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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Khartoum & Zulu -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robin9

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RobHam said:
Olivier once did a movie called "The Entertainer" - this is the one and only time (imho) that he managed to restrain the OTT theatrical flourishes, and produce a cinematic performance worthy of applause.
Olivier gave non-"theatrical" performances in several films: Carrie (1952), Bunny Lake Is Missing, Term Of Trial and quite a few others.
 

AdrianTurner

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For me, Olivier's performance as the Mahdi is straight out of the Peter Sellers/Goodness gracious me box of tricks. I always thought Jack Palance or Anthony Quinn would have been better in that role.
 

davidHartzog

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The current issue of Cinema Retro has an informative 12 page article on the making of Zulu.
 

John Hermes

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sonomatom1 said:
RAH: I'm confused. How is the Twilight Time edition of "Zulu' different than the Paramount blu-ray edition of the film that came around 2010? I purchased the UK version of the film and thought it is pretty spectacular. Thanks in advance.
This has been discussed many times in the Zulu thread. Some think the UK release has too much DNR and is overly bright. There have been heated disagreements on this over a long period.
 

sonomatom1

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I remember from Heston's autobiography that he wasn't too pleased with either the film, but most especially, the director whom he didn't think was prepared to helm a film the size of 'Khartoum', As for Olivier, remember his scenes were filmed in England while he was doing 'Othello'. It's certainly not his greatest performance (but I absolutely loved 'Oh my beloved') - he later said that he would do any role for the money - but I think Ralph Richardson (especially in the train station), Richard Johnson, and the actor who played the Sudanese slaver who hoped that Gordon died alone in the desert were the most memorable performances of the film. Heston, IMO, was surprisingly effective in the role - he looked stunning in his dress uniform!
 

sonomatom1

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Thanks, John. I read thru all the threads and had my question answered, but now I can't figure out to delete my post. Thanks for the response.
 

GlennF

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Well this is reviving an old topic, but just had to write something. I finally broke down and bought the Blu-ray of KHARTOUM. Wow! Does it look great. The detail and sharpness is amazing (and sharpness is not the strength of my plasma) and the colour is great - especially the reds that jump out at you. The sound is also a big step up from the DVD.Is it a great film...no. Is it a good film...yes. I would even call it very good. I would certainly recommend it. A large scale epic where there are real people and no CGI. There is a little bit of process photography, but, by and far, most of it is done on location. The Egyptian locations look great!Olivier takes a little getting used to and the number of people performing in "black face" takes a LARGE grain of salt, but those were the times. I think the last movie I saw something like that in (that I remember) is PASSAGE TO INDIA where Alec Guiness played an Indian. Kind of made you want to cringe.Of course Heston's British accent is...well let's just say Professor Henry Higgins would not be pleased. But he certainly has that heroic sort of stature to fit the part. In the 60's,I agree, it was a bit of a cliché that he was in so many of these films, but think about it. How many actors today could do it?Anyway, having watched most of it and the first 20 minutes for a second time already tonight just had to spout off a bit about the excellent work done to bring this to Blu-ray.P.S. Couldn't help but think...this is what MY FAIR LADY should look like.
 

Rick Thompson

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There was a great quote from, I believe, the director about Heston being cast in True Lies: Who but Heston could believably intimidate Arnold Schwarzenegger?
 

JoeDoakes

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GlennF said:
Olivier takes a little getting used to and the number of people performing in "black face" takes a LARGE grain of salt, but those were the times.
Olivier was not performing in black face. That's a term that relates to a specific style of the use of burnt cork in minstrel shows. Olivier was performing in makeup, just like he and Orson Welles did when they played Othello, or like Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall did when they played old white men in Coming to America.
 

Douglas R

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I didn't get the Blu-ray but i was watching KHARTOUM today on TCM (UK). The HD picture quality in the correct aspect ratio was extremely good but what surprised me was that the Intermission and Entr'acte music were included. It's the first time I have ever seen any UK TV channel include an original theatrical intermission. They didn't show the Overture although the wording was briefly seen on screen prior to the main titles.
 

RolandL

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If the movie had one, TCM will include the intermission. I have seen it on many titles.
 

Paul Rossen

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RolandL said:
If the movie had one, TCM will include the intermission. I have seen it on many titles.
In the recent Holiday showing of KING OF KINGS TCM deleted the Overture, Entr'acte and Exit music.
 

PMF

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Short of "Khartoum" and "Zulu" being large format productions being released by TT on the same day, are there any other reasons these films are so often tied together?
Waited for a long, long time to give both films their deserved and unrushed attentions.
And this seems to be that very weekend...that is, unless, I should refrain and see "Zulu Dawn", first.
 

Robin9

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Short of "Khartoum" and "Zulu" being large format productions being released by TT on the same day, are there any other reasons these films are so often tied together?
Waited for a long, long time to give both films their deserved and unrushed attentions.
And this seems to be that very weekend...that is, unless, I should refrain and see "Zulu Dawn", first.

It makes sense to watch Zulu Dawn before Zulu.
 

PMF

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It makes sense to watch Zulu Dawn before Zulu.
Albeit "Zulu Dawn" is a prequel, but it was released after "Zulu"; so I didn't know if it really mattered, in the bigger picture.
I'll be ordering the prequel; and do it as a double-feature on a future date.
Thanks for clarifying, Robin9.:thumbs-up-smiley:
 

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