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Zulu Customer Reviews (16 - 18 of 42 Reviews)

There are a number of useful books on the Zulu War that might be interesting for viewers. One is Donald Morris' "Washing of the Spears" which is a fairly traditional historical account and the other is "Like Lions They Fought" by Robert Edgerton which is written with the Zulu perspective in mind.

For the record, in real life Chard and Bromhead were both much older than they are played (oh so unflappably) by Michael Caine and Stanley Baker in the movie and although individually very brave (as was expected of British officers of the time) were both basically incompetent as military men. As their subsequent records show, neither distinguished himself any further and both were regarded as idiots by their military peers (men who themselves took the definition of 'idiot' to new heights). The real hero of Rourke's Drift was Colour Sergeant Bourne who rallied the men, organized the defence, supervised the fighting and made sure his superiors looked good.

In reality, British casualties at Rorke's Drift were predominantly caused by rifle fire. One of the Zulu regiments had a large supply of British rifles (a portion of those taken from the dead at Isandhlawana) and ample ammunition. However, most of their fire went high because the Zulu riflemen were untrained in the use of the backsight. Had they been better trained, the Brits would have been blasted off the face of the earth in fairly short order.

All these points aside, the movie did give a wonderful impression of the battle. Certainly the 24th behaved remarkably well especially given the twits who were in command.

However, my vote for courage bordering on insanity goes to the Zulus (many of whom were actually middle-aged men) who repeatedly charged a well-disciplined, well-supplied enemy armed with breach-loading rifles who were behind fortifications. Zulu accounts repeatedly mention British bullets smashing through several men at a time and the wounded almost always died from the massive injuries caused by the .45 caliber soft lead slugs. There were at least three charges during the course of the battle and Zulu assaults stopped because the men were too exhausted physically and emotionally to mount another attack. The whole battle was a very near run thing for everyone.

As a final historical note, the Zulus were able to inflict serious losses on the Imperial Army on two subsequent occasions. Mostly by taking advantage of broken ground and poor co-ordination between units that were supposed to be supporting one another.

The final set peice battle at Ulundi was a foregone conclusion however: British troops were arrayed in a massive square on flat, open ground with artillery, machine guns and cavalry support. There was no opportunity for Zulu troops to outmanouevre the Brits and surprise an unprepared encampment as they had at Isandhlwana, and the ammunition wagons were close by the British firing lines to avoid the problems with re-supply that may have also contributed to the earlier British defeat.

Zulu generals had implored Ceteshwayo to withdraw but he insisted on fighting for political reasons, probably also knowing that his men stood little chance against massed rifles. The flower of the Zulu army was decimated in the initial attacks and organized resistance to the British invasion collapsed soon after. The battle of Ulundi was remarked upon by several British and other observers as sheer slaughter, but was served up hot to a British public eager for revenge for the humiliation the Zulus had inflicted on them at Isandlhawana the previous year.

This is the finest depiction of British regulars on film
If you do not get the widescreen version of "Zulu, do not bother watching this 1964 film. It is on television right now in Pan & Scan and it looks lousy. This is an epic action film with thousands of Zulu warriors running across large fields to attack those nice straight lines of redcoated British soldiers. This is not men trying to buy time ("The Alamo," "The 300 Spartans") or trying to hold a strategic position ("The Bridge at Remagen"). These are troops in the wrong place at the wrong time, fighting neither for Queen nor country, but to do their duty and save their lives.

If "Zulu Dawn" is about the arrogance of the British military than "Zulu" is about the nobility of its common soldiers. There is not a finer depiction of the British regulars in their resplendent redcoats in all of cinema. There are over 100 men from the South Wales Borderers 24th Regiment Of Foot at Rourkes Drift, a third of them wounded, under the command of Lt. John Chard (Stanley Baker) of the Royal Engineers, in charge only because he has seniority. On the other side there are 4,000 Zulu warriors who missed out on the glorious victory earlier in the day at Islandwana. This is Michael Caine's first film and it pretty much shows except when his dandified character is caught up in the actual battles. However, this is more than balanced by Richard Burton's solemn opening and closing narratives and the impressive collection of supporting players, particularly Nigel Green as the unforgettable Colour Sergeant Fred Bourne and Dickie Owen as Cpl. Frederic Schiess, NNC.

In addition to John Barry's stiring score, "Zulu" has a very interesting use of music in the film's best sequence. As the Zulu warriors begin singing before their charge, the Welshmen start singing their own song while manning the barricades. The counterpoint between the two songs, the two cultures, the two sides, is quite stirring, especially as the singing continues once the charge has begun. I never miss an opportunity to watch that scene.

So where's Zulu Dawn?
Trying to find this movie and it's only available in Region 2. What gives?

Is it coming to the US soon?