7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After an Egyptian army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880's, the British government is in a quandary. It does not want to commit a British military force to a foreign war but they have a commitment to protect the Egyptians in Khartoum. They decide to ask General Charles "Chinese" Gordon, something of a folk hero in the Sudan as he had cleared the area of the slave trade, to arrange for the evacuation. Gordon agrees but also decides to defend the city against the forces of the Mahdi - the expected one - and tries to force the British to commit troops. Filmed in Anamorphic 70mm.
Starring: Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson (I), Ralph Richardson (I), Alexander KnoxWar | 100% |
History | 77% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.75:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.75:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Basil Dearden's "Khartoum" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with critic Sheldon Hall; and archival audio commentary with film historians Lem Dobbs, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman. The release also arrives with a collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Phil Hoad, alongside a selection of rare archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.74:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Basil Dearden's Khartoum arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The release is sourced from the same remaster that a few years ago Twilight Time used to produce the first high-definition release of Khartoum in the United States. This is actually an older remaster that possesses some typical limitations, but because Khartoum is a large format film a few are perhaps easier to overlook. For example, while clarity and focus can trick the eyes and appear quite pleasing in different parts of the film, it is quite easy to tell that depth and especially delineation are most certainly not optimal. In fact, there is a lot of larger panoramic footage where the limitations of the remaster become painfully obvious because other issues tend to exacerbate the current limitations. Fluctuating color registration in particular contributes to plenty of background flatness, plus elsewhere it produces halo effects that add an unnatural sharpness to the visuals (see examples in screencaptures #2, 12, and 14). Shadow definition isn't proper either, so ranges of existing nuances are actually difficult or impossible to recognize (see screencapture #16). Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no large cuts and debris, but small white flecks and tiny dirt spots pop up throughout the entire film. Ultimately, in order to look as good as it should Khartoum will have to undergo a very serious and careful restoration, almost certainly of the type that was funded for the legendary Ben-Hur. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
I did not detect any serious issues with the 2.0 track to report in our review. On the contrary, when the remaster was prepared I believe that efforts were made to eliminate all traces of inherited damage because the current lossless track is clean and free of balance and dynamic issues. Of course, when projected theatrically in some cases Khartoum used a more elaborate soundtrack, so perhaps a future restoration will deliver one. Regardless, the current lossless track serves the film quite well.
Khartoum is just one of many large format films that exists because of Lawrence of Arabia. It is also true that it is a flawed film, but it offers grand visuals of the type that directors and producers can no longer deliver, and as far as I am concerned this is a good enough reason to track it down and see it. Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release is sourced from the older remaster that a few years ago Twilight Time used to produce the first high-definition release of the film in the United States. It is a mostly decent remaster, but to look as impressive as it should this film needs to be carefully restored like Ben-Hur was. RECOMMENDED, when you find it on sale.
1963
1968
50th Anniversary Edition
1964
1962
Indigènes
2006
2-Disc Collection | History / The History Channel | H2
2014
Premium Collection
1965
Vintage Classics | 60th Anniversary Edition
1958
1980
1985
1962
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1977
Брестская крепость / The Brest Fortress / Brestskaya krepost
2010
Original Aspect Ratio Version Restored
1973-1974
Extended Japanese Cut
1970
1970
1967
1970
1962
1969