Zulu
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Movie Reviews of Zulu
Movie Review: A great classic film
Summary: 5 Stars
Zulu is a great old action movie. It's great for a lot of reasons, but it's definitely a 40 year old movie. It was made in a simpler time for Hollywood, back when a movie could be made to provide viewers with a good time without any real political agenda. This is the kind of film you can sit back and enjoy while still appreciating the work that went into this film.
Michael Caine does a nice job in this film, and I think it was his first major film. However, he doesn't play a John Wayne type of role, he's just a guy who does his part and gets the job done. The other actors basically do the same thing; all do it very well.
There is no love story at all and the friendships are never really developed. The commander of the British forces isn't very likeable, and Michael Caine's charisma is held in check for the most part. Still, you get lots of action in an unusual setting. For example, we've all seen 100 films of each of the following scenarios: WWII, knights & castles, submarines, cowboys and indians, etc.; but how many movies have we seen with this setting? To top it off, this is based on a true event. And from a book I read on this battle, the film is reasonably accurate.
Don't expect modern special affects. You will see guys shot at close range and fall dead without 1 drop of blood anywhere. Still, the action is very good. This is definitely a "guy's film".
Movie Review: A must see for military history buffs
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a classic military defense that succeeded. If one watches both this film and "The Alamo," the contrast is obvious. At Rorkes Drift, the defense was by disciplined British infantry, and the defensive position was laid out by a military engineer who knew what he was doing in fortifying the site. Discipline and good planning ensured success.
There are a number of films about historic, last stand, defenses including "Khartoum" and "The Alamo," where defenses failed and the defenders were massacred; and "55 Days at Peking" and "Zulu," where the defenses were successful. Perhaps there is a message in this, i.e., succeed or die. If failure is equated with death, there is a high incentive to do your utmost. These were "take no prisoners" type situations. There were no non-combatants.
I remember someone asking once about the significance of officers commissioning dates. In this case it made a great deal of difference and resulted in the engineer officer having overall command. He obviously had better training in designing and building defensive works, even ones that used walls, fences, wagons, and sandbags (or grain bags). The final redoubt was a do-or-die last line of defense.
Overall, the film is very good, and seems to stick to the historic situation. It would be interesting to know what finally happened to Chard, Bromfield, and the others.
Movie Review: Better than ever in MGM re-mastered video quality!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is a familiar classic and the historical (and miraculous) event upon which it is based is even more well-known. Therefore, I will go straight to talking about this DVD's technical merits. Compared to VHS and earlier DVD versions, this MGM release delivers great video quality. The image is sharp, the colours solid, and great adjustments in brightness and contrast. Not all of MGM's war classics in DVD are so well done, but I was very glad that this one, ZULU, was. There's a fairly long trailer and a very good scene selection menu. Of course, there is no fancy Dolby 5.1 sound or other redundant "extras" found in DVD versions of more contemporary (and easily forgettable) movies. My only disappointment with this MGM release is the sub-titles. If there are a lot of words to appear, some of them may appear above the bottom black bar and into the lower portion of the movie image. Because of this, I turned on my TV's closed captioning option and learned that this DVD does contain closed captioning for the hearing-impaired, with all the captioning staying at the bottom black bar. ZULU has become even greater in this MGM DVD incarnation. A must for every war/history buff who finds nothing politically offensive about watching throngs of spear-wielding Zulu warriors being gunned down by a comparatively handful of British soldiers.Movie Review: what film was J Michael watching?
Summary: 5 Stars
Umm - have just read the review by J Michael on Zulu - what film was he watching? Falling asleep watching Zulu? This would be possible only if you were raised watching films with the subtlety of a housebrick and constant, overwhelming action - tell me J Michael are Arnold Schwarzenegger movies your ideal of film pacing and action? Zulu is a classic military action film, even handed, dramatic and with a brilliant score - and yes there are historical inaccuracies - but then if you watch American movies, Americans won every war singlehanded and didn't have aggressive, colonialist excursions into Mexico, Phillipines and Cuba. As for Zulu being a "western" - guess what, the rest of the world don't need to recast their history in the terms of a simplistic film genre - this misrepresent the pyschological impact of some battles and some victories everywhere but America. The news of the victory at Rourke's Drift came on the heels of the dreadful bloodbath of Iswandlana - where a British column was slaughtered to a man by supposed "savages". No wonder the press and people of England lauded the successful defence. There is something in the British pysche that glories in defence over offence - even at Waterloo, it was the British squares that stood against the French attack that got the tears rolling and the heart swelling. See Zulu and be stirred.Movie Review: An historical and dramatic masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Zulu is one of the finest historical dramas and war films ever made. With excellent performances by Stanley Baker, Nigel Greene, Jack Hawkins and (at the time) newcomer Michael Caine, you feel the anquish, fear, desperation and exhiliration of men thrust into the brutality of a hopeless situation yet emerging triumphant. The costumes and weapons for both the British and Zulu warriors are stunning and accurate and both sides are portrayed in very human terms. The locations are also quite authentic. The John Barry soundtrack, written before his later awesome soundtracks for the early James Bond pictures, is terrific and will carry you along, both up and down, with the action in the film. Richard Burton does the brief narration at the beginning and end. There are many exciting and dramatic scenes recounting true events from the battle of Rourke's Drift. The scene where the Zulus sing their battle song and the British respond by singing "Men of Harlech" as a sign of their own courage sounds stunning and is filled with real tension. You'll want to watch this one many times!!!