ZULU (1964)
DIRECTOR: Cy Endfield
CAST: Stanley Baker, Michael Caine, James Booth, Nigel Green, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobbson, Paul Daneman, Neil McCarthy, Patrick Magee and Gert Van Den Bergh.
Narrated by Richard Burton
REVIEW: This is one of the finest traditional war epics ever filmed, with a first-rate cast, nail-biting action and a thunderous musical score to round out the perfect war movie.
The story is a familiar one, told with blunt honesty and refusing to take a political point of view: In 1879, 4,000 Zulu warriors attack a small British mission in South Africa. Defending the outpost are a mixed group of about 120 Welsh borderers, British regulars, and Dutch mounted police. They can either turn and run, or stand their ground and face almost certain death.
The most important element in the film is its young cast of stars-to-be. Stanley Baker (The Guns of Navarone) is excellent as the young Lt. Chard, whose engineer unit is building a bridge, when the main column is wiped out. Baker must ally himself with snobbish Lieutenant Bromhead (Michael Caine from Battle of Britain), who commands the mission - but Chard actually has seniority. While the two often disagree, they eventually settle the matter to deal with a few fanatical Swedish missionaries - Jack Hawkins (Waterloo) and Ulla Jacobbson (The Heroes of Telemark). These characters are the only flaw in the film, and thankfully are dealt with and forgotten before they ruin the proceedings.
The Brits are played by a variety of familiar faces, Pvt. Hook (James Booth from (Fraulein Doktor)) is the lazy soldier who's always on sick call, the anti-hero who comes to redeem himself in the climactic final battle. Nigel Green (Play Dirty) plays the clichéd role of a grim Sergeant to the core. He is constantly barking orders to his men, and whenever the action lags he is there to remind the men that "Nobody told you to stop working." Neil McCarthy (Where Eagles Dare) has a small role as a very human soldier, who cares for a baby calf in the middle of the battle. Rounding out the batch is the war-weary Surgeon Reynolds (Anzio) who does a bit of fine acting in one key scene.
The second half of the film is dominated by some awesome battle scenes. Thousands of Zulus line up and chant insults at the English, making even the audience's spines tingle. The, they charge, feet pounding the ground, and swarm over the walls into the encampment. The British are forced to fight hand to hand with the warriors, using bayonets against spears. Many of the stabbing scenes look pretty fake, with the bayonets or spears clearly going under the armpit, but the scope is still impressive. Endfield's script and direction are also excellent, especially during times of combat. You always know where the enemy are and what the British have to do to fight them off. One impressive scene of three ranks of men firing volleys into the Zulu ranks is excellently edited and the aftermath is chilling.
John Barry provides a thunderous, rousing score made up mostly of pounding drums and stirring strings. Variations of a single theme are repeated throughout the movie, always effectively. The Welsh also give a fine rendition of "Men of Harlech", singing out loud and clear as they go to what they expect to be certain death.
The movie also stands out because it lacks clichés and fails to take a political side. It does not question the legitimacy of the British troops in Africa. The Zulus are never demonized; in fact, they are presented as gallant warriors, as pure equals to the English. The movie is about one group trying to capture a piece of ground as another group defends it - nothing more, nothing less.
This classic was essentially re-made as The Siege of Firebase Gloria, a Vietnam actioner about Viet Cong attempts to capture a small US base during the Tet Offensive.
Zulu is a massive battle epic which can be recommended to all war movie fans. If you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat.
SGT. SLAUGHTER'S RATING: 5 Bullets
ON DVD HERE
