Britflix: Zulu

The war film Zulu is an incredibly popular film within the UK and often held up as one of the best war films from the 1960s.

In 1879 the British army have been humiliated at the Battle of Isandlwana. Determinate to press their advantage the Zulus plan to attack the mission station at Rorke Drift which the British were using as a military hospital. With no place to run to 100 British soldiers, including walking wounded prepare a defence against 4,000 Zulu warriors.

The Battle of Rorke Drift was the British version of the Battle of Thermopylae. It’s easy to see why it’s an appealing story because it’s about soldiers having no option but to fight seemingly impossible odds. It is best to see Zulu as a story about courage in the face of grave danger.

At the time of writing, I have been watching quite a few war films like Black Dawn Down and 12 Strong. Like Zulu these films focus on a specific battle, but Zulu has one major difference: the slow build-up. It takes over an hour before the British and Zulus finally engage. Writer/director Cy Endfield used this time to establish the characters and their relationships. Many of them have distinct personalities which makes them memorable.

Zulu famously had Stanley Baker and Michael Caine as the two Lieutenants serving in the battle. They start off on the wrong foot leading to hostility between the two. John Chard (Baker) was an engineering officer who took command because he got his commission a few months earlier than Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine). Bromhead was a posh man whose ancestor fought in major battles and he was looking for glory on the battlefield. Because of this Bromhead was resentful toward Chard, but they grew to respect each other during the battle. The turning point was when Chard got knocked out and Bromhead states that the soldiers needed him. They were both shellshocked after the battle because of the violence they experienced.

Many characters were memorable. There was James Booth as Hooky, a soldier described as ‘a thief, a coward, and insubordinate barrack-room lawyer’ who ended up saving lives when the sickbay was attacked. Christian Schiess (Dickie Owen) was a Swiss man who fought in the battle despite needing a clutch and Lt. Adendoff (Gert van den Bergh) acted as an advisor to Chard and Bromhead. Adendoff and Schiess were the most knowledgeable about the Zulu: Adendoff showed how the Zulus attacked and Schiess made the famous statement “Well a Zulu regiment can run – run – thirty miles. And fight a battle at the end of it!”

Other characters of note were Colour Sergeant Bourne (Nigel Green), a religious soldier who has to guard Reverend Witt (Jack Hawkins) who sabotage the army’s efforts, Surgeon-Major Reynolds (Patrick Magee) who detests the violence around him, and Private Owen (Ivor Emmanuel), a soldier who leads the choir.

When the battle does start it was relentless waves that the British had to repel. The film was given a PG rating, but the filmmakers pushed it as far as they could. Soldiers and warriors got stabbed and there were visible wounds. The final Zulu attack was treated as a moment of horror as the British gun them down. Endfield was able to show an intensity when British and Zulus face each other in close combat and have an epic scale because of the large number of extras and the South African landscapes. John Barry’s imposing score added a lot of tension to many of these scenes.

Zulu was a film filled with famous emotional moments. Before the final attack, the Zulus and the British have a sing-off with the British responding with “Men of Harlech.” That song has become popular with Welsh football clubs. It was similar when the Zulus surround Rourke’s Drift one final time and chant to honour their foe. As Adendoff states ‘they’re saluting fellow braves.’ I personally love the final scene when Richard Burton announces the soldiers who won Victoria Crosses with the camera follows them. It was more interesting than a block of text just before the credits.

Zulu was an influential film. Ridley Scott and Peter Jackson were both fans of the film who used it as an influence on their work. The chant of Germanic warriors in Gladiator was similar to the Zulu chant, and Jackson saw The Battle of Helm’s Drift being like the Battle of Rourke’s Drift.

In recent times Zulu has been accused of being racist by a vocal minority. This is far from the truth. The filmmakers aimed to be as even handled as possible. The Zulus were treated with the utmost respect and not villains. Only one Zulu was portrayed in a negative light when he tried to grab Rev. Witt’s daughter and he got killed for it. This moment could be argued that it was a ‘noble savage’ trope but that’s just reaching. Early in the film Bromville used term ‘cowardly blacks’ and Adendoff angrily corrects the British officer. Adenoff stated that African soldiers fought alongside the British at Isandlwana and the Zulus were some of the bravest warriors in the world.

Zulu does have some historical inaccuracies. Some were to inflate conflicts like Bromville’s hostility to Chard’s command and Rev. Witt’s alcoholism. Many of the characters were made to be older in the film like Schiess and Bourne. Schiess died in poverty at the age of 28 and Bourne was only 24 when he served in the battle. In reality Bourne was offered the choice between a Victoria Cross and an officer’s commission and he chose the commission. He was the last survivor of the battle to die. The filmmakers also choose to mitigate some of the more controversial aspects of the battle.

The most controversial change was the portrayal of Private Hook. In real life Hook was a model soldier who became a sergeant and was a teetotaller. His family was offended by this portrait.

Zulu is a great film that stood the test of time. It was a well-told story of duty and heroism. Any filmmakers who plan to make a war film should take notes from Zulu.