A portrayal of bravery. Almost an historic document

Rating: Null/10 (16 April 2002)

The opening village scene set in the Zulu capital engages one immediately, and Zulu is one of the first major commercial films to portray an African tribe as a magnificent and powerful society in its own right. As a portrayal of a sophisticated disciplined and warlike nation, it sets the scene for the very rapid build up of tension at Rorke's Drift; the Zulus had wiped out a huge British contingent at Islandwala, and were heading for the small outpost where the unsuspecting company of Welsh engineers and hospital in-mates are later to defend themselves against what appear to be overwhelming odds as 3000 Zulus attack them. The subsequent battle is now a set piece study of defensive strategy in many a military academy.
The swift crescendo of tension and fear anticipates the fast moving action films of later years, but one of the films virtues is that it was well advised. It was made when many people who had lived at the height of the British Empire were still alive, and so the portrayal of the army and its officers is free of our modern prejudice and bias; the officers in charge at Rorke's drift were probably even more unready for such a battle than those portrayed by Stanley Baker and Michael Caine, but the British Empire could never have been built and run by a bunch of pratts, and the current fashion for portraying the Victorian upper class as a set of wets and fops is very wide of the mark. My only slight criticism of the film is the casting of Michael Caine as one of these officers. Michael Caine is an outstanding actor, but can never quite conceal his Cockney roots, and just misses the arrogant and disdainful self confidence of the aristocratic officer class of the time.
The soundtrack is a real contribution to this film. The score contributes to the tension; the wonderful tribal music and dance would have been some of the first to be heard in the Western world, and the defenders of Rorke's Drift being Welsh, there are restrained hints of their vocal skills throughout the film until they are released in the full rendition of 'Men of Harlech' before the final assault, singing it to raise their spirits against the increasingly bellicose war song of the Zulus; it is one of Cinema's most memorable moments.
Such was the slaughter in the battle that one is reminded of Sellar and Yateman's comments under 'Attempts to amuse Queen Victoria' in their history spoof "1066 And All That" which reads: 'The Zulu War. Cause: The Zulus. The Zulus exterminated. Peace with the Zulus" But while the British won this battle and the war, the film is a testament to the discipline and fearlessness of the Zulus as well as the Welsh engineers, and as the Zulus retreat in the evening sun, one is left with a real admiration for the bravery and courage shown by both sides. And it does give a strong flavour of the Empire over which the sun never set. This is a timeless film and rewards repeated viewing.