Zulu
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
In 1879, a communiqué from Lord Chelmsford to the Secretary of State for War in London (voice-over narration by Richard Burton) details the crushing defeat of a British force at the hands of the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana. In the aftermath of the battle, the victorious Zulus walk amongst the scattered bodies of dead British soldiers and gather their rifles. At a mass Zulu marriage ceremony witnessed by missionary Otto Witt (Jack Hawkins) and his daughter (Ulla Jacobsson), Zulu King Cetewayo (Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi) is also informed of the great victory.
A company of the British Army's 24th Regiment of Foot is using the missionary station of Rorke's Drift in Natal as a supply depot and hospital for their invasion force across the border in Zululand. Receiving news of Isandhlwana from the Natal Native Contingent Commander Adendorff, who warns that an army of 4,000 Zulu warriors is advancing to the British position, Lieutenant John Chard (Stanley Baker) of the Royal Engineers assumes command of the small British detachment. Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine), an infantry officer, is rather put out to find himself subordinate to an engineer due to the latter's slightly earlier commission. Realising that they cannot outrun the Zulu army with wounded soldiers, Chard decides to make a stand at the station, using wagons, sacks of mealie, and crates of ship's biscuit to form a defensive perimeter. Witt becomes drunk and demoralises the men with his dire predictions; the soldiers of the Natal Native Contingent desert. Chard orders Witt to be locked in a supply room.
As the Zulu impis approach, a contingent of Boer horsemen arrives. They advise Chard that defending the station is hopeless. They retreat in haste, despite Chard's desperate pleas for them to stay. The Zulu army approach and then charge. The British open fire, but Adendorff informs them that the Zulus are only testing the British firepower. Witt again predicts the soldiers' inevitable fate, before escaping the battle with his daughter. Chard is concerned that the northern perimeter wall is undermanned and realises that the attack will come from all sides. The defenders are surprised when the Zulu warriors open fire on the station with rifles, taken from the British dead at Isandlwana.
Throughout the day and night, wave after wave of Zulu attackers are repelled. The Zulus succeed in setting fire to the hospital, leading to intense fighting between British patients and Zulu warriors as the former try to escape the flames. Private Henry Hook (James Booth) takes charge and successfully leads the patients to safety.
The next morning, the Zulus approach to within several hundred yards and begin singing a war chant; the British respond by singing "Men of Harlech". In the final assault, just as it seems the Zulus will finally overwhelm the tired defenders, the British soldiers fall back to a small redoubt constructed out of mealie bags. With a reserve of soldiers hidden within the redoubt, they form into three ranks and seamlessly fire volley after volley, inflicting heavy casualties; the Zulus withdraw. After a pause of three hours, the defenders are still recovering when the Zulus re-form again on the Oscarberg. Resigned to another assault, the British are astonished when the Zulus instead sing a song to honour the bravery of the defenders before departing.
The film ends with another narration by Richard Burton, listing the eleven defenders who received the Victoria Cross for the defence of Rorke's Drift, the most awarded to a regiment in a single action up to that time.

Review: However, the script more than makes up for that minor problem by revealing complexity to the Whitaker and Bloom characters in a subtle way that makes us truly care about the two cops they portray.Whitaker is very good, establishing a character then staying true to what he presents initially.
If you like watching the mature Forest Whitaker do his thing then you will enjoy this movie.However, to me this is Orlando Bloom's movie to carry, and he scores big time.
All of that time he has spent adding to his bank account with fluffy roles has also brought him to this point where he can truly pull off a major role with skill.Zulu is set in modern day South Africa and the portrait of that nation isn't pretty at all.
Zulu isn't just a who-done-it, but a powerful indictment of the causes of the subject crime embedded deep in 20th century history.Like all good cop movies there is some redemption at the end so fear not in the middle, if you find yourself a little depressed.
Problematic I guess is distribution of a cop film set in South Africa with some pretty harsh elements, at least to American audiences.
i don't know what film the idiots who review this movie here watched, i can say in all honesty this is one of the best Drama of 2013 and very good production money well spend.
director is not known to me but he can be proud of the job he has done, style of camera use in action scenes reminded me POINT BREAK but way better, gun fights felt of those in western movies and was very tense.
character development was the best thing about this movie you felt for every one most of all Orlando Bloom he has done a great job portraying a failed tortured soul as same as Mel Gibson did in first Lethal Weapon.
i am guessing most people did not understand Forest Whitaker, his suffering and the way he acted at the and of the movie i did, this is why i loved the ending character Forest Whitaker played suffered in silence for 40 years then at the end he realised everything he suffered was due to certain evil man and he decided there was only one way to stopped them then he took action to do so with no remorse.
This time Orlando Bloom and Forest Whittaker are sent to South Africa - into a dark the sinister Apartheid leftovers.Great acting by both of them.
Forest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom made quite an impression on me being they have been in a lot of big hits I thought they might remind me of other characters from another movie.
The story is set in Post-Mandela South Africa, with blacks and whites working side by side as both criminals and cops.
You can watch Zulu several times, and continually catch more and more minute plot twists, amazing scenes depicting the beauty and squalor of South Africa and the importance of walk on characters that contribute to the depth of the movie.
A movie with well developed characters, telling a gripping story, that leads to a meaningful ending.This is the type of product that comes from integrity, professionalism, and hard work.
Orlando Bloom is quite exceptional playing a lost cop with his captain Forrest Whitaker, another lost soul trying to find his forgiveness for crimes against South African blacks.
I really like movies that take place outside of the u.s. I have been lucky enough to have seen all of our fifty states And it pleases me not to be forced to see subway McDonald and shopping malls in every film.Bloom and Whitaker both did a Believable performance.Some of the gun fight scenes could have been better I could see that this film had some cash flow limitations.But i loved the shock and aw so to rap this up i will just say that i truly would recommend this film to people that want to escape and see how people live with technology and no real rules to govern it.And when i feel like it i will watch it again with the right group of friends.Some films need a higher level of understanding to take in what the director is trying to say IT'S ALL ABOUT STORY TELLING..
Just stumbled upon it and the movie sets a notion to prepare it's audience to slowly, gradually and surely lead them into a realist, heart wrenching tale of present day reality in South Africa with such defined details on delivering the story, the character's are more than convincing.
Officers Ali Sokhela (Forest Whitaker) and Brian Epkeen (Orlando Bloom) begin investigating the death of a young woman who has been killed by an illegal drug that has recently been supplied to her.
Both officers believe that there is a link between the woman's death and the deaths involving black people and set about trying to establish how all the deaths are connected....Given South Africa's rather turbulent and fraught history regarding its 'race-relations' policy a film like Zulu can either be seen as brave or misguided.
As an open-minded person myself I tried to view this film objectively and basically take it for what it is and sadly even going in with this forgiving mind-set I still left feeling rather disappointed....For a start the story is unbearably slow and just isn't that compelling (all this despite the fact that it is possibly interesting when looked upon from a recent historical perspective).
I haven't read the book and therefore I can't comment on how the characters are perceived in the original source material, but in this film with Whitaker and Bloom I felt like the screenwriters were attempting to portray their characters similar to Murtagh and Riggs from Lethal Weapon - this is more noticeable with Bloom who is the unhinged, gung-ho police officer with a drink problem.
Forest Whitaker gives another good performance and his character is slightly better developed, but again he isn't a particularly interesting character (the most interesting thing about watching his performance was seeing his Idi Amin accent come out of retirement once more).Once I'd made the analogy between the two cops here and the two cops in Lethal Weapon it only reminded me of how dull this film is in comparison.
Whilst it may be set during a rather important period in South Africa's history the film sadly is held back by dull and uninteresting characters, and a story that isn't as compelling as it may seem due to its rather plodding nature..
Zulu (2013) starring Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker in this film festival, limited theatrical release dates in several countries.
Zulu starts off as a typical crime drama thriller introducing the characters and the back story.
Zulu doesn't offer anything new, though fans of the genre should enjoy the film for its decent acting (Orlando Blooms is great here, while Forest Whitaker uses a forced accent), and a great scenery.
This is a bit peculiar for me, I thought overall the story is pretty good but it just lacks emotional punch for some reason.I'm not sure if it's the acting or what it is, Whitaker is pretty good I guess and although Bloom is not bad he's not that great either but I don't buy them as being friends in this.They also have another friend called Dan and he even more seems out of place and not like 'one of the guys' of which he is supposed to be.The characters I believe are supposed to be multi-layered but that doesn't really come across in the film, Whitaker's character is a slight exception.
And some of the dialogue feels forced.Yeah I don't know what else to add in all honesty because it is sort of a mystery-crime-drama-thriller so it's hard to say anything without spoiling stuff so I'll just keep it short I guess.Based on a book and although I haven't read the book I think it's safe to assume that 'not as good as the book' rings true in this case..
Forest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom give decent performances and the setting of a crime ridden South Africa is refreshing.
The plot centering around a new mysterious street drug is compelling until the second half, where corny one liners and overblown conspiracies ruin what could have been a slow paced, dark and compelling crime thriller.The film is available right now on Sky Movies in the UK and most other on demand services to rent and is worth a watch on the cheap during a boring evening.
I was interested enough to watch this movie for several factors, like the cast (Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker), the South African setting, and the fact that the filmmakers were not American - the last two factors promising that the film would feel a lot different than Hollywood product.
Also, while the South African backdrop does definitely provide some color and originality, at the same time the movie more often than not feels and looks like a television show.
This movie couldn't be further from the truth.It is very clear that this is a story conceived with American culture in mind and then adapted to the racism, drug trafficking of South Africa.The performances are unrealistic to real life in Cape Town (and lets bear in mind that Cape Town is a social beat unlike any other South African city), it is a mess.People do their best to avoid each other or getting involved with the law.
That is just utter fantasy.What I am getting at here is that this story it terribly forced, it it clearly written by someone who has never lived in South Africa or if they have, they do not have a very keen eye and sense for what makes South African people South African people.Apart from the star cast of Mr Bloom and Mr Whitaker, The rest of the cast is a bevy of B grade actors that made it into the film compliments from the ever-present Capetonian nepotism.If you look up the SA cast you will find a very intricate web of people that went to school together or are directly linked via blood or some close friend.Unfortunately the cast director for Zulu was not presented with a list of the best actors it could buy, but a list of 'who thinks they are who' on the Cape Town social/film scene.It makes me very sad as I was looking forward to watching this film and seeing somebody tackle this subject, but it is clear to me that this film is an even worse botch than The Tourist ever was..
Tell you the truth I was surprised by Orlando Bloom,I have seen him in various films and TV shows but this role was completely opposite of what he usually does, I wasn't 100% sure it was him until the credits rolled, well impressed indeed.I would recommend this film.It a great mix of action, emotions and hard truths..
Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker are both actors that seem to have starred in movies that did not let their real character shine but Zulu brings out a lively and believable performance from both actors as well as the cast.
Harsh, brutal and realistic display of fighting crime in South Africa definitely one to watch if you get tired of all those New York cop dramas..
Zulu is a decent crime thriller with a lot of gore and a good script and very well acted performances from the crew in general ,especiallt from Forest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom, who finally made a come back after a long time out of the spotlight.So the story follows two cops in South Africa, one is Ali ,a Zulu dependence cop and the other is Brian ,of Africaans decedent and they are now against a murder of a girl, which seems to be caused by a new ,unknown up to now, drug with grim effects to the user.
Since the ending of apartheid very few films have been made actually set in South Africa.This feels like Cape Town, the opening scenes at Kirstenbosch gardens on the foot of the Table mountain.
A slimmed down Forest Whitaker plays Ali a person haunted by events in his past and working in a multiracial police force even though his bosses were the racists under the old regime.Orlando Bloom plays Brian, someone who has relationship issues and money issues.Bloom and Whitaker make a good pairing, the screenplay tries to imbue the complexities of the novel to the characters but it gets silly at the latter part of the film where the film resembles more like a wild west shootout and neither of our police officers have heard the concept of calling for back up as they go guns blazing on their own or in the finale with a pump action shotgun against a private army..
This film tells the story of two policemen who hunt down drug lords in South Africa, paying a high price for something they belief in along the way.Set in a country scared by inhuman policies, the film is unnecessarily but understandably very violent.
His promiscuity is thought provoking in a country with a huge AIDS epidemic but HIV is largely sidestepped in the movie which is weird given the film presents South Africa quite realistically.
Excellent movie that mixes today's modern South Africa with the story of repression over black people through the apartheid and the way it has left scars in the collective memory.Orlando Bloom plays a excellent role that reminds his family's past and the loneliness of a kid involved in the struggle of liberty.
Forest Whitaker plays all his talent as a cop carrying all the sadness of the apartheid, packed of emotion with the exact restraint that brings his character to perfection.This movie is one of the best I have seen in a while, photo, sound, details, all is perfectly balanced between action and emotion.Warmly recommended!.
nothing fancy or really new here except 2 things:South Afrika as a playground which is cool, of course it's not a tourist tour, but it change for good second, Forrest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom as an unexpected team, F.W is rock solid as an old cop playing ' by the book'' walking on Mandela's path.
the biggest surprise is O.BLoom, it was the first time i was seeing him in something else than a elfe or a knight and he is absolutely brilliant playing a wreck, taking pills and drinking all the time.It start with dealers and a young women who get killed, hum beaten to death, bad luck it was the daughter of an ex soccer star, they soon discover that it's bigger than expected, nothing new but it works, South Afrika, gang, drugs, of course everything is connected to the apartheid era and well done.not a must see, but you won't waste your time.
Forest Whitaker plays the usual straight cop who has some personal issues but Orlando Bloom really surprised me as the crazy cop who drinks, takes drugs and sleeps with anything that moves.
Anyway, it's definitely worth a watch, just for Orlando Blooms crazy character but it could have done with some more action and less investigating.
Budget: $16million Worldwide Gross: N/AI recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/action/thrillers about two South African cops whose investigating the murder of 2 young girls.
It's funny (sort of), that after watching this movie, I felt like this could've been a story arc in a really good TV show.
Forrest Whitacker and Orlando Bloom help elevate this movie quite a lot (the depiction of brutality also does, if you are not appalled by it of course).The story is easy to follow, with family problems thrown in for good measure.
There are many violent scenes and it pretty much states that in South Africa; human lives do not have any real value.A young girl is find dead in a beach; a ZULU police captain (Forest Whitaker captivating) and two other cops; a very good Conrad Kemp (doing his best with an underdeveloped character) and an outstanding Orlando Bloom; get to investigate.
Forrest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom (neither one of which is African, sadly) play detectives who are investigating a vicious killing.
Zulu is set in modern post-apartheid-South Africa and evolves about two main characters played by Forrest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom.I guess this title never made it to theaters, not in my native country Denmark, at least.
But star names like Whitaker and Bloom, I think give this movie the necessary attention in order to be exposed to a large audience.
I one is familiar with your typical action thriller one can very easily predict that Bloom's character is soon going to appear later on and safe the character of Whitaker from a close call.But overall, Zulu is a decent movie.
This little boy is Ali Sokhela (Forest Whitaker), one of the two detectives and head of "Cape Town's Serious Violent Crime Unit" who is in charge of the murder investigation.
Along with the crucial battle between cops and gangster the movie also focuses to tell the story of the personal lives of the lead characters like marital problem and sexual struggle.
I have not been a huge fan of Orlando Bloom nor of Forest Whitaker, but after seeing this movie, I admit my appreciation of both has significantly improved.
This is a movie set in Cape Town, South Africa.
Orlando Bloom plays Brian Epkeen, a detective in the Cape Town Serious Crimes Division, a man deeply burdened by his family's involvement in the oppressive white rule, a failed marriage and problematic relationship with his teenage son.
It was an unexpected pleasure to watch Orlando Bloom play the character of Brian Epkeen.
In South Africa, Ali Sokhela (Forest Whitaker) is chief of the Serious and Violent Crime Unit in Cape Town.