actors ie Charlton Heston (Gen. Gordon) and Omar Shariff (the Mahdi).

Gen. Gordon was the wrong choice for the evacuation of Khartoum.

The Gladstone Government should have chosen a "by the book" officer to get the job done.

Gordon failed in Khartoum because he misjudged the Mahdi.

The Camel Corps were great viewing, but the segment was way too short.

I did not like the barbaric beheadings (there was more than one).

Raymond.

 

[4th Hussar]

I have it on VHS ( yes tape) and watch it at least once a year. I enjoy the movie and would be interested in collecting toy troops from this era. An affordable river boat would be a big seller in my opinion

 

[Oblivious96]

I agree, the ending felt abrupt, but Gordon's fate was inevitable. Olivier as the Mahdi? A bit of a stretch, though not as jarring as Gielgud in Lion of the Desert. Heston captured Gordon’s eccentricity well, but they simplified his complexities.

For Jenkins’ figures, I hope they balance the historical accuracy with the movie’s flair—especially Gordon’s uniform. All in all, a flawed but epic film, perfect for fans of sweeping 1960s historical dramas!

 

[paxtoysoldier]

A favorite range

 

[Horus]

I agree, the ending felt abrupt, but Gordon's fate was inevitable. Olivier as the Mahdi? A bit of a stretch, though not as jarring as Gielgud in Lion of the Desert. Heston captured Gordon’s eccentricity well, but they simplified his complexities.

For Jenkins’ figures, I hope they balance the historical accuracy with the movie’s flair—especially Gordon’s uniform. All in all, a flawed but epic film, perfect for fans of sweeping 1960s historical dramas!

Yes they certainly made many historical epics in the sixties when we were all so much younger, and full of anticipation of the promised excitement we'd been promised in the trailers we'd seen for them, of course for experts in all of the many and varied eras, errors were made, but for most of us these were lost, even if we knew they ever existed in the sheer spectacle of these films, love sitting down to watch many of these, even though I've probably seen them at least once before !