ZULU

Director: Cy Endfield
Music by John Barry
Cast: Stanley Baker, Michael Cain, Jack Hawkins, Ula Jacobsen, Nigel Green, James Booth, Gert Van Den Berg

The Movie Zulu is set on the 22 January 1879, a day after the outbreak of the Anglo-Zulu War. The movie opens with scenes from the massacre at Isandlwana where 800 British soldiers with 400 natives assisting them were overwhelmed by 20 000 Zulus. The 4000 Zulu reserves from the battle then looted the battlefield of rifles and marched on the mission station at Rourke's Drift. Mr Witt (Jack Hawkins), the parish leader at Rourke's Drift and his daughter Margareta (Ula Jacobsen) are at the Kraal(village) of the Zulu king Cetshwayo (Chief Buletezi) watching the Zulu dancers when suddenly a messenger interupts telling the king of the battle at Isandlwana as well as the planned attack on Rourke's Drift. The Witt's then realising what is happening head in their wagon towards Rourke's Drift in order to evacuate the sick and warn the garrison there. Meanwhile Lieutenant John Chard (Stanley Baker) is constructing a bridge across a river near the mission station when suddenly 2 riders who escaped Isandlwana arrive to warn them of the imminent attack. Chard gives orders to douse the cooking fires, remove the tents and begin building barricades using bags of maize. The commander of the post Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead (Michael Cain) arrives on the scene asking why Chard is giving the orders. They then have a dispute over leadership but Chard actually has superiority and Bromhead accepts this. The Witt's arrive soon after and attempt to take the sick and wounded. However Chard doesn't allow this as he realizes that the Zulu's would catch up to them. So the force of little over 120 men is forced to stay and hold off 4000 Zulus. Mr Witt manages to convince the native workers to flee and he is then imprisoned in a room so as not to upset the men. The Zulus then appear on a hilltop above the mission station seemingly stretching forever. The Zulus initially send only about 100 warriors to face the small British garrison. As they advance the British fire at them. The Zulus then stop, throw their spears into the ground and bang on their shields. The British fire upon them before one of the Zulu leaders orders them to withdraw. The British don't understand why they didn't fight. Just then a boer called Ardendorf (Gert Van Den Berg) tells them that the war leader is counting their guns and testing his firing power with the lives of his warriors. Mr Witt then makes strange noises and is apparently drunk. They put him and his daughter in a wagon and send them off during a break in the fighting. The Zulus then attack constantly throughout the day and into the night burning the hospital but the British manage to hold on. The following morning the Zulus attack again and again. Ammunition is now running out as is manpower.
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