ZULU Movie Review
1964 Cy Endfield
Seen as an accurate depiction of a real historical event, this is one of the finest war films ever made. Though serious historians and military buffs will find fault on a few details, the film deals with such dramatic material that the conventional fictional excesses are unnecessary.
It opens on January 23, 1879, at the aftermath of a massacre. Several thousand Zulu warriors have attacked and destroyed a 1,500 man British column at Iswandhlwana. Word soon reaches the small outpost of Rorke's Drift, where about 100 British soldiers have a small hospital. Though Lt. Bromhead (Michael Caine) is in charge, Lt. Chard (Stanley Baker), an engineer whose men had been part of the column, actually has seniority. After some niggling disagreements about what they should do, Chard takes over and decides to defend the outpost. His first problem is a drunken pacifist preacher (Jack Hawkins) and his blonde daughter (Ulla Jacobsson). Then the Zulus appear on the horizon. Four thousand strong, they're determined, disciplined, and besides their short spears, they're armed with captured rifles.
The Brits are a mixture of committed soldiers and grumbling malingerers. To a man, they're fully believable characters who go beyond the stereotypes that they appear to be. Hook (James Booth) is the guy who can always find a reason to check himself into the hospital, though he knows that he's not going to get any sympathy from Surgeon Reynolds (Patrick Magee). The real power inside the compound is Colour Sgt.Bourne (Nigel Green). (Though those names may not be familiar, the faces are; these are some of the best of a fine generation of British character actors. Baker, also a co-producer, cast the film perfectly.)
Once the waves of attack begin, director Cy Endfield sets out the action skillfully. You always understand where the forces are in relation to each other and what each must to do defeat the other. At the same time, Endfield and writer John Prebble layer in the important details—how ammunition is packaged and distributed, how the troops line up and then are rearranged to face the attackers from various directions. “Mark your target when it comes,” the Colour Sgt. barks repeatedly to his men. “Look to your front.”
More significantly, Endfield, Prebble, and Baker strictly circumscribe the limits of the film, reducing it to the essential elements. It is about one battle and nothing more. A large group of men are trying to take a particular piece of ground. A smaller group is determined to hold it. Though the viewer's sympathies are clearly with the defenders, the attackers are not demonized or demeaned in any way. The film makes no mention of politics, history, or background. The legitimacy of the British presence is not an issue. Neither is race.
The fighting is shown in realistic detail, though it may not be as graphic as younger audiences have come to expect. The hand-to-hand grappling will seem a bit slowly paced and lacking in bloody flourishes to those weaned on high-octane action films. The emotions are real, though, and that's what matters. You believe those characters in that place—impressively filmed on location by cinematographer Stephen Dade. (Letterboxed, widescreen edition is the only one to see on video.) The final part of the cinematic equation is one of John Barry's best early scores.
Zulu is one of the greats.
Cast: Michael Caine (Lt. Gonville Bromhead), Jack Hawkins (Rev. Otto Witt), Stanley Baker (Lt. John Chard), Nigel Green (Colour Sgt. Bourne), Ulla Jacobsson (Margareta Witt), James Booth (Pvt. Henry Hook), Paul Daneman (Sgt. Maxfield), Neil McCarthy (Pvt. Thomas), Gary Bond (Pvt. Cole), Patrick Magee (Surgeon Reynolds), Dickie Owen (Cpl. Schiess), Larry Taylor (Hughes), Dennis Folbigge (Commissary Dalton), Ivor Emmanuel (Pvt. Owen), Glynn Edwards (Cpl. Allen), David Kernan (Pvt. Hitch); Written by: Cy Endfield, John Prebble; Cinematography by: Stephen Dade; Music by: John Barry. Producer: Stanley Baker, Cy Endfield, Paramount Pictures. Running Time: 139 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, Letterbox, Closed Caption.