Review of Zulu (1964) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

A passion project for actor/producer Stanley Baker, who had worked on this adaptation of John Prebble's article Battle of Rorke's Drift, which Baker worked on with writer/director Cy Endfield (Mysterious Island (1961)), this is an epic historical war film which was one of the most famous battles in the history of the British Army, set in a time when Britain still had an empire.

It has some brilliant acting and cinematography. In January 1879, the British Army had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Zulu Warriors at the Battle of Isandlwana. Deep in Natal at Rorke's Drift, the British Army's 24th Regiment of Foot, a Welsh regiment work at a missionary at Rorke's Drift, which is being used to store ammunition and supplies for the British Army.

Lieutenant John Chard (Stanley Baker) is asked to defend the post from an impending Zulu attack, along with upper-class Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine). They learn there's 4000 Zulu warriors heading their way, and there's only 150 British Officers there, most of them wounded, but they won't give in.

Filmed on location in South Africa in glorious 70mm, this is a classy and gripping war film which you wouldn't be able to make now. But it's a film of the 1960's, where big expensive epics like this were made, but it was a massive success, and it helped put Caine on the road to superstardom too.