Cy Endfield’s, “Zulu,” released in 1964, is a 139 minute journey of shock, loss and glory. It showed the consequences of war and how it changes people. While watching, I didn’t dare move, talk and barely blinked in fear of missing out on such a great movie.
“Zulu” was extremely well-liked when it came out and still is an amazing movie. “In 2017, a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and movie critics … ranked it the 93rd best British film ever.”
The acting in “Zulu” is top tier. Michael Caine’s performance as Lt. Gonville Bromhead was legendary. His transition from an arrogant and inexperienced officer to a battle-hardened commander wasn’t just in an instant. You could see him changing throughout the movie. Near the beginning of the movie, he would call the Zulus Fuzzies, which is a shortened version of the highly derogatory term, Fuzzy-Wuzzy. However, near the end of the movie, he respects the Zulus for their bravery during battle.
Also, at the time of its release, Zulu was a highly progressive movie. It still is. It doesn’t paint the Zulus as unintelligent, bloodthirsty savages, but it also doesn’t paint them as heroic defenders of their land. Same with the British. They aren’t portrayed as heroes, but they aren’t made to be the villains. Both sides are neutral, neither good nor bad.
The only things I have against “Zulu,” are some parts of the movie are slow-paced, and the practical effects are less than stellar in some battle scenes. Few parts of the movie are drawn out longer than they need to be, so the slownessness of them isn’t a huge issue, but as a perfectionist, the practical effects in some scenes are pretty lackluster. I expect people to react to being stabbed, to cry out in anguish and hold onto every bit of life that they can, not to slump over dead after a second without making a sound. Also, the blood and gore is really toned down than what it should look like during or after a battle has taken place. Even though I can’t help but notice these issues every time I watch it, I still think that “Zulu” is a great movie.
In conclusion, “Zulu,” is a movie I highly recommend to anyone even slightly interested in history, strategy or war. It doesn’t disrespect the people involved or downplay their actions. It showed the real strategies involved with the battle, and tries to stay historically accurate with what happened. If you or anyone you know has two and a half hours of free time, then I highly encourage you to watch “Zulu.”
