Zulu (film)

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Zulu is a 1964 film depicting the 22 January and 23 January 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Army of the Zulus. The film was directed by Cy Endfield and starred Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins and Michael Caine (in his first starring role). The film has sometimes been compared to a Western movie, with the traditional roles of the United States and Native Americans taken by the British and the Zulus respectively. While lacking any significant Zulu point of view, the film acknowledges the Zulu's bravery. Most of the characters in the movie were based on real participants of the battle but their behavior is mostly fictional. - In 1979, a prequel Zulu Dawn was produced.

Template:Infobox Film

Tagline: Dwarfing The Mightiest! Towering Over The Greatest!

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Battle of Rorke's Drift was part of the Anglo-Zulu War, where 150 British redcoats held off 4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses were won in the action, the most in a single battle, thus ensuring its place in British military history.

1 Awards & Homages
2 Historical inaccuracies
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

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Awards & Homages

In 2004, the magazine Total Film named Zulu the 37th greatest British film of all time.
"Zulu" was voted eight in the British television programme "The 100 Greatest War Films".

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Historical inaccuracies

The film contains a number of factual errors, including:

The Swedish missionaries (the Witts) were not at the Battle of Rorke's Drift. Witt, his wife and infant daughter were 30 km away. They had put Rorke's Drift at Lord Chelmsford's disposal.
The 24th Regiment of Foot is described as a Welsh regiment: in fact, although based in Brecon, its designation was the 2nd Warwickshire Regiment; it did not become the South Wales Borderers until 1881. Only 11 of the defenders were Welsh.
The song Men of Harlech features prominently as the regimental song; it did not become so until later.
The actors have a more modern appearance than their characters did. Michael Caine, for example, with his shiny teeth and groomed blonde hair, bore little resemblance to the real Gonville Bromhead, who was rather old for his rank and had begun to go deaf. Many of the men, including Bromhead and Chard, wore full beards.
The British infantrymen of the Anglo-Zulu War did not wear sparkling white helmets and scarlet uniforms — their uniforms were always covered in dust, and the soldiers dyed their helmets brown with tea, as white helmets could easily be seen from miles away in South Africa.
The seniority of Chard and Bromhead (measured by their dates of commission) was three years, not three months as in the film.
There was no dispute over command. Lieutenant Chard had been left in command, due to seniority, by Major Henry Spalding, well before the battle. Spalding had ridden off to get reinforcements but his motives have been questioned. Spalding claimed that he did not anticipate an imminent attack.
Private Henry Hook VC is depicted as a rogue; in fact he was a model soldier who later became a sergeant (and a 'teetotaller'). While the film has him in the hospital "malingering, under arrest", he had actually been assigned there specifically to guard the hospital building.
Conversely, Corporal Allen is depicted as a model soldier; in fact, he had recently been demoted from sergeant for drunkenness.
Colour Sergeant Bourne is depicted as a big, hardened, middle-aged veteran; in fact, he was a small man and, aged 23, the youngest colour sergeant in the British Army.
The role of Reverend "Ammunition" Smith is completely overlooked.
The building of defensive ramparts and initial defence of Rorke's Drift was in actual fact organized by Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton. His distinction was ignored until several years after the battle and the credit was given to Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead. The real Dalton had retired as a Quartermaster Sergeant after 22 years of service in the British Army before joining the Commissariat and Transport Department. The film, however, portrays Dalton as something of an effete character, who does little that might be called heroic. This makes his award of a VC, as recounted at the film's end by Richard Burton, something of a mystery.
The column of cavalry seen in the film actually was at Rorke's Drift. However, Chard ordered them to leave after seeing that they had little of their own ammunition.
The real Sergeant Maxfield, like the film version, was delirious with fever. However, he was too weak to leave his bed and was stabbed to death by Zulus while the other sick and injured were being evacuated from the room.
Private Cole was assigned to defend the hospital, not the perimeter. He was killed when he ran out of the hospital alone, possibly due to claustrophobia. Since he was killed by a bullet to the head, his last words in the film are unlikely to be authentic.
Corporal Scheiss was significantly younger than the actor who portrayed him. At the time of his death in 1884 – five years after the battle – he was 28 years of age.
Private Hitch was shot through the shoulder, not the leg.
The rifles used by the Zulus were not taken from the British column at Isandlwana, as the film implies, but had been purchased much earlier. The Zulu impis that attacked Rorke's Drift had not participated in the Battle of Isandlwana.
The ending is somewhat fictional. The Zulus did not sing a song saluting fellow braves and depart. They fled at the approach of a British relief column. This concession was made during filming for the current Zulu Chief, Mangosuthu Buthelezi who appears in the film as the Zulu leader King Cetshwayo kaMpande.
The story of the black auxiliaries deserting is true, though, as Mr Witt was 30 km away at the time, he did not cause this. They left on their own will, with two white men, a civilian and a member of the Army Commissariat Department. Shots were fired at these deserters and the ACD member was killed.
The film omits the killing of 500 wounded Zulus by British soldiers after the battle.
The pistols used by the officers were Webley pistols not the correct Adams revolver, and several men can be seen using Lee Enfield Mk. 1 bolt action rifles and not the Martini-Henry.
There was no Zulu attack at dawn of the 23rd January, which in the film led to the singing of Men of Harlech. There was only sparse fighting with a few remaining Zulu soldiers.

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Trivia

This was Michael Caine's first major film role. He watched the rushes, but was so nervous that he was sick, and never watched rushes again.
Michael Caine visited the officers' mess of the Scots Guards at Pirbright to perfect his accent.
Stanley Baker had no difficulty raising finance because Joseph E. Levine said he would back any project Stanley wanted to do. Stanley Baker said there was a project he was planning. Levine asked what it was called and Baker replied "Zulu". Levine said "Zulu! I like that title. I will back you" Stanley Baker told this in a radio interview in England, and this account is confirmed by his widow in one of the "extras" on the Paramount DVD
Because the Zulus who were playing the extras in the film had never seen a movie, Stanley Baker held an outdoor screening of a Gene Autry movie for them so they would have an idea of what movies were all about.
The opening and closing narration is read by Richard Burton.
Jack Hawkins was upset at the way his character ( Rev. Witt ) was shown on film, and refused to attend the opening.
In the real battle for Rorke's Drift on which this film was based, only 17 British soldiers were actually killed.
Because of the strict apartheid laws in South Africa at the time:
- the cast and crew were lectured on the need to refrain from fraternizing with the topless tribal dancers since the penalty for interracial sex in the country at the time was seven years hard labor.
- the Zulu extras could not be paid equivalent rates to their white counterparts. To get around this, director Cy Endfield gifted all of the animals bought for this film (particularly cows) to the tribes - a gift far more valuable than the money they missed out on.
- none of the actors who portrayed the Zulu warriors were allowed to attend the premiere of the movie
- the then Minister of Native Affairs banned the film for screenings to Black South Africans as "it might incite them to rise up in revolt".
The 700+ Zulu extras were largely descendants of the actual warriors that took part in the battle. This includes the then chief of the Zulu Nation, Buthalezi, taking the role of his predecessor, Cethawayo.
Michael Caine originally auditioned for the part of Private Henry Hook, but was beaten to it by James Booth.
James Booth's character, Private Henry Hook, was required to be in the field hospital, which were mostly interior shots. Therefore, he did not travel with the cast and crew to South Africa for the filming. Neither did Patrick Magee, who played Surgeon Reynolds. This becomes clear during the role call scene at the film's end, which is Hook's only "outside" scene. When Hook's name is called out, James Booth is shown in a studio shot. This looks quite different to location shot in which the rest of the role call lineup appear; the lighting, in particular, does not match.
During the first combat scenes, the powder charge is significant. In the later battle scenes, the rifles buck less because the powder charge is less. This was because at close range, even blanks were still dangerous.
Zulu was filmed in the Royal Natal National Park, which is about 90 miles south west of Rorke's Drift (the Amphitheater mountain forms a dramatic backdrop in the movie). The area surrounding Rorke's Drift is nowhere near as mountainous as in the film.
Stanley Baker owned John Chard's Victoria Cross (and other medals) from 1972 until his death in 1976. Originally thought to be what is known as a "cast copy", the Victoria Cross was later proven, after a series of tests, to be the original. Unfortunately, Baker died never knowing he had the real VC.
Joe Powell's role was much bigger but he became ill during the period when his scenes were to be shot.
After the actual Rorke's Drift battle, 11 Victoria Crosses (the highest British award "for valour") were awarded, the highest number ever given in a single conflict.