Battle of omdurman movie

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Harry Faversham finds himself branded a coward by his friends and family when he resigns his commission before the war campaign against the Sudan uprising. Reviewers concentrated on its thrilling imperial spectacle and Technicolor cinematography. Beyond these obvious box-office qualities, however, it has another quality. It tells a thumping good personal story. His masquerade as the mute tribesman delays the revelation of his true identity until a white feather is found on each of the men he has saved. So, rather than prove his bravery in the conventional way, he chooses to flout military structures, reject the pomp and pageantry of military ambition and instead pursue a personal quest to redeem himself by returning the white feathers to the individuals who despised him for failing to perform his imperial duty. The film therefore rejects a straightforward celebration of imperial codes by privileging bravery that is not self-aggrandising or overtly exploitative.

Battle of omdurman movie

British-Egyptian reconquest — The battle took place on 2 September , at Kerreri , 11 kilometres 6. Following the establishment of the Mahdist State in Sudan, and the subsequent threat to the regional status quo and to British-occupied Egypt, the British government decided to send an expeditionary force with the task of overthrowing the Khalifa. The commander of the force, Sir Herbert Kitchener, was also seeking revenge for the death of General Gordon , who had been killed when a Mahdist army captured Khartoum thirteen years earlier. Among those present was year-old soldier and reporter Winston Churchill as well as a young Captain Douglas Haig. The victory of the British—Egyptian force was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modern rifles , machine guns , and artillery over a force twice its size armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British efforts to reconquer Sudan. Following the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat a year later, the remaining Mahdist forces were defeated and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established. Another force, this time sent by the British government, and led by Major General Charles Gordon proceeded to Khartoum where it was besieged by the Mahdists. On 26 January , the Dervishes overcame Gordon's troops and massacred the entire garrison. The Mahdist state, the Mahdia, built on slavery and holy war, enforced a strict Islamic code imposing a reign of terror over the regions of Sudan. In to protect British interests, in particular the Suez Canal , and to suppress the slave trade, the British government decided to reconquer Sudan. On 1 September Kitchener, supported by a powerful flotilla of gunboats, arrived to face the main Mahdist army at Omdurman, near Khartoum. The battle took place at Kerreri, 11 kilometres 6. He arrayed his force in an arc around the village of Egeiga, close to the bank of the Nile , where a twelve gunboat flotilla waited in support, [3] facing a wide, flat plain with hills rising to the left and right.

The film therefore rejects a straightforward celebration of imperial codes by privileging bravery that is not self-aggrandising or overtly exploitative.

Sign In Sign In. New Customer? Create account. Factual errors. In the depiction of the Battle of Omdurman, the film states the famous charge of the 21st Lancers, which included Winston Churchill, happened the next day "during mopping up operations".

Tags: Action Soldiers War. It was here, in the Mahdist-stronghold of Omdurman, that Churchill took part in one of the last major cavalry charges in the history of the British army, when the 21 st Lancers attacked a small group of enemy soldiers. As Churchill recounts, the situation soon changed:. A score of horsemen and a dozen bright flags rose as if by magic from the earth. Despite their number, the spear-wielding Mahdist fighters were no match for the advanced weaponry of the British but Churchill was lucky to survive the ill-judged charge of the 21 st Lancers which saw heavy British casualties. Join the International Churchill Society today! Skip to content Churchill Central.

Battle of omdurman movie

During those thirteen years the peoples of the Sudan have suffered grievously under the cruel Dervish yoke of the Khalifa. At long last retribution is at hand. At long last liberation is at hand. At long last we are within days of our objective.

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No political correctness here! Review in Film Weekly , 29 April , p. This is a wonderful British adventure film, equally on a par with anything Hollywood was to produce in that golden year of The battle was the first time that the Mark IV hollow point bullet , made in the arsenal in Dum Dum , was used in a major battle. On the eve of his regiment being sent to the war in the Sudan, Lieutenant Harry Faversham resigns his commission. The acting is outstanding and the photography is beautifully done. I cannot recall when I first saw this movie, certainly more than 30 years ago, but it is one that I've never forgotten and watch again whenever I can. It tells a thumping good personal story. The Four Feathers is a Technicolor spectacle which examines imperial, masculine codes of honour and chivalry. Wikimedia Commons. This is aided by great attention to detail in the military aspects. Aubrey Smith are superb, while the settings in both England and Africa are captured brilliantly in glorious Technicolor. Sign in to vote. Another force, this time sent by the British government, and led by Major General Charles Gordon proceeded to Khartoum where it was besieged by the Mahdists.

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They could never get near and they refused to hold back. Factual errors. Nicely done. Aubrey Smith has one of his most memorable character roles as a stuffy "Colonel Blimp" type of career soldier recounting his favorite war tales. Theo Robertson 28 July On the eve of his regiment being sent to the war in the Sudan, Lieutenant Harry Faversham resigns his commission. A more appealing and charismatic actor from that era would have sufficed and made the story stronger. The atmosphere becomes tense when the white feather from Durrence to Faversham tumbles out of the envelope onto the plate before Ethne. But with young Harry Faversham, played by John Clements; his situation was different. One eyewitness described the appalling scene:. I just took a survey of all the other versions of The Four Feathers from a British silent production all the way to the one in that starred Heath Ledger. JSTOR More to explore.