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.
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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