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Zulu
Original film poster for Zulu.
Directed by	Cy Endfield
Produced by	Stanley Baker Cy Endfield
Written by	John Prebble Cy Endfield
Narrated by	Richard Burton
Starring	Stanley Baker Jack Hawkins Michael Caine Ulla Jacobsson James Booth Nigel Green
Music by	John Barry
Cinematography	Stephen Dade
Editing by	John Jympson
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (non-USA) Embassy Pictures (USA)
Release date(s)	22 January 1964 (UK)
Running time	139 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	US$2,000,000[1]
Followed by	Zulu Dawn
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Zulu is a 1964 adventure film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus. The film was made by Diamond Films and distributed by Paramount Pictures in all countries except the USA, where it was distributed by Embassy Pictures. It was co-written, produced and directed by Cy Endfield, co-produced by Stanley Baker, Basil Keys and Joseph E. Levine as executive producer. The screenplay was by John Prebble based on his article, the music by John Barry and the cinematography by Stephen Dade.

The film stars Stanley Baker and Michael Caine (in his first starring role), with a supporting cast that includes Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Nigel Green, Paul Daneman, Glynn Edwards and Patrick Magee. The opening and closing narration is spoken by Richard Burton.

The film has sometimes been compared to a Western movie^{[citation needed]}, with the traditional roles of the United States and Native Americans taken by the British and the Zulus respectively. While lacking any significant Zulu point of view, the film acknowledges the Zulus' bravery.

Most of the characters in the film were based on real participants of the battle, but their behaviour is mostly fictional—something that has provoked disapproval: in an interview on the DVD, the descendants of Private Hook object to his negative portrayal in the film. Indeed, Hook's elderly daughters walked out of the film's 1964 London premiere, angry at the way their father had been depicted.

In 1979, a prequel, Zulu Dawn, was released.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Awards and homages 4 Production 5 Historical inaccuracies 6 Rights 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

In 1879, a communiqué from British South Africa to the government in London, narrated by Richard Burton, details the crushing defeat of a British army at the hands of the Zulus at the Battle of Isandhlwana. The first scene shows a sea of dead British soldiers, while victorious Zulus gather their weapons.

A mass Zulu marriage ceremony witnessed by missionary Otto Witt (Jack Hawkins), his daughter (Ulla Jacobsson) and Zulu King Cetshwayo (Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi) is interrupted by a messenger who informs Cetshwayo of the great victory over the British earlier in the day.

The movie then shifts to the missionary station of Rorke's Drift in Natal, being used by the British army as a supply dump and hospital for their now-defeated invasion force across the border in Zululand. The commanders of the supply depot, Lieutenants John Chard (Stanley Baker) and Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine), receive news that the invasion force has been destroyed at Isandhlwana and that a huge Zulu force is advancing their way. Realising that they cannot outrun the Zulu army, especially with wagonloads of wounded soldiers, the commanders decide to fortify the station, using wagons, sacks of mealie, and crates of ship's biscuit, and await the Zulu assault.

As the Zulu impis approach, soldiers of the Natal Native Contingent and British settlers flee the site. Zulu sharpshooters open fire on the station from a neighbouring hill. Over the next few hours, the main Zulu body launches wave after wave of attacks, which are repulsed, though the attackers succeed in setting fire to the hospital, leading to intense fighting between British patients and Zulu warriors as the latter try to escape the flames. Zulu attacks continue into the night, finally forcing the British to withdraw into a tiny redoubt built from supply crates. During a lull in the fighting, British troops emerge from the redoubt and using a co-ordinated manoeuvre, unleash a devastating hail of fire against a fresh Zulu attack.

Having sustained horrific casualties, the Zulus withdraw several hundred yards and begin singing a frightening war chant; the British respond by singing "Men of Harlech". After a last failed assault, the Zulus withdraw and sing a song to honour the bravery of the British defenders, and leave. The film ends with a narration by Richard Burton, listing defenders who received the Victoria Cross. (Eleven were awarded for the actual fighting at Rorke's Drift, the most ever for a regiment in a single battle in British military history.)

• Stanley Baker as Lieutenant John Chard. An officer of the Royal Engineers, Chard assumes command of the mission station and organises its fortification and defence.

• Michael Caine as Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. A conceited and somewhat arrogant man, Bromhead, a young infantry officer, is first seen hunting cheetahs on the veld. He initially clashes with Lt. Chard, but soon accepts Chard's leadership. Bromhead initially appears panicked, criticising his African troops and arguing with Chard, but displays personal bravery during the battle.

• Jack Hawkins as Reverend Otto Witt. A Swedish missionary based at Rorke's Drift, Witt is first seen with his adult daughter Margaret at King Cetshwayo's kraal in the capital, Ulundi. When news of the Zulu victory at Isandhlwana reaches Ulundi, the Witts flee in their carriage to Rorke's Drift. Witt is inaccurately portrayed as mentally disturbed and a drunk, and when Lt. Chard denies him permission to evacuate the wounded on wagons, Witt breaks down and incites the British garrison's African allies to flee. When his interference becomes too much of a hazard, Chard has Witt and his hysterical daughter bundled onto their carriage and driven away from the battlefield.

• James Booth as Private Henry Hook. Described as"a thief, a coward, and an insubordinate barrack-room lawyer", Hook is a roguish character feigning illness in order to avoid work, where he is constantly tormented by his ill, delirious sergeant. Despite his apparent cowardice, Hook is rebellious enough to criticise the British Empire's foreign policy: "Did I ever see a Zulu walk down The City Road? No. So what am I doing here?" and insolent enough to insult and manhandle his ailing, intermittently-conscious sergeant. During the battle for the hospital, Hook displays great courage in trying to rescue that same sergeant, and although he is unable to save him, Hook earns his sergeant's respect.

• Nigel Green as Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne. A loud, burly sergeant, Bourne is a key character in the fortification of the station, using his immense strength to assist with the fortifications, and displays immense personal courage during the battle. His is very by-the-book. He always repeats "All right, nobody told you to stop working" whenever the men are idle. (Green and Caine appeared in a number of films and TV episodes together. In this film, Green was Caine's subordinate, but in The Ipcress File and Play Dirty, he was Caine's superior.)

• Glynn Edwards as Corporal William Allen, portrayed as a model soldier. He is one of the defenders in the battle of the hospital.

• Ivor Emmanuel as Private Owen. A charismatic Welshman, Owen is immensely fond of singing (a baritone himself) and is very popular in the ranks. He is a great friend of Private Thomas, whom he affectionately calls Tommy, even comforting him during the battle at the loss of his calf. Owen leads the men to sing "Men of Harlech", the song originally featured in his choir.

• Neil McCarthy as Private John Thomas. John misses his home in Meirioneth, notably his lake and his calf.

• Patrick Magee as Major James Henry Reynolds, the overworked doctor. Reynolds provides vital medical aid to wounded soldiers during the battle, despite a total lack of anaesthetics or antiseptics, using the church's altar as an operating table.

• Gert Van den Bergh as Lieutenant Josef Adendorff. An Afrikaner officer serving with the Natal Native Contingent, Adendorff provides valuable advice to Chard on Zulu tactics and optimum defence tactics. Surprisingly, Adendorff vigorously defends the bravery and utility of the army's black soldiers after Bromhead's criticisms. Adendorff remains at Rorke's Drift throughout the battle, fighting alongside the British.

• In 2004, the magazine Total Film named Zulu the 37th greatest British film of all time.
• "Zulu" was voted eighth in the British television programme "The 100 Greatest War Films".
• The "Battle of Helm's Deep" sequence in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was filmed in a manner deliberately reminiscent of Zulu, according to Jackson's comments in supplemental material included in the special extended DVD edition of The Two Towers.
• The Germanic war chant in the battle scene at the beginning of Ridley Scott's film Gladiator is the Zulu war chant from Zulu. In the video commentary, Scott revealed that Zulu was one of his favourite movies.
• The Battle of O'Rourke's Ford in S.M. Stirling's science fiction novel On the Oceans of Eternity is a recreation of the movie premise, right down to a malingering Private Hook.

The film was shot at Twickenham Film Studios, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK and at the following locations in South Africa: Drakensberg Mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, and the national parks of KwaZulu-Natal. The film was shot in the Super Technirama 70 cinematographic process.

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The film contains a number of factual errors, including:

1. The Swedish missionaries (the Witts) were not at the Battle of Rorke's Drift. Witt, his wife and infant daughter (Witt is depicted as a widower with an adult daughter in the film) were 30 km away. They had put Rorke's Drift at Lord Chelmsford's disposal.
2. The 24th Regiment of Foot is described as a Welsh regiment: in fact, although based in Brecon in south Wales, its designation was the 24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot. It did not become the South Wales Borderers until 1881. Of the soldiers present, 49 were English, 32 Welsh (18 of whom were from the county of Monmouthshire - not then classed as a "Welsh" county), 16 Irish and 22 others of indeterminate nationality.
3. The song "Men of Harlech" features prominently as the regimental song; it did not become so until later. At the time of the battle, the regimental song was "The Warwickshire Lad". There was no "battlefield singing contest" between the British and the Zulus.
4. The actors have a more modern appearance than their characters did. Michael Caine, for example, with his shiny teeth and groomed blonde hair, bore little resemblance to the real Gonville Bromhead. Bromhead was partially deaf, a disability not mentioned in the film.
5. Many of the men, including Bromhead and Chard, wore full beards at the time of the battle. The film depicts them as largely clean shaven, with some sporting carefully-tended mustaches or sideburns.
6. The British infantrymen of the Anglo-Zulu War did not wear sparkling white pith helmets. They were stained a tan color (with tea or coffee) without helmet plates, and the bright scarlet uniforms were always covered in dust making them appear brown.
7. The seniority of Chard over Bromhead (measured by their dates of commission) was three years, not three months as in the film.
8. There was no dispute over command. Lieutenant Chard had been left in command, due to seniority, by Major Henry Spalding, well before the battle. Spalding had ridden off to get reinforcements but his motives have been questioned. Spalding claimed that he did not anticipate an imminent attack.
9. Private Henry Hook VC is depicted as a rogue; in fact he was a model soldier who later became a sergeant; he was also a teetotaller. While the film has him in the hospital "malingering, under arrest", he had actually been assigned there specifically to guard the hospital building.
10. Conversely, Corporal William Allen is depicted as a model soldier; in fact, he had recently been demoted from sergeant back a rank for drunkenness.
11. Colour Sergeant Bourne is depicted as a big, hardened, middle-aged veteran; in fact, he was of smaller stature and, aged 23, the youngest colour sergeant in the British Army. He was called 'The Kid' by his men. Sergeant Bourne would not have worn medals on his duty uniform, and the medals used in the film appear to be of World War I issue. Moreover, Green's costume has the chevrons on the wrong arm.
12. The role of Padre George Smith ["Ammunition" Smith] is completely overlooked.
13. The building of defensive ramparts and initial defence of Rorke's Drift was in fact organised by Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton. His distinction was rewarded with the VC presented a year after the battle. The film gives most of the credit to Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead. The real Dalton had retired as a Quartermaster Sergeant after 22 years of service in the British Army before joining the Commissariat and Transport Department. The film, however, portrays Dalton as something of an effete character, who does little that might be called heroic. This makes his award of a VC, as recounted at the end of the film, something of a mystery.
14. The column of British irregular cavalry seen in the film actually was at Rorke's Drift. However, Chard ordered them to leave after finding that they had little ammunition of their own.
15. The uniforms of the Natal Native Contingent are inaccurate; NNC troops were not issued with European-style clothes.
16. The real Sergeant Maxfield, as in the film, was delirious with fever. However, he was too weak to leave his bed and was stabbed to death by Zulus while the other sick and injured were being evacuated from the room.
17. Private Cole was assigned to defend the hospital, not the perimeter. He was killed when he ran out of the hospital alone, possibly due to claustrophobia. Since he was killed by a bullet to the head, his last words in the film are unlikely to be authentic.
18. Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess was significantly younger than the actor who portrayed him. At the time of his death in 1884 – five years after the battle – he was 28 years of age.
19. Private Hitch was shot through the shoulder, not the leg.
20. None of the rifles used by the Zulus were taken from dead British soldiers after the Isandlwana, as a character in the film suggests. In truth, most of the firearms used by Zulu troops were obsolete Brown Bess muskets, purchased decades earlier from German traders. In addition, the Zulu impis that attacked Rorke's Drift had not participated in the Battle of Isandlwana, and so had not had the opportunity to glean rifles from the battlefield.
21. The ending is somewhat fictitious. There was no Zulu attack at dawn on January 23, 1879, which in the film led to the singing of "Men of Harlech". There was only sparse fighting with a few remaining Zulus. The Zulus did not sing a song saluting fellow warriors, and they did not depart peacefully. They fled at the approach of a British relief column.
22. The story of the black Natal Native Contingent troops' desertion is true. However, as Witt was 30 km away at the time, he was not responsible for their departure. They left of their own will, with Stephenson and his European NCOs. Shots were fired at these deserters and one of the NCOs, Corporal Bill Anderson, was killed.
23. The film omits the killing of wounded Zulus by British soldiers after the battle. There has been speculation that several hundred may have been bayonetted, clubbed or shot in the battle's aftermath. (This was common practise if a small force prevailed over a much larger one, as it would have been unable to guard all the prisoners.)
24. The officers are shown using Webley Mk VI .455 revolvers which were not introduced until 1915 (36 years after the events depicted in the film) instead of the Beaumont-Adams revolvers that Bromhead and Chard actually used. However, the British officer of the time was allowed to use any sort of sidearm he wished, as long as it fired .455 ammunition. Officers often privately purchased Webley top-break revolvers (in 1879 not yet officially adopted for service) somewhat similar in appearance to the Mk VI Webley. These Webley models had been put on the market during the 1870s - such as the Webley-Green army model 1879 or the Webley-Pryse model. So the Webley model Mk VI was not yet developed when the film was set, but the design is typical of Webley revolvers of the period and can be seen as an example of artistic licence.
25. Several men can be seen using Lee-Enfield Mk. I bolt-action rifles instead of the historically correct Martini-Henry. Apparently, they ran out of .450/577 blanks during filming - close observation shows that, in many cases, the actors are simply dry-firing the empty Martini-Henrys and simulating the recoil, with the gunshot sound effect dubbed in later.

In the U.S., Zulu officially lapsed into the public domain, meaning there have been several issues of the film on home video/LaserDisc/DVD in North America - most notably an LD release by the Criterion Collection which retains the original stereophonic soundtrack and taken from a 70mm print. An official DVD release (with a mono soundtrack as the original stereo tracks were not available) was later issued by Embassy's successor-in-interest, StudioCanal (with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer handling video distribution). StudioCanal (the current owner of the Embassy theatrical library) had acquired control of the film in 2000 after its copyright was restored. Outside the U.S., the film has always been owned by Paramount Pictures, which has recently acquired American distribution rights.

• Zulu Dawn

• Zulu at the Internet Movie Database
• Rorke's Drift Victoria Cross remembrance site
• James Booth fansite [1]
• Zulu - Photos
• "Homoeroticism in Zulu" article [2]