Zulu (1964)

Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.

Director:

Cy Endfield

Writers:

John Prebble (original screenplay), Cy Endfield (original screenplay)

Stars:

Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stanley Baker	...	Lt. John Chard R. E.
Jack Hawkins	...	Otto Witt
Ulla Jacobsson	...	Margareta Witt
James Booth	...	Pvt. Henry Hook
Michael Caine	...	Lt. Gonville Bromhead
Nigel Green	...	Colour-Sergeant Bourne
Ivor Emmanuel	...	Pvt. Owen
Paul Daneman	...	Sgt. Maxfield
Glynn Edwards	...	Cpl. Allen
Neil McCarthy	...	Pvt. Thomas
David Kernan	...	Pvt. Hitch
Gary Bond	...	Pvt. Cole
Peter Gill	...	Pvt. 612 Williams
Tom Gerrard	...	Lance Corporal
Patrick Magee	...	Surgeon Reynolds

Storyline

Zululand, South Africa, 1879. The British are fighting the Zulus and one of their columns has just been wiped out at Isandlwana. The Zulus next fix their sights on the small British outpost at Rorke's Drift. At the outpost are one hundred fifty British troops under the command of Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard. In the next few days, these one hundred fifty troops will fight about four thousand Zulus in one of the most courageous battles in history.

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Plot Keywords:

hopelessly outnumbered | zulu | british army | victorian era | military tactics | 

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Taglines:

Excitement Fills the Screen in This Towering African Adventure!

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many Zulu extras laughed at Michael Caine because of his long blond hair. Their nickname for him was "Lady" in Zulu. The technical advisor, a Zulu princess and historian, told the extras to stop right away. They did.

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Goofs

The soldiers wear parade dress uniforms, including white helmets displaying the regimental crest. On active duty they would've worn a more basic uniform with plain cork helmets.

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Quotes

Lieutenant John Chard: [wounded] You're the professional. Take command.
Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead: Now listen, old boy, you're not badly hurt. We need you! We need you! Understand?

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the opening credits 'and Introducing Michael Caine' is shown, this would suggest that this was his first film. In fact MC had previously had five credited film roles, numerous TV appearances and several uncredited film roles before appearing in Zulu.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Giant Spider Invasion (1997)

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Soundtracks

Stamp and Shake
Written by John Barry
Performed by The Routers

User Reviews

impressive

heroic, great, impressive, remarkable. an entire dictionary content for define a film who remains special at each new meet. for performances and for the great script, for stories of each character and for the fight scenes. and for the feel to be eyewitness to a confrontation who becomes, scene by scene, not only epic but with solid roots. because it is the story of an empire and its people, about memories, vulnerabilities and courage, sacrifice and the right answer to a huge challenge. a film about honor. and about war. not only against the Zulu attacks. but against yourself. the admirable virtue of film remains the humanity. the escape from the temptation to be a manifesto. or only a patriotic lesson of history. remaining only a story. about few people, in Natal, resisting to a impossible to stop attack. this is all. and it is enough.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Zulu

Release Date:

17 June 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zulu

Filming Locations:

Amphitheatre, Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$1,720,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diamond Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1