Khartoum (1966)

After an Egyptian army under the command of a British Colonel (Edward Underdown) is slaughtered by Islamic fanatics under the leadership of a Sudanese Arab known as The Mahdi (Laurence Olivier), the Prime Minister (Ralph Richardson)  sends a national hero, the Major General Charles Gordon (Charlton Heston) to the Sudan expecting him to fail. But for the Major General, failure is not an option. Based on the almost year long Siege Of Khartoum in 1884, Basil Dearden's film is an intelligent depiction (its screenplay was Oscar nominated) of the events though, of course, there is much artistic license (there's no evidence that Gordon and The Mahdi ever met). The battle scenes are very exciting, Edward Scaife's 70 millimeter cinematography effectively composed and Frank Cordell's underscore is forceful. Heston is made for movies like this and he effortlessly brings a dignity and sense of righteousness to the part. The only downside is Olivier in brownface with a wonky accent. He's not bad per se, just horribly miscast. With Richard Johnson, Nigel Green,  Alexander Knox, Michael Hordern, Johnny Sekka and Peter Arne.