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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Battle for Khartoum")

 

Directed by Basil Dearden, Eliot Elisofon
UK 1966

 

The kind of lavish, rousing historical adventure spectacle that doesn't seem to exist anymore, Khartoum is a majestic, star-studded, BAFTA and Oscar-nominated epic that finds director Basil Deardon (The Blue Lamp) delivering a feast for the eyes, as well as a pointed study of English colonialism, religious fanaticism, and the nature of heroism and sacrifice.

In 1880s Sudan, thousands of British-led Egyptian troops are massacred by the forces of Arab fanatic Muhammad Ahmad (Sir Laurence Olivier), who believes he is the Mahdi, and nothing less than Mohammed's chosen warrior in battling against Anglo-Egyptian rule. Legendary Major General Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston) is sent by Prime Minister William Gladstone (Ralph Richardson) to save the city of Khartoum from the Mahdi, but given only one aide (Richard Johnson), limited support from the British government that sent him there, and a fearless opponent determined to create a new empire, Gordon sees that further bloodshed is imminent.

With impressive battle sequences given greater weight by philosophical and moral debates about the righteousness of military action, Khartoum is a widescreen extravaganza and was the final film to be shot using Ultra Panavision 70 (and screened theatrically in Cinerama) until Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight in 2015.

 

 Posters

 

Theatrical Release: June 9th, 1966

Reviews                                                                                More Reviews                                                              DVD Reviews

 

Review: Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:15:40.549
Video

2.76:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,067,325,602 bytes

Feature: 41,481,932,352 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.83 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:

 

Audio

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Eureka

 

2.76:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,067,325,602 bytes

Feature: 41,481,932,352 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.83 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lem Dobbs, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman
 • Exclusive new video interview with film historian Sheldon Hall (27:28)
 • Original theatrical trailer (2:10)
 • PLUS: A collector s booklet featuring a new essay by Phil Hoad, alongside a selection of rare archival imagery


 Blu-ray Release Date: November 12th, 2018
 Custom Blu-ray box

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: (December 2018) Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray: Eureka bring us the epic, "Khartoum" on Blu-ray. This film is in the extreme widescreen 2.76:1 aspect ratio and has wonderful rich colors.  The production had some inferior processed scenes - but there are only a few and generally the image quality is impressive. This film is housed on a dual-layered Blu-ray with a max'ed out bitrate. The Edward Scaife (The African Queen) cinematography adds to the grandeur of the presentation. Khartoum was filmed in Technicolor and Ultra Panavision 70, and was exhibited in 70 mm Cinerama in premiere engagements. It looks very pleasing in this HD transfer.

Eureka give the audio for watching "Khartoum" with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (24-bit). The film has plenty of effects in the battle sequences and they come through with depth. The film features original music from Frank Cordell (God Told Me To). There are optional English SDH subtitles on this Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Thankfully, this release from Eureka includes the excellent commentary from  the previous Twilight Time Blu-ray with film historians Lem Dobbs, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman. They cover so much including the homoerotic aspects of the make characters and the film's weaknesses in choreographing a key battle sequence and so much more. There is also a new 1/2 hour video interview with film historian Sheldon Hall discussing the production, an original theatrical trailer plus the package has a collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Phil Hoad, alongside a selection of rare archival imagery.

"Khartoum" is a big budget epic with a lot to offer including the strong performances and the beautiful super-widescreen vistas. The inclusion of commentary gives this Blu-ray significant value. Recommended! 

Gary Tooze

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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gary Tooze

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