The film was first shown on the 85th anniversary of the actual battle, 22 January 1964, at the Plaza Theatre in the West End of London. Zulu received widespread critical acclaim, with praise going to the sets, soundtrack, cinematography, action sequences and the performances of the cast, particularly Baker, Booth, Green and Caine. The film brought Caine international fame. In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it the 93rd best British film ever.[6]
Plot
In January 1879, in the aftermath of the crushing defeat of a 1,300-man British column by the Zulu armies at Isandlwana, Zulu tribesmen scavenge the battlefield and collect rifles and ammunition from the dead soldiers. At a mass Zulu marriage ceremony witnessed by missionary Otto Witt and his daughter Margareta, Zulu King Cetshwayo is informed of the great victory; Witt and Margareta flee when they realise that the Zulus are going to attack Witt's missionary station at Rorke's Drift in Natal, which a company of the British Army's 24th Regiment of Foot are using as a supply depot and hospital for British forces in Zululand.
Receiving news of Isandlwana from Natal Native Contingent Commander Adendorff and warnings that 4,000 Zulu warriors are advancing on their position, Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers assumes command of a force consisting of less than 200 men as he is slightly senior to their nominal commander, Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. With not enough time to order a full evacuation, Chard decides to stay and fight. He has wagons, sacks of mealie (maize), and crates of hardtack stacked to form a defensive perimeter, gun holes knocked in the hospital walls, and a medical ward set up in Witt's chapel. A contingent of South African cavalrymen who had fought at Isandlwana arrive, refuse Chard's pleas to help reinforce the station on the grounds that it is hopeless, and swiftly depart on their horses. Witt, enraged by Chard arming the hospital's patients and ordering them to fight instead of allowing them to be evacuated, persuades the Zulus serving in the Natal Native Contingent to desert. Chard angrily destroys the wagons to transport the sick and injured in retaliation and orders Witt to be locked up in the chapel's supply room.
The Zulu impis approach and then charge before quickly retreating under British fire; Adendorff explains that they are trying to find weak points in the station's defences. Witt starts drinking heavily and proclaims that none of the soldiers will survive the coming battle. Chard permits Margareta to take her father away; the Zulus, recognising the Witts, allow them to pass unharmed. Chard is concerned that the northern perimeter wall is under-defended and realises that the Zulus, aware of this, are preparing to attack the station from all sides. Zulu warriors armed with British rifles also start taking potshots at the soldiers. Throughout the day and night, wave after wave of Zulu attackers are repelled, but the defenders are slowly killed off one-by-one, one being the company cook, killed by a Zulu spear while carrying ammunition. The Zulus succeed in setting fire to the hospital, and Private Henry Hook rallies the patients to fight them and escape. Sergeant Robert Maxfield, Private Hook's bedridden and mentally broken commanding officer, is killed along with a Zulu warrior as the hospital burns down.
The next morning, the Zulus approach to within several hundred yards and sing a lament before launching again into their war chant; the British respond by singing the Welsh song "Men of Harlech". In the final assault, just as it seems the Zulus will finally overwhelm the tired defenders, the British soldiers fall back to a small redoubt in front of the chapel. With a reserve of men hidden within the redoubt, they form into three ranks and fire volley after volley, inflicting heavy casualties; the Zulus retreat. After a pause of three hours, the Zulus re-form on the Oscarberg. Resigned to another assault, the British are astonished when the Zulus instead sing a song to honour the bravery of the defenders before departing.
Stanley Baker as Lieutenant John Chard, a veteran commander serving with the Royal Engineers. He takes charge of the defence of Rorke's Drift by virtue of seniority, despite his distaste for the slaughter of war.
Michael Caine as Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, an officer who places himself under Chard's command. He is inexperienced, arrogant, and dismissive of the Zulu army's capabilities, but slowly comes into his own by following Chard's example and shows himself to be courageous.
James Booth as Private Henry Hook, described as "a thief, a coward, and an insubordinate barrack-room lawyer" who has been confined to the hospital after falsely claiming sickness to get excused from his duties.
Dickie Owen as Corporal Frederick Schiess, a hospitalised Swiss corporal in the Natal Native Contingent who volunteers for Chard's defenders
Gert van den Bergh as Lieutenant Gert Adendorff, an Afrikaner officer serving with the Natal Native Contingent and a survivor of the battle at Isandlwana who advises Chard and fights alongside him
A break in shooting on location with stars Michael Caine and Stanley Baker present.
Cy Endfield was inspired to make the film after reading an article on the Battle of Rorke's Drift by John Prebble. He took it to actor Stanley Baker with whom he had made several films and who was interested in moving into production. Endfield and Prebble drafted a script, which Baker then showed to Joseph E. Levine while making Sodom and Gomorrah (1962) in Italy. Levine agreed to fund the movie, which was produced by Baker's company, Diamond Films.[9] It was shot using the Super Technirama 70 cinematographic process, and distributed by Paramount Pictures in all countries excluding the United States, where it was distributed by Embassy Pictures.[5]
Most of Zulu was shot on location in South Africa. The mission depot at Rorke's Drift was recreated beneath the natural Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg Mountains (considerably more precipitous than the real Rorke's Drift, which is little more than two small hills). The set for the British field hospital and supply depot at Rorke's Drift was created near the Tugela River with the Amphitheatre in the background. The real location of the battle was 100 kilometres (60mi) to the northeast, on the Buffalo River near the isolated hill at Isandlwana.
Other scenes were filmed within the national parks of the then Province of Natal. Interiors and all the scenes starring James Booth were completed at Twickenham Film Studios in Middlesex, England. The majority of the Zulus were real Zulus. 240 Zulu extras were employed for the battle scenes, bused in from their tribal homes over 100 miles away. Around 1,000 additional tribesmen were filmed by the second unit in Zululand. Eighty South African military servicemen were cast as soldiers.[10]
The film was compared by Baker to a Western movie, with the traditional roles of the United States Cavalry and Native Americans taken by the British and the Zulus respectively. Director Endfield showed a Western to Zulu extras to demonstrate the concept of film acting and how he wanted the warriors to conduct themselves.[5] It has been rumoured that due to the apartheid laws in South Africa, none of the Zulu extras could be paid for their performance and that, consequently, Endfield circumvented this restriction by leaving them all the animals, primarily cattle, used in the film. This allegation is incorrect; no such law existed and all of the Zulu extras were paid in full – the main body of extras were paid the equivalent of nine shillings per day each, additional extras eight shillings, and the female dancers slightly less.[11][10]
Caine as he appears in the trailer
Michael Caine, who at this early stage in his career was primarily playing bit parts, was originally up for the role of Private Henry Hook, which went to James Booth. According to Caine, he was extremely nervous during his screen test for the part of Bromhead, and director Cy Endfield told him that it was the worst screen test he had ever seen, but they were casting Caine in the part anyway because the production was leaving for South Africa shortly and they had not found anyone else for the role.[5] Caine also believed that he was fortunate that the film was directed by an American (Endfield), because "no English director would've cast me as an officer, I promise you, not one," due to his Cockney roots.[12] Caine later said "My entire movie career is based on the length of the bar at the Prince of Wales theatre, because I was on my way out [after failing to get the part auditioned for] and it was a very long walk to the door. And I had just got there, when he called out: 'Come back!'[13]
The company was unable to obtain enough historically authentic Martini-Henry rifles for all of the extras, and had to use additional later Lee Enfields, with a very noticeable moving bolt on the right side, absent on the Martini-Henry. The sidearms used were also visibly later types, World War I-vintage Webley Mk VI revolvers.[14]
The budget of the film has been the subject of some speculation. Press related figures of $3 million and even $3.5 million[9] were mentioned upon the picture's American release. Joe Levine later revealed that Stanley Baker had approached him with a script and budget in 1962, just after the filming of Sodom and Gomorrah. Levine agreed to finance the picture up to $2 million. According to the records of the British completion bond company, Film Finance, Ltd., the production eventually finalized its budget at £666,554 (approximately, $1,720,000). This included a contingency amount of £82,241, of which only £34,563 had been used by the time the picture had all but wrapped post-production (Cost Report #15, 18 October 1963). This would have placed the near-final negative cost at £618,876 (approximately $1,600,000).[15]
Historical picture of Zulu warriors from about the same time as the events depicted in Zulu
The basic premises of the film are true and largely accurate, but is not a historical re-enactment of real events. Although actual participants of the battle are named characters in the film, they bear little resemblance to their actual counterparts. The heavily outnumbered British successfully defended Rorke's Drift more or less as portrayed in the film. Writer Cy Endfield even consulted a Zulu tribal historian for information from Zulu oral tradition about the attack.[5] There are a number of historical inaccuracies in the film.[16]
The regiment
The script presents the 24th Regiment of Foot as a predominantly Welsh regiment, which was not the case in 1879. Of the soldiers present at Rorke's Drift, 49 were English, 32 Welsh, 16 Irish and 22 others of indeterminate ethnicity.[17][18][19] While the regiment had been based at Brecon in South Wales for several years, its full name at the time was 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot. (In 1881, the regiment assumed its later name of South Wales Borderers.)
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.[20]
The Witts
There are several inconsistencies with the historical record concerning the Swedish missionaries, the Witts. In the film, Witt is depicted as a middle-aged man, a pacifist and drunkard, who has an adult daughter called Margareta accompanying him. In reality, Otto Witt was aged 30. Witt's family were 30 kilometres (19mi) away at the time of the battle. On the morning of the battle, Otto Witt, with the chaplain, George Smith, and Surgeon-Major James Henry Reynolds, had ascended Shiyane (Oscarberg), the large hill near the station, and noticed the approach of the Zulu force across the Buffalo River. Far from being a pacifist, Witt had co-operated closely with the British Army and negotiated a lease to put Rorke's Drift at Lord Chelmsford's disposal. Witt made it clear that he did not oppose British intervention against King Cetshwayo. He had stayed at Rorke's Drift because he wished "to take part in the defence of my own house and at the same time in the defence of an important place for the whole colony, yet my thoughts went to my wife and to my children, who were at a short distance from there, and did not know anything of what was going on". He therefore left on horseback to join his family shortly before the battle.[21]
The men of the regiment
Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead: Chard had received his commission in February 1868, making Bromhead the junior officer and second-in-command at the Drift even though he was an infantryman and Chard was an engineer. In the film, it is stated that Bromhead received his commission only three months after Chard when, in fact, it was a full three years after Chard.
Surgeon Reynolds: During the Battle of Rorke's Drift, Reynolds went around the barricades, distributing ammunition and tending to the wounded there, something that is not shown in the film.[22] During the closing voiceover, he is also incorrectly referred to as "Surgeon-Major, Army Hospital Corps"; Reynolds was of the Army Medical Department, and was not promoted to the rank of Surgeon-Major until after the action at Rorke's Drift.[22] The pacifism apparent in Magee's portrayal is also somewhat anachronistic and not based on the historical Surgeon Reynolds.
Private Henry Hook, VC, is depicted as a rogue with a penchant for alcohol; 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 building.[23] The real Hook's elderly daughters were so disgusted with his portrayal in the film, they walked out of the London premiere in 1964. The fictional depiction led to an ongoing campaign to have the historical reputation restored to the real Private Hook.[24] The film's producers admitted they chose Hook simply because "they wanted an anti-hero who would come good under pressure".[25]
Corporal William Allen is depicted as a model soldier; in real life he had recently been demoted from sergeant for drunkenness.[26]
Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne (1854–1945) is depicted as a big, hardened, middle-aged veteran; in fact, he was of modest stature and, aged 24, the youngest colour sergeant in the British Army.[27] He was called "The Kid" by his men.[28] Colour Sergeant Bourne would not have worn medals on his duty uniform. Moreover, Green's costume has the chevrons on the wrong arm. After the battle Bourne was offered a commission but turned it down because he lacked the money necessary to serve as a commissioned officer; he did accept a commission in 1890. He was the last British survivor of the Battle and died as a full colonel.
The detachment of cavalry from "Durnford's Horse" who ride up to the mission station were members of the Natal Native Contingent, mainly composed of black riders rather than the local white farmers depicted in the film, who had survived the Battle of Isandlwana and had ridden to Rorke's Drift to warn and aid the garrison there. They were present during the opening action with the Zulus, but then rode off as they had very little ammunition for their cavalry carbines. Captain Stephenson is depicted at their head; in reality he was leading the NNC infantry, who had already deserted.
The uniforms of the Natal Native Contingent are inaccurate: NNC troops were not issued with European-style clothes. Only their European officers wore makeshift uniforms. The rank and file wore traditional tribal garb topped by a red rag worn around the forehead (as correctly depicted in a film on the earlier battle of Islandwana, Zulu Dawn). The story of their desertion is true. However, as Witt had already left, he was not responsible for their departure. They left of their own accord, with Captain Stephenson and his European NCOs.[31] These deserters were fired at as they left and one of their NCOs, Corporal Anderson, was killed. Stephenson was later convicted of desertion at a court-martial and dismissed from the army.
The Zulus
The attack on the mission station was not ordered by King Cetshwayo, as the audience is led to believe in the film. Cetshwayo had specifically told his warriors not to invade Natal, the British colony. The attack was led by PrinceDabulamanzi kaMpande, the King's half-brother, who pursued fleeing survivors at Isandlwana across the river and then moved on to attack Rorke's Drift. Although almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition were fired by the defenders, just under 400 Zulus were killed at Rorke's Drift. A similar number were left behind when the Zulus retreated, being too badly wounded to move. Comments from veterans many years after the event suggest the British killed many of these wounded men in the battle's aftermath, raising the total number of Zulu deaths to over 700.
Battle
At roughly 7am, an Impi appeared prompting the British to man their positions again. No attack materialised, as the Zulus had been on the move for six days prior to the battle. In their ranks were hundreds of wounded, and moreover they were several days' march from any supplies.
Around 8am, another force appeared; the defenders abandoned their breakfast and took up their positions again. The approaching troops were the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford's relief column.
The Zulus did not sing a song saluting fellow warriors, and departed at the approach of the British relief column.[20][23] This inaccuracy has been both praised for showing the Zulus in a positive light and for treating them and the British as equals, and criticised as undermining any anti-imperial message of the film.[32]
Reception
On its initial release in 1964, it was one of the biggest box-office hits of all time in the British market. For the next 12 years it remained in constant cinema circulation before making its first appearance on television. It then went on to become a television perennial, and remains beloved by the British public.[10]
Zulu received highly positive reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "if you're not too squeamish at the sight of slaughter and blood and can keep your mind fixed on the notion that there was something heroic and strong about British colonial expansion in the 19th century, you may find a great deal of excitement in this robustly Kiplingesque film. For certainly the fellows who made it, Cy Endfield and Stanley Baker, have done about as nifty a job of realizing on the formula as one could do."[33]Variety praised the "intelligent screenplay" and "high allround standard of acting," concluding, "High grade technical qualities round off a classy production."[34]Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote that the film was "in the much-missed tradition of 'Beau Geste' and 'Four Feathers.' It has a restrained, leisurely tension, the heroics are splendidly stiff-upper-lip and such granite worthies as Stanley Baker and Jack Hawkins head the cast."[35]Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker wrote that the film had "not only refurbished all the clichés of the genre but given them the sheen of high style ... It has already been pointed out that 'Zulu' is in poor taste. But so are such invaluable relics as G. A. Henty and Rider Haggard and Kipling."[36]The Monthly Film Bulletin called Zulu "a typically fashionable war film, paying dutiful lip service to the futility of the slaughter while milking it for thrills. And the battle, which occupies the whole second half of the film, is unquestionably thrilling ... But whenever there is a pause in the action the script plunges relentlessly into bathos, with feuding officers, comic other ranks, and all the other trappings of British War Film Mark I, which one had hoped were safely obsolete."[37]
Caine's performance in Zulu won him praise from reviewers, and his next film role would be as the star of The Ipcress File in which he was reunited with Nigel Green.[5]
Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 96% based on reviews from 27 critics. The consensus summarizes: "Zulu patiently establishes a cast of colorful characters and insurmountable stakes before unleashing its white-knuckle spectacle, delivering an unforgettable war epic in the bargain."[38]
Among more modern assessments, Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews gave the film four out of five stars, while Brazilian reviewer Pablo Villaça of Cinema em Cena (Cinema Scene) gave the film three stars out of five.[39] Dennis Schwartz of Ozus Movie Reviews praised Caine's performance, calling it "one of his most splendid hours on film" and graded the film 'A'.[40]
When released in Apartheid South Africa in 1964 the film was banned for black audiences (as the government feared that its scenes of blacks killing whites might incite them to violence), apart from a few special screenings for its Zulu extras in Durban and some smaller Kwazulu towns.[41]
By 2007, critics were divided over whether the movie should be seen as deeply anti-imperialist or as racist.[32]
In 2010, Alex von Tunzelmann of The Guardian gave the film a grade of B, saying: "The Zulus are a mystery, the Welsh are misplaced, a Victoria Cross recipient is slandered, and no one has enough facial hair. Nonetheless, Zulu is a brilliantly made dramatisation of Rorke's Drift, and it does a fine job of capturing the spirit for which the battle is remembered."[43]
In 2014, Pat Reid of Empire gave the film four out of five stars, describing Zulu "As a spectacular war film with a powerful moral dimension, Zulu pre-dates Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan by more than three decades. Like the defence of Rorke's Drift itself, its legend grows with the passing of time."[44] The same year, Cinema Retro released a special issue dedicated to Zulu which detailed the production and filming of the film. Stating that the film "has lost none of its impact over the years", it praises the battle sequences, calling them "impressively staged" and the portrayal of the Zulus "as noble figures who develop a mutual respect for the British, even as they are trying to kill them". It also praises the "particularly impressive" performances of the supporting cast of Hawkins, Jacobbsson, and Magee.[45]
In a Telegraph article, Will Heaven wrote, "Zulu is a story of real-life heroism seen through the lenses of Victorian propaganda and Hollywood epic cinema. It may not be truthful – but, my God, the result is thrilling."[46]
In a book, Daniel O'Brien noted one of the Zulus killing one of their own to protect Witt's daughter, and how Bromhead dismissing the native auxiliaries who died with the column at Isandhlwana, "Damn the levies man – more cowardly blacks", is reprimanded by Adendorff.[47]
In 2018, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi defended the film's cultural and historical merits, stating that there's a "...deep respect that develops between the warring armies, and the nobility of King Cetshwayo's warriors as they salute the enemy, demanded a different way of thinking from the average viewer at the time of the film's release. Indeed, it remains a film that demands a thoughtful response.'[48] Buthelezi, with whom Baker had become friends with during production, described Baker as "the finest white man he had ever met".[49]
In 2019, an article stated the film "tries to present both the British soldiers and Zulu warriors as victims of a one-off historical happenstance over which neither had much control, They appear to fight each other reluctantly, yet bravely – indeed as ‘fellow braves.’ The reality was genocide. Zulu is not an anti-war film, nor truly is it a historical epic, it is a cavalry western in the old Hollywood style, in which white men kill indigenous people in order to steal their land, and are deemed heroic for doing so. (But the film)...stands as a warning about the insidiousness of those old myths of empire and conquest. It is also proof that even those with a progressive political and social consciousness can be tempted into sacrificing their values in the pursuit of telling a ‘good’ story. [50]
In 2023, Caine rejected claims that the film was cited on a United Kingdom counter-terrorism report.[51] In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote on his belief that the film "turned an armed invasion into a plucky underdog story... (and) propagated a very dubious British mythology.[52]
In response to seeing the film begin with a “trigger warning of ‘nudity, battlefield violence and language and attitudes of the era that may offend’”, Alec Marsh praised the themes, performances and the film's message, noting “Buthelezi remained a fan of the film – which doubtlessly bolstered a sense of Zulu patriotism – and attended a 50th anniversary screening of the film alongside Prince Harry and Stanley Baker’s widow in London in 2014. In 2018, amid criticism of the film, Buthelezi defended it, telling the Times: ‘Even if the past is uncomfortable, and perhaps especially when the past is uncomfortable, it needs to be examined and unpacked rather than hidden away. Of course race is a central theme in the film.’” Marsh called the film “a highly complex and culturally important film, and one that was certainly ahead of its time.”[53]
Awards and honours
Ernest Archer was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Colour Art Direction on the film.[5] The magazine Total Film (2004) ranked Zulu the 37th greatest British movie of all time, and it was ranked eighth in the British television programme The 100 Greatest War Films.[54]Empire magazine ranked Zulu 351st on their list of the 500 greatest films.
Presentation format
Zulu was filmed in Technirama and intended for presentation in Super Technirama 70, as shown on the prints. In the UK however, the only 70mm screening was a press show prior to release. While the vast majority of cinemas would have played the film in 35mm anyway, the Plaza's West End screenings were of the 35mm anamorphic version as well rather than, as might have been expected, a 70mm print. This was due to the UK's film quota regulations, which demanded that cinemas showed 30% British films during the calendar year, but the regulations only applied to 35mm presentations. By 1964, the number of British films available to a cinema like the Plaza could be limited and Zulu gave them several weeks of British quota qualification if played in 35mm. In other countries the public did get to see the film in 70mm.
An official DVD release (with a mono soundtrack as the original stereo tracks were not available) was later issued by StudioCanal through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was released on Blu-ray in the UK in 2008; this version is region-free. On 22 January 2014, the 50th anniversary of the film and the 135th anniversary of the actual battle, Twilight Time issued a limited-edition Blu-ray of Zulu in the US[citation needed] with John Barry's score as an isolated track.[55]
Merchandising
A soundtrack album by John Barry featuring one side of the film score music and one side of "Zulu Stamp" was released on Ember Records in the UK and United Artists Records outside the Commonwealth.
The choreographer Lionel Blair arranged a dance called the "Zulu Stamp" for Barry's instrumentals.[56]
A comic book by Dell Comics was released to coincide with the film that features scenes and stills not in the completed film.[57][58][59]
Conte toy soldiers and playsets decorated with artwork and stills from the film were produced.[60]
Prequel
Endfield later wrote Zulu Dawn (1979) which serves as a prequel to the original film.
Blood Bath at Orc's Drift is a 1985 campaign supplement for the Games WorkshopWarhammer Fantasy Battle (2nd edition) game, which pitted a small force of High Elves, Dwarfs, and Humans against an attacking army of Orcs. In 1997, Games Workshop again drew inspiration from Zulu for the Massacre at Big Toof River. In this event Praetorian Guards, a faction based directly on late-19th century colonial English forces, faced off against Orc attackers, filling the role of the Zulus.[62][63]
Stanley Baker purchased John Chard's Victoria Cross in 1972 believing it to be a replica. After Baker's death, it was sold to a collector at a low price but then found to be the genuine medal.[64]
Afrika Bambaataa said that he chose the name "Zulu" based on inspiration from the 1964 film. What Bambaataa "saw in Zulu, were powerful images of Black solidarity." This would later inspire the name for his organisation, Universal Zulu Nation, in the 1970s.[65]
The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead, of the 24th Regiment of Foot began when a large contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force during the final hour of the British defeat at the day-long Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, diverting 6 miles (9.7 km) to attack Rorke's Drift later that day and continuing into the following day.
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might lead to a ruling white minority over a black majority, which would provide a large pool of cheap labour for the British sugar plantations and mines, encompassing the African Kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics into South Africa. In 1874, Sir Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to effect such plans. Among the obstacles were the armed independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand.
Cetshwayo kaMpande was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1884 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo. Cetshwayo consistently opposed the war and sought fruitlessly to make peace with the British and was defeated and exiled following the Zulu defeat in the war. He was later allowed to return to Zululand, where he died in 1884.
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British invaded Zululand in Southern Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of approximately 1,800 British, colonial and native troops with approximately 350 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and antiquated rifles.
Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony William Durnford was an Irish career British Army officer of the Royal Engineers who served in the Anglo-Zulu War. Breveted colonel, Durnford is mainly known for his defeat by the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana, which was a disaster for the British Army.
Zulu Dawn is a 1979 American adventure war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Storey. The film was directed by Douglas Hickox. The score was composed by Elmer Bernstein.
Major Gonville Bromhead VC was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He received the medal for his part in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, in which a small British garrison of 139 soldiers successfully repulsed an assault by some 4,000 Zulu warriors. Bromhead was portrayed by Michael Caine in the film Zulu, which depicted the battle.
Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He earned the decoration for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879 where he assumed command of the outpost and a small garrison of 139 soldiers and successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The battle was recreated in the film Zulu in which Chard was portrayed by Stanley Baker.
Alfred Henry "Harry" Hook VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Henry Reynolds VC, born Kingstown, County Dublin, Ireland was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was educated at Castleknock College and Trinity College, Dublin.
Ntshingwayo kaMahole of the Khoza was the commanding general (inDuna) of King Cetshwayo's Zulu Army during the first Anglo-Zulu War.
The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4 July 1879 and was the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British army broke the military power of the Zulu nation by defeating the main Zulu army and immediately afterwards capturing and burning the royal kraal of oNdini.
The Amphitheatre is one of the geographical features of the Northern Drakensberg, South Africa. The cliff face of the Amphitheatre is roughly three times the size of the total combined area of all the cliff faces in Yosemite's famous El Capitan, and more than 10 times the size of El Capitan's most famous face. It is part of the Royal Natal National Park.
Dabulamanzi kaMpande was a Zulu commander for the Zulu kingdom in the Anglo-Zulu War. He is most noted for having commanded the Zulus at the Battle of Rorke's Drift. He was a half-brother of the Zulu king Cetshwayo.
The Defence of Rorke's Drift is an 1880 painting by Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler depicting the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift which took place during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1877 to 1879. The battle and the men who fought in it were made famous in the 1964 film Zulu.
Ian Knight is a British historian and writer, specialising in Anglo-Zulu and Boers wars.
Gert Wilhelm Adendorff was a member of the Natal Native Contingent notable for being the only soldier on the British side present at both the Battle of Isandlwana and the Battle of Rorke's Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 made memorable in the film Zulu (1964).
The Natal Mounted Police (NMP) were the colonial police force of the Colony of Natal created in 1874 by Major John Dartnell, a farmer and retired officer in the British Army as a semi-military force to bolster the defences of Natal in South Africa. When required the NMP would be assisted by the Colony's volunteer regiments including the Natal Carbineers. It enlisted European officers, NCOs and natives. Men of the NMP fought and died in the Battle of Isandlwana and at Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War of 1879.
Sihayo kaXongo was a Zulu inKosi (chief). In some contemporary British documents he is referred to as Sirhayo or Sirayo. He was an inDuna (commander) of the iNdabakawombe iButho and supported Cetshwayo in the 1856 Zulu Civil War. Under Cetshwayo, Sihayo was a chief of a key territory on the border with the British Colony of Natal and had a seat on the iBandla. Sihayo was an Anglophile who wore European clothes and maintained friendly relations with trader James Rorke who lived nearby at Rorke's Drift. By 1864, Sihayo was head of the Qungebe tribe and that year agreed a new western border of the kingdom with Boer leader Marthinus Wessel Pretorius.
Symbol of Sacrifice is a 1918 film dramatisation of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. It follows English soldier Preston Fanshall from the British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana to Rorke's Drift where he participates in the successful defence of that post. His love interest, Marie Moxter, is captured by the Zulu during the battle and taken to their capital at Ulundi. Moxter's black servant, Goba, travels to Ulundi and intervenes to protect her from the advances of German villain Carl Schneider who has allied with the Zulu. The film shows the British defeat at the Battle of Hlobane and the arrival of reinforcements, including Napoléon, the French Prince Imperial. The prince becomes a central character for a portion of the film and is shown, in a lavish flashback, meeting Queen Victoria and Empress Eugénie at Windsor Castle. The death of the prince at the hands of the Zulu is shown. A second love triangle involving a Zulu woman, Melissa, with a warrior, Tambookie, and a villainous witchdoctor, is also depicted. The film ends with the British victory at the Battle of Ulundi, ending the war. Goba and Tambookie help Moxter to escape, but Goba is killed in the process and Tambookie enters Moxter's employment.
↑ Chadwick, G. A. (January 1979). "The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879: Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift". Military History Journal. The South African Military History Society/Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging. 4 (4). Retrieved 12 May 2016.
↑ Hale, Frederick (December 1996). "The Defeat of History in the film Zulu". Military History Journal. The South African Military History Society/Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging. 10 (4). Retrieved 12 May 2016.
1 2 Dovey, Lindiwe (2009). African Film and Literature: Adapting Violence to the Screen. Columbia University Press. pp.37–38. ISBN9780231519380. Retrieved 5 January 2018. While interpretations of the film have been polarized between critics who claim that it is deeply anti-imperial and those who believe that it is racist (Hamilton and Modizane 2007), I want to briefly analyse the final sequence of the film to show that in treating the Zulus "equally" the filmmakers compromise an anti-imperial message of the film. ... the Zulu warriors have come back "to salute fellow braves". ... This final scene, however, is not historically accurate. ... The war was not fought on equal terms, due to the superior firearms of the British, and the filmmakers therefore require the Zulus to pay tribute to the British since it is only the Zulus who can authenticate the fairness of the war.
↑ Schwartz, Dennis (20 May 1999). "Zulu". Ozus' Movie Reviews. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
↑ Kimon de Greef (2 June 2014). "The film Zulu, 50 years on: classic or racist?". This Is Africa. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018. TIA (This is Africa): And did you get to watch it when it was finished? MB (Mangosuthu Buthelezi): Censorship was terrible in South Africa, and the film, which showed white and black people fighting and killing each other, was banned for black audiences. The government had this silly attitude that the scenes of blacks killing whites would incite people to violence. But we requested permission for the Zulu extras who participated to see the film, and so a few special screenings were organised in Durban and some smaller KwaZulu towns.
↑ McEneany, Chris (6 February 2009). "Zulu Movie Review". AVForums. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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