In the sixties the historical epic was in vogue,the success of Lawrence of Arabia made General Gordon a subject worth taking a chance on.The film starts with a battle between the Mahdi's troops and a British army,a massacre a disastrous result for Britain.A hero has to be found enter General Gordon,a maverick with a good record.The film stars Charlton Heston as Gordon and Laurence Olivier as the Mahdi,the scenes they share whilst fictitious are very well done.Charlton Heston outshines Olivier ,in fact this could well be Charlton Hestons best screen performance.The supporting cast is very good,Nigel Green,Ralph Richardson,Michael Horden and Richard Johnson all play their parts very well.Directed by Basil Dean,(who sadly died in a car crash) does just enough to keep you interested,the odd lull,followed by glorious action.The battle scenes are well done.This is not the greatest epic ever made,but worth a watch every now and then,preferably on a big TV screen.
