Zoulou

ZULU steers away from making one side good and one side bad. Okay, we identify with the British troops in the face of insurmountable odds and all that - but you have to admire the ZULU warriors all the more for going up against them unfalteringly and the 'pan' across their fallen bodies isn't so much a moment of joy for the Brits saying "Ha, look how many we've killed of you lot" as opposed to clearly showing what an awful waste of life it all actually was.

The film clearly marks out why the British Army was as good as it was. Organisation. Okay, we got butchered a couple of times, but when placed in a position with time to ready ourselves the British forces where pretty unbeatable. One of the huge advantages being the fact that often we were going up against quite primitive 'warriors' with even more primitive weapons. The whole staying smart, obeying orders and keeping in line, firing in order helped to saved all those mens lives and is a neatly condensed show of arms to everybody out there. Each setpiece of British organisation re-inforces just how good they were, just how well they were drilled and just how murderous they could be with their efforts.

The film clearly marks out why the ZULU forces wasn't quite so good. It wasn't a lack of courage or absence of valour, it was simply down to the fact that they were outclassed weapon and organisation wise. Okay, they made pretty well organised charges and all that, but against rifles that's just cannon fodder. But as is pointed out by the Dutch guy, they're merely counting your guns. The ZULU's in the film aren't daft guys in furry underpants, they're the bravest warriors ever seen (or ever likely to be seen). Well organised forces wilted in the face of British troops during that period, they didn't. The fact they salute the British and walk away merely adds to their nobility and patheticises the British efforts - eventually they would have crumbled, the British would have lost against such odds if the Zulus had pressed all at once. They didn't. They walked away saluting the British effort. That moment alone, with Caine blazing about how they're being taunted and the Dutch guy chuckling to himself struggling to believe what is actually taking place is the icing on the cake of the gradually increasing tension.

For a moment of absolute spine tingling tension you can't beat the ZULU singing being countered by the Welsh Choir of voices. It's an equaliser as such, a moment of contrast and compare between the rigid red suited Brits and the tribal shield clapping chanting.

John Barry's music is a constant presence and always perfectly suited to the moment, I'd be interested to know the content of the ZULU chants though, whether they are authentic (which I figure they are) or simply picked out by the director for looking the most intimidating.

Top film, no insult to anybody.

It is only natural I suppose for an avowed socialist such as Stanley Baker to have formed a professional bond with two of Hollywood's blacklisted liberals. Some of Baker's best work is for Joseph Losey while 'Zulu' is the finest and most commercially successful of his collaborations with Cy Endfield.

Adapted by John Prebble from his own article, it is shot on location amidst the grandeur of the Drakensberg Mountains in glorious Technirama 70mm by Stephen Dade, has one of John Barry's strongest scores, excellent editing by John Jympson, especially in the battle sequences and boasts a strong cast.

Stanley Baker gives his customarily earthy, no-nonsense performance as Chard whilst Michael Caine in his breakthrough role as Bromhead has ironically been obliged to disguise his cockney roots and has never been quite as effete. Caine was originally considered for the part of Private Hook which went to James Booth whose performance ranks as his finest filmic hour. The requirements of film have dictated that Hook be portrayed as a thief and drunkard whereas in reality he was by all accounts a model soldier. Marvellous support from the imposing Nigel Green as Colour-Sergeant Bourne although the original Bourne was a mere 5' 3''. Patrick Magee impresses as Surgeon Reynolds whilst the superlative Jack Hawkins steals his scenes as the missionary Witt(wisely eschewing a Swedish accent)

Since the film was released there has been a seismic historical shift and nations have been forced to come to terms with their colonial past. One observer has noted that this is essentially 'a cavalry Western in which white men kill indigenous people in order to steal their land and are deemed heroic for doing so.' Empire-making has become synonymous with ethnic-cleansing.

Despite is dramatic licence, glaring inaccuracies and ideological flaws this film is a well-constructed, stirring, Kiplingesque tale of derring-do and individual bravery that has deservedly remained a perennial favourite.

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I have read others comments with interest, particularly those complaining about small bullet holes. Well it was 1964, and to be truthfull, do you need gore to explain a true event?

Anyway - a couple of facts about the story which were not depicted correctly. Cetewayo did not order the attack. In fact he ordered his men NOT to attack, but a head strong son ignored him.

The tribute song at the end of the film, did not take place, the Zulu just disappeared into the night.

Now, having said that, and having read the books and seen the film (x number of times since I was 15 (in 1968). I had the opportunity in 1998 to travel to Rorkes Drift and stand where the soldiers stood to face the Zulu.

The foundations of the hospital building has a museum built over it full of interesting stuff, the small grave yard to the fallen soldiers, and the grave stone remembering all the dead zulu are thought provoking.

But what strikes you most is how small the area was in which the soldiers held their ground, with Zulu firing on them from the hills behind and charging them from 3 sides. As you stand inside foundation stones marking the site of the walls etc, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, and you wonder just how you would have reacted facing up to such a huge army, charging down on you.

If you are a Zulu film fanatic, and should you get the chance - go there. And take time to visit the site of the film Zulu Dawn, where the Zulu attacked the garrison camped at the foot of a hill BEFORE moving on to the small unit at the Drift. White stones mark where men fell, kept bright by dedicated Zulu staff.

Zulu is the true story of the battle of Rourke's Drift between the British and Zulu nations in 1879. Both nations were aggressive, expansionist peoples. The British had pursued trade throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and suddenly found themselves in possession of an empire encompassing one quarter of the world. The Zulus, under the warrior-king Shaka Zulu, had become a society totally devoted to warfare and, with the possible exception of the Spartans over two thousand years before them, the most fearless soldiers the world had ever seen. It is important not to succumb to political correctness here, the Zulus had ruthlessly oppressed other nations in black Africa and caused mass migrations of people, the effects of which are felt to this day. The British meanwhile, had provoked a confrontation with them and suffered a defeat at Isandlwana where modern weapons has proved insufficient against overwhelming numbers of incredibly brave and disciplined warriors. The day after the battle the small British garrison at Rourke's Drift seemed doomed. Just over 100 men plus sick men in the hospital faced thousands of Zulus eager for their share of the glory which their brothers had won at Isandlwana.

The nature of the British Army at this time was not promising. Before Waterloo in 1815 the Duke of Wellington had described them as "the scum of the earth" - rogues, ne'er-do-wells, criminals, drunkards, ladanum fiends, debtors fresh from prison, even lunatics. In 1879 they were not much different. They were incredibly badly paid, their conditions of service were atrocious, they were despised by the civilians, led by officers who often owed their position to aristocratic privilege and money. Sometimes they were booed in the street and refused access to pubs and music halls such was their lowly status. And yet, and yet... they had faced and defeated some of the most fearsome warriors on Earth. The Pathans, Burmese, Afghans, Sudanese "Fuzzy-Wuzzies" as well as Napoleon's invincible Imperial Guard. If they survived the bloody colonial wars they could expect an early death in the work-house, unappreciated by the people whose incomes they had guarded. If you are interested in the Victorian soldiers see Kipling's poems (especially "Tommy Atkins") or read George Orwell's long essay on Kipling or "The Lion And The Unicorn".

This film salutes human beings in extremis. Though told from the British viewpoint it pays handsome tribute to the magnificent courage and honour of the Zulu warriors as well as the British soldiers wondering "what are we doing here?". The best perfomances in the film, in my opinion, are from James Booth as Private Hook, the cynical drunkard turned reluctant hero and Nigel Green as the awesome Colour-Sergeant Bourne. It portrays courage and stoicism which modern people seem to lack; heroism when all seems lost, faith in the regiment and your mates and old-fashioned manliness.

A stirring, inspiring film about ordinary British soldiers, caught off-guard and forced to fight for their lives.

During the Victorian period, discipline within the British Army was at its very peak, and the Officers were well versed in standard military manoeuvres. However, Lord Chelmsford, leading the colony out of ISLANDWANA, effectively sealed the fate of the 1000 or so Soldiers encamped on the slopes of the mountain at Islandwana, and in turn forced the Mission station at Rourkes Drift into a seemingly impossible situation; Beat off the attack.

Luckily, Lt John Chard of the Royal Engineers had been assigned to Rourkes Drift to "Build a Bridge", thus saving him from massacre and lending his wisdom and sharp military mind to the ragged bunch of soldiers at the station.

Lt Gonville Bromhead, superbly played by Michael Caine, epitomised the "Military Families" that had been commanding regiments for Decades during the 18th and 19th Centuries.

The film speaks for itself, culminating in the final, mesmerising, breath-taking, desperate battle to hold fast against a disciplined attack from the ZULU impi.

Strangely, the film makes no mention of Cetsewayo's order that no force should attack any entrenched British position. The Rourkes Drift attack was spearheaded by one of his headstrong sons, eager to prove his courage and leadership skills to his respected warrior father.

With narration from none other than Richard Burton, stirring music, the pre-battle singing at dawn, and the three level firing lines on a "mealy-bag" redoubt, you can't do better than "ZULU".