A total classic

Rating: 10/10 (18 April 2014)

I have watched Zulu more times than I can count and know every line and camera shot. Put simply, everything came together in this movie, from the intelligent, sensitively written script, through the fine acting and camera work, to the outstanding score. It is a classic of the 60s, a miracle as the colour sergeant says at the end. With hindsight it's impossible to see quite how Endfield and Prebble came up with the project and then managed it so successfully, especially taking into account the difficulties of filming on location in apartheid SA. And filming in a burning building too was extremely risky. The film is fifty years old now and while it has obviously aged to some degree, its qualities remain extraordinary, as does its appearance - what colour! The only aspect that doesn't quite convince is the extent of the close combat. I would have thought that in close combat Zulu agility and dexterity with the assegai, plus their numbers, would have won through. I would expect the British to have held them at bay almost entirely with rifle fire. But the historical research was solid so I could be wrong.