Wonderful film - Historical notes.

Rating: 9/10 (24 August 2010)

Wow. As a History undergraduate it is indescribably refreshing to see a historical film that adheres so faithfully to the facts, and yet loses none of its drama and suspense by doing so. There are however a couple of historical inaccuracies that may be of interest to fans of the film. Firstly is the fact that although the film states how many VCs were awarded and to whom, it does not record that Rorke's Drift received more awards of the Victoria Cross than any prior, or subsequent, single action by the British armed forces. Secondly, as noted in the Trivia section, Private Hook was neither a troublemaker, nor a malingerer. He was in fact an incredibly brave individual who saved many lives by his courageous conduct in the hospital, which he had been posted to guard. Other characters are portrayed inaccurately, i.e. James Dalton (Highly experienced soldier, indispensable to Chard and Bromhead in the battle),Gonville (Gonny) Bromhead (Extremely deaf. This handicap was the reason that B company were posted to Rorke's Drift rather than Isandahlwana!) Overall however, the film is astonishingly accurate, and although it shies away from showing how truly brutal and savage this battle was, it is no less effective for it. To conclude, a beautiful and well balanced film that ranks amongst the finest examples of popular history that I have ever witnessed.