Review of the Movie "Zulu"
Parimal
,
The 1964 film "Zulu" shows the story from the defence of Rorke's Drift by the tiny garrison of British soldiers who had been attacked by at least four thousand Zulus. The soldiers kept the attackers at bay while the conflicts raged in to the night of 22/23 Jan 1879. By early morning, the Zulu warriors had called off the attack.
The motion picture stars Stanley Baker as well as Michael Caine with Richard Burton narrating and was a follow up to "Zulu Dawn". That picture covered the story of the Battle of Isandlwana which took place earlier in the day. The first scenes start with the consequences of Isandlwana as Richard Burton narrates the telegram from Lord Chelmsford updating the government of the loss of Isandlwana. Zulu warriors are seen gathering up weapons belonging to the dead British troopers.
Before the battle, Rorke's Drift was a mission station run by Swedish missionary Otto Witt. As Lord Chelmsford brought the men over the Buffalo River and into Zululand from Natal, a company of the 24th Regiment remained behind to man the mission station that was being employed as a hospital and a supply depot by the British. The two commanding officiers were Lieutenant John Chard with the Royal Engineers performed by Stanley Baker along side Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead of the 24th played by Michael Caine. This was Caine's very first starring role.
The film shows Chard and some troopers making a bridge on the Buffalo River. Bromhead comes back following a hunting trip and the two exchange words prior to a scouting party arrives informing them of the devastation at Isandlwana. Chard is seen to assume overall control because he was commissioned a couple of months sooner than Bromhead and whilst this is procedure, it irks Bromhead. They take a look at their choices with Lieutenant Joseph Ardendorff of the Natal Native Contingent (NNC) who had been one of the handful of survivors out of Isandlwana. Ardendorff is portrayed by Gert Van den Bergh. The Afrikanner explains the Zulu "Horns of the Buffalo"? tactics. Bromhead believes they need to leave but Chard makes the decision to stand and fight on ground of their choosing.
The Reverand Otto Witt and his adult daughter also are at the mission station and try to get the men to run away in order to stop a fight. Witt swayed troops of the NNC to leave Rorke's Drift. At that point, Chard orders Witt and his daughter to go out of the mission station in their buggy. At the same time, defensive lines of mealie sacks and wagons are now being lined out to improve the lines of defence by joining the store room and the hospital. This is conducted under the watchful eye of CSM Frank Bourne performed by Nigel Green.
As the Zulu warriors made their way to attack the garrison, Boer horsemen arrive at Rorke's Drift. In spite of requests from Chard, the Boers get away from the British garrison. Soon enough the assault begins with lines of Zulu warriors squaring up with the British defences. The Zulu warriors are mown down by concentrated fire from the soldiers of the 24th and they eventually fall back. Following that, Zulu riflemen in the hillsides start up shooting down into the mission station and the British suffer their 1st deaths and injuries.
The Zulus keep probing with their attacks and in due course get into the hospital, setting fire to the roof along the way. Private Henry Hook, who has thus far been described as a good for nothing layabout, just takes control of the situation within the infirmary where he helps with a breakout of the unwell by digging through the walls of the infirmary. The survivors escape the burning infirmary over to the final redoubt near the store house as the conflicts continued into the night.
By early morning, the Zulu warriors commenced a war song in preparation for a last attack. The troopers of the 24th answered by singing "Men of Harlech". The last offensive see the Zulus run into a hail of British bullets as 3 ranks of troopers fire volley after volley down into the onrushing Zulu warriors. Due to such serious losses, the Zulus at long last pull back. The British start to regroup and CSM Bourne carries out a role call. The Zulu warriors reappear on the hills overlooking the mission station however rather than attacking, they sing in praise of the "fellow warriors".
The movie ends with Richard Burton narrating. He reads out the names of the eleven men who were awarded the Victoria Cross for the defence of Rorke's Drift. The men who were awarded the V.C. were:
- Corporal William Wilson Allen
- Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
- Lieutenant John Rouse Merriot Chard
- Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton
- Private Fredrick Hitch
- Private Alfred Henry Hook
- Private Robert Jones
- Private William Jones
- Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds
- Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess
- Private John Williams
On top of that, 5 men were also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal:
- Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne
- Private John William Roy
- Second Corporal Michael McMahon
- Second Corporal Francis Attwood
- Wheeler John Cantwell
As with all films based on a true experience, there are many different discrepancies. A few are for artistic licence although others will be oversights for various other reasons.
The film shows the 24th Regiment of Foot as a Welsh regiment. However, it was not named the South Wales Borderers until 1881, 2 years later than Rorke's Drift. There was a significant number (close to 25%) of men from Wales in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot but the the vast majority were from England.
The Swedish missionary Otto Witt was shown in the film that his daughter was a grown-up. However, his two kids were both infants. In addition he was not the pacifist the film indicates and had made it clear he did not oppose the British intervention with Cetshawayo.
The British weapons were the Martini-Henry which discharged a substantial .45 round. It was easily capable of causing huge injury to the human body. In the picture, the wounds on shot Zulus are tiny. In one scene in the hospital, a warrior who was battling hand to hand with Private Hook was shot in the back and Hook was unscathed. At such short range, the round from the Martini-Henry would have easily passed through the Zulu and killed Hook too.
Nowadays, Rorke's Drift is a tourism destination for visitors who would like to discover more about the Anglo Zulu War of 1879.
The motion picture stars Stanley Baker as well as Michael Caine with Richard Burton narrating and was a follow up to "Zulu Dawn". That picture covered the story of the Battle of Isandlwana which took place earlier in the day. The first scenes start with the consequences of Isandlwana as Richard Burton narrates the telegram from Lord Chelmsford updating the government of the loss of Isandlwana. Zulu warriors are seen gathering up weapons belonging to the dead British troopers.
Before the battle, Rorke's Drift was a mission station run by Swedish missionary Otto Witt. As Lord Chelmsford brought the men over the Buffalo River and into Zululand from Natal, a company of the 24th Regiment remained behind to man the mission station that was being employed as a hospital and a supply depot by the British. The two commanding officiers were Lieutenant John Chard with the Royal Engineers performed by Stanley Baker along side Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead of the 24th played by Michael Caine. This was Caine's very first starring role.
The film shows Chard and some troopers making a bridge on the Buffalo River. Bromhead comes back following a hunting trip and the two exchange words prior to a scouting party arrives informing them of the devastation at Isandlwana. Chard is seen to assume overall control because he was commissioned a couple of months sooner than Bromhead and whilst this is procedure, it irks Bromhead. They take a look at their choices with Lieutenant Joseph Ardendorff of the Natal Native Contingent (NNC) who had been one of the handful of survivors out of Isandlwana. Ardendorff is portrayed by Gert Van den Bergh. The Afrikanner explains the Zulu "Horns of the Buffalo"? tactics. Bromhead believes they need to leave but Chard makes the decision to stand and fight on ground of their choosing.
The Reverand Otto Witt and his adult daughter also are at the mission station and try to get the men to run away in order to stop a fight. Witt swayed troops of the NNC to leave Rorke's Drift. At that point, Chard orders Witt and his daughter to go out of the mission station in their buggy. At the same time, defensive lines of mealie sacks and wagons are now being lined out to improve the lines of defence by joining the store room and the hospital. This is conducted under the watchful eye of CSM Frank Bourne performed by Nigel Green.
As the Zulu warriors made their way to attack the garrison, Boer horsemen arrive at Rorke's Drift. In spite of requests from Chard, the Boers get away from the British garrison. Soon enough the assault begins with lines of Zulu warriors squaring up with the British defences. The Zulu warriors are mown down by concentrated fire from the soldiers of the 24th and they eventually fall back. Following that, Zulu riflemen in the hillsides start up shooting down into the mission station and the British suffer their 1st deaths and injuries.
The Zulus keep probing with their attacks and in due course get into the hospital, setting fire to the roof along the way. Private Henry Hook, who has thus far been described as a good for nothing layabout, just takes control of the situation within the infirmary where he helps with a breakout of the unwell by digging through the walls of the infirmary. The survivors escape the burning infirmary over to the final redoubt near the store house as the conflicts continued into the night.
By early morning, the Zulu warriors commenced a war song in preparation for a last attack. The troopers of the 24th answered by singing "Men of Harlech". The last offensive see the Zulus run into a hail of British bullets as 3 ranks of troopers fire volley after volley down into the onrushing Zulu warriors. Due to such serious losses, the Zulus at long last pull back. The British start to regroup and CSM Bourne carries out a role call. The Zulu warriors reappear on the hills overlooking the mission station however rather than attacking, they sing in praise of the "fellow warriors".
The movie ends with Richard Burton narrating. He reads out the names of the eleven men who were awarded the Victoria Cross for the defence of Rorke's Drift. The men who were awarded the V.C. were:
- Corporal William Wilson Allen
- Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
- Lieutenant John Rouse Merriot Chard
- Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton
- Private Fredrick Hitch
- Private Alfred Henry Hook
- Private Robert Jones
- Private William Jones
- Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds
- Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess
- Private John Williams
On top of that, 5 men were also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal:
- Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne
- Private John William Roy
- Second Corporal Michael McMahon
- Second Corporal Francis Attwood
- Wheeler John Cantwell
As with all films based on a true experience, there are many different discrepancies. A few are for artistic licence although others will be oversights for various other reasons.
The film shows the 24th Regiment of Foot as a Welsh regiment. However, it was not named the South Wales Borderers until 1881, 2 years later than Rorke's Drift. There was a significant number (close to 25%) of men from Wales in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot but the the vast majority were from England.
The Swedish missionary Otto Witt was shown in the film that his daughter was a grown-up. However, his two kids were both infants. In addition he was not the pacifist the film indicates and had made it clear he did not oppose the British intervention with Cetshawayo.
The British weapons were the Martini-Henry which discharged a substantial .45 round. It was easily capable of causing huge injury to the human body. In the picture, the wounds on shot Zulus are tiny. In one scene in the hospital, a warrior who was battling hand to hand with Private Hook was shot in the back and Hook was unscathed. At such short range, the round from the Martini-Henry would have easily passed through the Zulu and killed Hook too.
Nowadays, Rorke's Drift is a tourism destination for visitors who would like to discover more about the Anglo Zulu War of 1879.
About the Author:
Michael Caine's role in the film "Zulu" helped to boost his film career. He gave an excellent role in the portrayal of the well known defence of Rorke's Drift.
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