When was zulu dawn made

Zulu plonked us down in the heat of battle and didn't have the time to tell us why Britain and the Zulus were arguing so violently. There's spectacle in abundance here but little of the characterisation that made Zulu so memorable.

American Burt Lancaster doesn't quite fit his uniform or have the required stiff upper lip, though the assembled British stalwarts certainly do as they blunder on towards the massacre of Isandhlwana, the bloody aftermath of which opened this film's illustrious predecessor. Fresh new look, redesigned programme hub, richer content….

Back to Main menu What to watch Film news. Summary How to watch. Zulu Dawn. Powered By. How to watch Loading. Colonel Anthony Durnford.

Burt Lancaster. Lord Chelmsford. Peter O'Toole. William Vereker. They say that you rule in old ways that are wrong; that you kill your people without trial. The Great White Queen herself cannot kill her lowliest subject, though she rules forty lands, each greater than all of Zululand. Sign In. Adventure Drama History. Director Douglas Hickox. Cy Endfield original story and scenario Anthony Story screenplay.

Top credits Director Douglas Hickox. See more at IMDbPro. Photos Top cast Edit. Burt Lancaster Col. Durnford as Col. Simon Ward Lt. Vereker as Lt. Denholm Elliott Col. Pulleine as Col. Peter Vaughan Q. Bloomfield as Q. James Faulkner Lt. Melvill as Lt. Christopher Cazenove Lt. Coghill as Lt. Bob Hoskins C. Williams as C. David Bradley Pte. Williams as Pte. Williams as Dai Bradley.

Paul Copley Cpl. Storey as Cpl. Donald Pickering Maj. Russell R. Nicholas Clay Lt. Raw as Lt. Ian Yule Cpl. Fields as Cpl.

Durnford is killed when he falls wounded into a donga. Pulleine retires to his tent. Bayele, one of the prisoners he had seen tortured, appears in the tent. Pulleine decides not to shoot and the warrior kills him with his spear.

They ride as far as the Buffalo River but are followed by fast-moving warriors and are killed. The colours float off down the river. Meanwhile, a few miles away, Chelmsford is enjoying a silver-service lunch. His troops are spread across several miles of countryside.

After news reaches him that battle is taking place at Isandlwana, he refuses to accept that he has been outmanoeuvred by the Zulus. He slowly assembles his scattered troops, but they do not get back to Isandlwana until dusk. The last shots are of Chelmsford staring at the destruction of his encampment. The few survivors have fled. The film does not go into the bitter recriminations that followed. Chelmsford blamed Durnford for failing to provide an effective defence, even though it was he who had failed to form a defensive laager.

In Britain, the newspapers were full of the disaster. Later that year, Chelmsford led a much bigger force back into Zululand and partially restored his name by winning a victory over Cetshwayo.

But his reputation never fully recovered, and he was never given command again. The British lost about 1, men at Isandlwana, including native soldiers. Zulu losses were not counted at the time, although historians estimate that the number was between 1, and 2, But the significance of the massacre far outweighs the balance of numbers. It was the first time a well-equipped, well-trained, technologically superior imperial army had been defeated by native forces in Africa. As such, it compares to the battle of Dien Bien Phu in as a massive and humiliating defeat of a colonial army by local forces.

Their heroic defence of what had become a field hospital and supply depot partly made up for the humiliation of Isandlwana. Eleven VCs were won, more than at any other similar action. About Zulus were killed, while those left wounded on the battlefield were later bayoneted by British soldiers. Zulu Dawn never proved as popular at the box office. It is perhaps not surprising that cinema audiences preferred a heroic defence to a blundering defeat.

But this is a shame. Zulu Dawn is a fine film that portrays the workings of the Victorian British army in a wonderfully visual and realistic way. The racism underlying the whole campaign is there throughout. It deserves to be remembered as the better movie of the two. The battle scenes are, in the main, well made, especially in showing what it was like for men hiding in dugouts and wadis in…. Like all the Why We Fight films, it is a highly charged, emotional account, always looking to create maximum impact.

Taylor Downing reviews the classic war film Zulu Dawn. The Zulu attack at Isandlwana on 22 January The aftermath of the battle. The event was a disaster for the British. You might be interested in. November 10,