Shamelessly romanticized, but entertaining and influential

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2013)

By 1964 the British empire had collapsed and the crown's former possessions had gained political independence. That year, "Zulu" offered film-goers a vision of British hardiness in the face of fierce native resistance. The film does not acknowledge the irony of its own existence or offer political commentary or even stick to the facts of the events it depicts; is a shameless exercise in romanticism and war-movie heroics. Yet it is a rich and rewarding film nevertheless. The look and sound of the encircling Zulu army create an atmosphere that filmmakers have often sought to replicate, as Peter Jackson did with his orc hordes in "The Lord of the Rings" in the early 2000s.