Zulu Dawn

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Zulu Dawn
Zuludawnposter.jpg
Film poster by Tom Chantrell
Directed by Douglas Hickox
Written by Cy Endfield
Anthony Storey
Produced byNate Kohn
James Sebastian Faulkner
Starring Burt Lancaster
Peter O'Toole
Simon Ward
Nigel Davenport
Michael Jayston
Peter Vaughan
Denholm Elliott
James Faulkner
John Mills
CinematographyOusama Rawi
Edited byMalcolm Cooke
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Distributed byAmerican Cinema Releasing
Orion Pictures (through Warner Bros. [1] )
Release date
  • 15 May 1979 (1979-05-15)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11.75 million [1] ($48.3 million in 2023 dollars) [2]

Zulu Dawn is a 1979 American adventure war film directed by Douglas Hickox and written by Anthony Storey and Cy Endfield, based on Endfield's book of the same name about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa.

Contents

A prequel to Zulu (1964), which depicts the historical Battle of Rorke's Drift later the same day, Zulu Dawn features an ensemble cast led by Burt Lancaster, Peter O'Toole, Simon Ward, and Nigel Davenport.

Plot

In the Cape Colony in January 1879, British Army officer Lord Chelmsford plots with diplomat Sir Henry Bartle Frere to annex the neighbouring Zulu Empire, which they perceive as a threat to the Cape Colony's emerging industrial economy. Frere issues an ultimatum to the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, demanding that he dissolve the Zulu military; an indignant Cetshwayo rebuffs the demand, providing Lord Chelmsford and Frere with a casus belli against the Zulus. Despite objections from prominent individuals in the Cape Colony and Britain, Frere authorises Lord Chelmsford to command a British expeditionary force to invade the Zulu Empire.

The British expeditionary force marches into the Zulu Empire, with Lord Chelmsford directing it towards the Zulu capital, Ulundi. Eager to bring the war to a swift conclusion, the British become increasingly frustrated as the Zulu military adopted a Fabian strategy, refusing to engage in a pitched battle; a few skirmishes occurred between British and Zulu scouts with indecisive results. Three Zulu warriors allowed themselves to be captured in a skirmish and are interrogated by the British, but refused to divulge any information and eventually escape, informing their commander of the British dispositions. Halfway to Ulundi, Lord Chelmsford, ordered the British force to make camp at the base of Mount Isandlwana, ignoring the advice of his Boer attendants to fortify the camp and transform his supply wagons into a laager.

Upon receiving inaccurate reports from his scouts concerning the Zulus' dispositions, Lord Chelmsford leads half the British force on a wild goose chase far from the camp against a phantom Zulu force. The next day, the British camp receives reinforcements led by Colonel Durnford, who dispatches scouts to reconnoiter the surrounding area before leaving the camp to personally scout the region. One of the British scouting parties discovers a Zulu force massing at the bottom of a nearby valley. The Zulu force quickly attacks the British camp, but are initially repulsed; however, they spread out and adopt a strategy of encircling the British, who are eventually pushed back after they run out of ammunition. A massed infantry charge by the Zulu force breaks the British lines, causing them to retreat back towards their camp. Overwhelmed by the attacking Zulus, the British force collapses and is quickly massacred.

Zulu warriors quickly hunt down any British survivors fleeing the battle, while several British soldiers attempt an unsuccessful last stand. The British camp's commander, Colonel Pulleine, entrusts a regimental colour to his soldiers who attempt to carry it safely back to the Cape Colony; they pass numerous dead and dying British soldiers during their journey. Eventually reaching the Buffalo River, the British soldiers are discovered and killed by Zulu warriors; the colour is captured by a Zulu. Lieutenant Vereker, who lies wounded and trapped under his fallen horse, shoots and kills the Zulu wielding the colour, who drops it into the river, where it floats out of reach of the Zulu force. In the evening, Lord Chelmsford returns to the scene of the battle, and receives news that a Zulu force has attacked Rorke's Drift. Zulu warriors drag captured artillery back to Ulundi.

Cast

Production

The script was originally written by Cy Endfield. [3]

The Lamitas Property Investment Corporation financed a series of films, including several in South Africa, such as The Wild Geese (1978). The company committed about £5 million to Zulu Dawn, most of it raised from a Swiss bank, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. [4] HBO helped guarantee finance. [5] Initially set at $6.5 million, the budget kept increasing and ultimately cost $11.75 million, despite coming in only two days over schedule. [1] Jake Eberts was involved in raising financing; he had to guarantee Lancaster's salary when Lancaster's agent insisted on one. This meant Eberts was liable for the loan. In 1983, interest made this £450,000. Eberts spent years paying it back. [6]

John Hurt was cast in a lead role but was refused entry to South Africa. This confused the not particularly political Hurt. It was thought South African Intelligence may have confused him with the actor John Heard, who had been arrested in an anti-Apartheid march. [7]

Shooting

Every day of filming, over 1,000 people were involved, [8] with Zulu extras being paid £2.70 per day. [9]

In 1978, producers and financiers agreed to defer fees and no completion guarantee was in place. [1] Norma Foster was a liaison between the South African government (notably the Minister of Information, Dr Connie Mulder) and the filmmakers; she later claimed the producers owed £20,000. Co-producers James Faulkner and Barrie Saint Clair claim they were owed £100,000 in deferred fees. Over 100 South African creditors allege they were owed £250,000. Faulkner and Saint Clair sought an injunction to block screenings until they were paid. [1] Lamitas denied liability, claiming expenses exceeded the agreed budget and the injunction was lifted May 21, 1979. [1] They later offered to settle for £25 on the pound. [4]

Music

In 1978, David Japp, founder and MD of London-based composers agency The First Composers Company, met producer Nate Kohn and suggested he use composer Mike Batt – an accomplished composer and arranger of orchestral music best known for his pop compositions for children's TV series The Wombles and the pop-chart hits of the songs from the series, and, in particular, for the song "Bright Eyes" from the animated film Watership Down (1978) – to commission to the score. However, shortly after the agreement was signed and the first third of the fee paid, Kohn informed Japp that the producers had changed their minds and wanted a "name" to help with the films promotion. Devastated, Batt refused to accept the rest of the "pay or play" fee, due under the terms of the signed agreement.

Japp sent his US client list to Kohn, who selected Elmer Bernstein ( The Magnificent Seven , The Ten Commandments , The Great Escape , To Kill a Mockingbird and Thoroughly Modern Millie , the last of which Bernstein had won an Oscar). Japp negotiated the highest fee that Bernstein had ever been paid and it was only after the score had been recorded at Abbey Road Studios and the film shown at Cannes that Japp found out the producers mistakenly thought they were hiring Leonard Bernstein, famed conductor and composer of dozens of orchestral compositions and films, possibly the best known of which is West Side Story – which was why the producers wanted "Bernstein" as composer.

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Zulu Dawn has an approval rating of 50% based on 8 reviews and an average rating of 6.03/10. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Free 'Zulu Dawn' From Restraint". Variety . 23 May 1979. p. 3.
  2. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Dineen, Michael (18 June 1978). "Cy's is right to type fast: Small businesses bureau". The Observer . p. 16.
  4. 1 2 Beresford, D. (10 August 1979). "Zulu victory starts a second battle". The Guardian .
  5. ↑ "BUSY BUYING FOR TELEVISION". The Irish Times . 25 May 1979. p. 10.
  6. ↑ Eberts, Jake; Illott, Terry (1990). My indecision is final . Faber and Faber. p.  156-157. ISBN   9780571148882.
  7. ↑ Hall, Ruth (28 July 1978). "London Diary". New Statesman . Vol. 96, no. 2471. p. 119.
  8. ↑ Lukk, Tiiu (February 1979). "Filming "Zulu Dawn" on Location in South Africa". American Cinematographer . Vol. 60, no. 2. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "A High Shine for Olivier's Star". Los Angeles Times . 20 July 1978. p. i15.
  10. ↑ "Zulu Dawn". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
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