A wonderful film!

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 2000)

Despite the historical inaccuracies chronicled elsewhere on this page, this film is a near-complete success by the most important yardstick--it has been on many people's "favorite film" list for almost 40 years.
Stanley Baker obsession with making this film pays off in a dramatic account of a truly dramatic historical event. Like "Full Metal Jacket", which is based on Michael Herr's accounts of real events; like "The Longest Day" and "A Bridge Too Far, which are based on Cornelius Ryan's accounts of actual campaigns during World War II; and like "Gettysburg" which is based on Michael Shaara's account of the Civil War battle, one can overlook the liberties John Prebble takes with the historical record if one focuses on this movies virtues.
The film is full of fine performances by a cast which was virtually unknown to American audiences of 1964. Baker and Michael Caine are letter-perfect as an irascible engineer and a pompous young lieutenant forced to cooperate against overwhelming odds. James Booth gives a fine, if historically inaccurate, performance as the scoundrel Private Henry Hook. Patrick Magee is properly outraged as Surgeon Reynolds, whose job it is to patch up the men whose bodies are ravaged by the battle. And as is pointed out in several other reviews, the best performance of the film is by Nigel Green as Colour Sergeant Bourne. If Green wasn't a noncommissioned officer in another life, his portrayal is even better than it seems. From his erect carriage to his stern-but-sympathetic demeanor, to his flawless action sequences with a bayonet, Green IS the archetypal Sergeant Major.
Although the Zulu characters have virtually no dialogue, Baker somehow manages to invest them with tremendous dignity, courage, and dedication. The Zulus were, in fact, the finest infantry on the continent of Africa during their heyday. Although the film can be criticized for some flaws, it cannot be faulted for its portrayal of this terrific warrior tribe.
The cinematography is wonderful; the stirring music will stay with you long after the film is over; the battle sequences themselves (especially the film's final 15 minutes) may be the finest ever committed to film.
This is one of those rare films EVERYONE should see once. Most of us will enjoy watching it again and again.