DVD: Zulu - 1964 British Epic Adventure-action War, 1879 During Anglo-Zulu War

Description: Zulu is a 1964 British epic adventure action war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between a detachment of the British Army and the Zulu in 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, in which 150 British soldiers, 30 of whom were sick and wounded, at a remote outpost, held off a force of 4,000 Zulu warriors. The film was directed by American screenwriter Cy Endfield and produced by Stanley Baker and Endfield, with Joseph E. Levine as executive producer. The screenplay was by Endfield and historical writer John Prebble, based on Prebble's 1958 Lilliput article "Slaughter in the Sun". The film stars Baker and introduces Michael Caine, in his first major role, with a supporting cast that includes Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Nigel Green, Paul Daneman, Glynn Edwards, Ivor Emmanuel, and Patrick Magee. Zulu chief and future South African political leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi played Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, his great-grandfather. The opening and closing narration is spoken by Richard Burton. The film was first shown on the 85th anniversary of the actual battle, 22 January 1964, at the Plaza Theatre in the West End of London. Zulu received widespread critical acclaim, with praise going to the sets, soundtrack, cinematography, action sequences and the performances of the cast, particularly Baker, Booth, Green and Caine. The film brought Caine international fame. In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it the 93rd best British film ever. REAR COVER ZULU is one of the great movies, an epic adventure of courage in the face of incredible odds. Based on a true story it tells the amazing tale of 100 British soldiers who stood fast against an overwhelming force of 4,000 of the Zulu nations mightiest warriors in the defence of Rokes Drift in 1879. Superbly photographed in Technirama, few other movies have grippingly captured the tension and terror of combat as wave upon wave of warriors is unleashed on the tiny garrison. Set amongst stunning South African scenery, ZULU is a landmark action film and a fitting tribute to some of the most magnificent acts of heroism in the history of warfare. Michael Caine's role as the arrogant but courageous Lt. Bromhead brought him international fame, and there are powerful performances from other great British actors including Stanley Baker and Jack Hawkins. DETAILED PLOT In January 1879, in the aftermath of the crushing defeat of a 1,300-man British column by the Zulu armies at Isandlwana, Zulu tribesmen scavenge the battlefield and collect rifles and ammunition from the dead soldiers. At a mass Zulu marriage ceremony witnessed by missionary Otto Witt and his daughter Margareta, Zulu King Cetshwayo is informed of the great victory; Witt and Margareta flee when they realise that the Zulus are going to attack Witt's missionary station at Rorke's Drift in Natal, which a company of the British Army's 24th Regiment of Foot are using as a supply depot and hospital for British forces in Zululand. Receiving news of the battle of Isandlwana from Natal Native Contingent Commander Adendorff and warnings that 4,000 Zulu warriors are advancing on their position, Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers assumes command of a force consisting of less than 200 men as he is slightly senior to their nominal commander, Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. With not enough time to order a full evacuation, Chard decides to stay and fight. He has wagons, sacks of mealie (maize), and crates of hardtack stacked to form a defensive perimeter, gun holes knocked in the hospital walls, and a medical ward set up in Witt's chapel. A contingent of South African cavalrymen who had fought at Isandlwana arrive, refuse Chard's pleas to help reinforce the station on the grounds that it is hopeless, and swiftly depart on their horses. Witt, enraged by Chard arming the hospital's patients and ordering them to fight instead of allowing them to be evacuated, persuades the Zulus serving in the Natal Native Contingent to desert. In retaliation, Chard orders the wagons, which Witt had wanted to transport the sick and injured, to be overturned to plug gaps in the barrier. Then he orders Witt to be locked up in the chapel's supply room. The Zulu impis approach and then charge before quickly retreating under British fire; Adendorff explains that they are trying to find weak points in the station's defences. Witt starts drinking heavily and proclaims that none of the soldiers will survive the coming battle. Chard permits Margareta to take her father away; the Zulus, recognising the Witts, allow them to pass unharmed. Chard is concerned that the northern perimeter wall is under-defended and realises that the Zulus, aware of this, are preparing to attack the station from all sides. Zulu warriors armed with British rifles also start taking potshots at the soldiers. Throughout the day and night, wave after wave of Zulu attackers are repelled, but the defenders are gradually killed off one by one, among them the company cook, killed by a Zulu spear while carrying ammunition. Due to a shot fired too close to the hospital's hay roof, the building catches on fire, and Private Henry Hook rallies the patients to fight them and escape. Sergeant Robert Maxfield, Private Hook's bedridden and mentally broken commanding officer, is killed along with a Zulu warrior as the hospital burns down. The next morning, the Zulus approach to within several hundred yards and sing a lament before launching again into their war chant; the British respond by singing the Welsh song "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 in front of the chapel. With a reserve of men hidden within the redoubt, they form into three ranks and fire volley after volley, inflicting heavy casualties; the Zulus retreat. After a pause of three hours, the Zulus re-form 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.

Price: 4.5 AUD

Location: Bundaberg, Queensland

End Time: 2025-02-09T04:58:17.000Z

Shipping Cost: 13.39 AUD