Customer Reviews
Five rounds Independant FIRE !! - By: Mr. P. J. R. LEWIS, 15 Mar 2008 
The accurate account of the defence of the smalll garrison station in Natal during the Zulu war of January 1879.
The battle takes place on the morning after the massacre of the entire column of 24th Regiment South Wales Borderes aswell as other serving regiments totallling well over a thousand men at Issandalwanna.
Over 4000 excited Zulu warriors under the orders of their King Chekawao advance six miles in the direction of the smalll garrisoned outpost known as Rourkes Drift.Many of the men there are either sick or injured lying in the smalll hospital leaving around 125 men & serving officers to defend their position.
With the use of the Martine Henry rifle & a bayonet these galllant men many of them Welsh held back the Zulus for nearly a full day & a half.
The film brilliantly retells the story without becoming factuallly innacurate,and with Michael Caine making his acting debut this is a film with real suspense & drama.
Naturallly Ivor Emmanuels singing of Men of Harlech takes little away from the action.The Zulu warriors chant their battle cry so its only right a Welsh regiment should sing their replie in Men of Harlech.
How many war action films have you seen that provide supream bravery from both sides & both are treated with equal respect.
Stanley Baker along with Cy Enfield shared the direction of this superb film.The final onslaught & charge of the meallly bags & sheer carnage reallly brings 19C warfare to a person used to the technological advances of computer guided missiles in todays conflict.This was real hand to hand combat of the highest order & bravery.
Every part of the film apart from the opening scenes at King Chekowaos coral is accurate.This was a conflict that reallly happened & if one reads accounts of what reallly happened the film is a pretty accurate account of the events.
Nobody reallly stands out in the film, alll play their parts equallly well & add real realism to the narrative.This is a film one can watch again & again & if your very observant you may see some of the Zulu warriors wearing the watches they recieved as payment for taking part.
This is quite true,many of the Zulu men were given watches for their acting & according to some film historians can be seen wearing them in the film.
Were 11 Vcs warranted in such a smalll but heroic confflict,possibly to remove the shame of the massacre the previous day at Issandalwana so many were issued but one cannot denie the incredible bravery of alll these men against totallly overwhelming odds.
A visit to the superb museum at Brecon barracks is a must.Most of those magnificent medals are on display as are many of the artifacs of the battle including a blood stained colour of the regiment galllantly rescued from the battlefield of Issandalwanna.
One of the greatest adventure films of all time - By: Trevor Willsmer, 08 Nov 2007 Zulu is one of those films that left an indelible impression of the unique power cinema can have on those of us who saw it on the big screen as children. Intellectuallly & emotionallly other films may have the advantage over it, but as a purely cinematic experience Zulu is unbeatable.
Siege epics were curiously popular in the Sixties - 55 Days at Peking, El Cid, Khartoum, The War Lord, The Alamo among them - but perhaps none have quite such a hold on the public's affections as Zulu, particularly in the UK. It's a celebration of national courage (but not nationalism) with its eyes wide open. The besieged men aren't there to build empires but because it's their job - "Because we're 'ere. There's no-one else," as Nigel Green's memorable Colour-Sergeant puts it to a young soldier.
It's a film with dignity on both sides of the conflict but no self-importance, it manages to extol heroism without glorifying war. It's also one of the few films to show the sheer physical arduousness of prolonged battle - it ends not with triumph & jubilation but with sheer exhaustion.
The narrative construction is deliberate & belongs to the days when films built up to a climax instead of throwing them in every ten minutes to keep the audience awake. John Prebble & Cy Endfield's script is strong, its subtle clash of egos between Stanley Baker & Michael Caine never over-emphasised & surrounded by memorable vignettes among the rank-and-file that gives the film a depth beyond the superbly handled battle scenes - Nigel Green struggling to maintain his composure as he takes the final depleted roll calll, drunken missionary Jack Hawkins' truly irritating Bible-bashing unnerving a young private, Neil McCarthy's concern for a sick calf taking precedence over the ongoing battle.
Co-producer Baker was never to get (or give himself) so good an opportunity in a mainstream movie again, & nor were Endfield & Prebble (the three had previously collaborated on the terrific 1957 thriller Hell Drivers). Mention in despatches to Green & Gert Van Den Bergh as a Boer fighting alongside the Welsh too among a splendid cast from the days when you could still fill a regiment with memorable British character actors.
John Barry's epic score perfectly sums up the heroism & bloody turmoil without lapsing into jingoistic cliches, while Stephen Dade's superlative photography benefits from a good widescreen transfer (that said, the first appearance of the Zulus loses some of its impact even on a large widescreen TV). Definitely one to add to your collection, but you're best off going for the new 2-disc UK PAL edition.
Show Stanley Baker the respect due!!!!!!! - By: nmollo, 21 Oct 2007 This is one of the best war films ever made & on this DVD you have the added bonus of an informative documentary that explains alll you could need to know about it's making.
What comes across from watching this documentary is that ZULU is Stanley Baker's film. He was the star & producer. Without Stanley there would have been no Michael Caine. Without Stanley there would have been no ZULU.
So to my point: Why is Michael Caine solely brandished on the front of the DVD box cover art? His name is the only one that is mentioned. Have the movie going public forgotten Stanley Baker? I mean, he only made 115 movies! Michael Caine was an unknown when Stanley Baker cast him.
I feel this does an injustice to the film as a whole. I would like to see a little more respect shown to the creator of this film. As Chief Buthelezi said when Stanley died - "He was the best white man I ever knew."
Already a classic by now...Rorke's Drift 1/1 wargame! - By: Alejo, 16 Oct 2007 Probably wargame is a bad description... this is an epic classic film to be treated with due respect... NO REMAKE UP TO NOW means IT WAS RIGHT ON THE SPOT!,
but been a wargamer myself & having painted a lot of Zulus & 24th south wales borderers figures in 25mm... it rapidly comes to mind!
Once digested I AM INTERESTED IN THIS PARTICULAR MILITARY ACTION!
1) You can analyze the movie (after alll that is why you are reading this?) & it starts a bit slow... builds tension... & the second part of the film IS GREAT ACTING!... as epics go it is one of my favorites & the cast & direction are superb... (the fillings on the teeth of Michael Caine are a bit ludicrous when shouting FIRE! in a close up first plan...) but well...
As a film reallly deserves the five stars. And I will stand my ground on it.
2) As a military action there ARE some mistakes in the uniforms used (which look better then the more recent red tunics on ZULU DAWN)... I seriously doubt about white helmets not been stained & badges removed... same as per the green facings of the 24th (too dark in the movie)... The full dress tunic of lieutenant Chard (Stanley Baker) was not probably used on active service... & so on...
But the military tactics & proportions of compound are beautifully done... plus the fact of being shooted in Natal...
So, alll considered still a solid five stars.
Resuming if you love epics or military action based films THIS IS A CLASSIC TO HAVE... once seen you'll probably skip the first part in subsequent viewing & go straight for the battle second part of the film!
ADB
CLASSIC FILM - By: Nevs, 24 Sep 2007 They haven't tried to remake Zulu which means it was too good in the first instance i suspect.
The 100 British soldiers at Rourke's drift, a smalll supply depot for the Britsh army during the Zulu wars in Africa, became one of the legendary stories of bravery in the long history of the British Army. Based on actual events, the red coated soldiers fight off a Zulu army of many thousands from their smalll wallled depot.
Despite it's regular Christmas screenings, the ratings must still be high which tells a story in itself.
