Friday, 29 March 2019

ZULU

A kind of British "The Alamo" and one of the great action epics, "Zulu" was a huge popular success, at least here in the UK but was otherwise underrated, (it was completely overlooked by both Oscar and BAFTA). It's about the Battle of Rorke's Drift in which a battalion of 100 British soldiers held out against a Zulu army of 4,000, suffering great losses in the process. Cy Endfield directed the picture and co-produced with Stanley Baker who also stars as the commanding officer though it is Michael Caine, in his first notable part, as Baker's second-in-command, who walks off with the picture. Since almost all the black actors are nothing more than cannon fodder it's unlikely it would be made today but as a picture of men in war it is very fine indeed.

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