“Zulu
Dawn” is the prequel to “Zulu”. It was
released on the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Isandhlwana. It covers the machinations leading up to the
start of the Anglo-Zulu War and carries through the battle. The screenplay was co-written by Cy Endfield
who had written and directed the earlier film.
Douglas Hickox helmed this picture, but rumor has it he was incompetent
and the second unit director had to bring the film home. The film was shot on
location in South Africa. It was not a
box office success.
The
movie intercuts between the Zulus and Brits.
It starts in the Zulu capital of Ulanti with some Zulu rituals. The slaughtering of a bull is a harbinger of
what is to come with the bull symbolizing the British Empire. Zulu courtship is depicted in the most
breast-laden scene in war movie history.
Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner for South Africa Sir Henry
Bartle Frere (John Mills) and his commanding general Lord Chelmsford (Peter
O’Toole) are plotting to provoke a war with the Zulus as “the final solution to
the Zulu problem”. Zulu King Cethswayo’s
reaction to the ultimatum reaches the two plotters during a party of the
British upper class. The cricket and
tennis is contrasted to the duel to the death that served as entertainment in
the Zulu village. The quaint courtship
flirtations of the Brits are compared to the very unVictorian dancing of the
Zulus.
The
British army crosses the river bordering Zululand with the labor of Zulu
porters who are treated like slaves. A
news correspondent named Norris-Newman (Ronald Lacy) is along to question
Chelmsford’s strategy and tactics. Upon
crossing the river, there is immediate combat with Zulu scouts to tide us over
until the big battle. The column moves
on to camp at Isandhlwana. “What a
marvelous spree” proclaims an overconfident British officer. Three Zulu warriors allow themselves to be
captured and tortured to give false information on the location of the Zulu
army. Water boarding is too subtle, the
Brits simply beat it out of them.
Chelmsford chooses to believe their lies over the eye-witness report of
a Boer rancher. He takes half of the
army on a wild goose chase leaving the bureaucratic Col. Pulleine (Denholm
Elliott) in command. Chelmsford orders
Col. Durnford (Burt Lancaster) and his troop of native cavalry to reinforce the
camp. A patrol led by the Lt. Vereker
(Simon Ward) runs into the Zulu army where it ain’t supposed to be. The camp has little time to prepare for the
human tidal wave heading its way. If you
are a Brit, you know what happens next.
If you are an American, watch and learn.
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| Sgt. Williams shows him the steel |
“Zulu
Dawn” must have been a contentious green light.
In many ways the circumstances are similar to the Battle of Little Big
Horn. It is commendable that the
producers were willing to put so much effort into a depressing subject. Releasing it on the centennial anniversary
shows their hearts were in the right place.
Unfortunately, they overestimated the public’s desire to remember the
ass-whipping. The timing coming fifteen
years after the uplifting “Zulu” was not conducive to the box office
either. I do not know how well it did in
Great Britain, but it certainly was critical of the British Empire.
“Zulu
Dawn” is competently done. The scale is
impressive. Filming in Africa helped
with the verisimilitude. The vistas are
expansive and add to the geographical accuracy.
The cast is expansive as well and the huge number of extras makes a grand
impression. Real humans trump CGI every
time. The professional actors are a
strength of the movie. There are a lot
of familiar British faces and they all acquit themselves well. Lancaster and O’Toole anchor the film, but it
is definitely an ensemble effort. Bob
Hoskins is the standout as the gruff Colour Sergeant Williams. Unlike other officer-centric battle films,
“Zulu Dawn” spends some time with the enlisted.
Sgt. Williams has a father/son relationship with a sad sack also named
Williams (David Bradley) who provides the only comic relief in an otherwise
serious movie. Although the movie is
sympathetic to the Zulus and gives their perspective well, there is only one
developed character (the leader of the tortured). The music by Elmer Bernstein is excellent and
fits the epic pretensions of the movie.
The river crossing scene relies totally on music as it avoids
dialogue. The cinematography is also
stellar, especially in the climactic battle which features different angles,
some slo-mo, and even some hand-held.
The
themes are well-developed. British
arrogance is embodied in the pompous Chelmsford, but virtually all the British
are overconfident. The movie does take
pains to point out that not all of the colonials favored the war. The news correspondent is useful in pointing
out the egregious tactical errors made by Chelmsford. There is a primitive versus modern vibe. This is most obvious in the Martini-Henry
rifles against the assegai (the Zulu thrusting spears).
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| "Lord Chelmsford, we may be having a slight problem at Isandhlwana" |
“Zulu
Dawn” is admirably accurate. Frere and
Chelmsford’s scheming is simplified, but gets the gist of how the British meant
to provoke the war and then invade and conquer.
Cetshwayo’s position is given good coverage. Chelmsford’s plan is not really clearly
explained (a map would have been nice), but the march of his column is proper
in miniature. The events leading to the
surprise attack on the British camp are shaky.
The biggest artistic license is in the captured/tortured prisoners. The movie takes some liberties in the
movements of the various units (or rather the actors) and compresses time as
per a battle movie. The battle itself is
about as well done as one could ask for.
And it is one of the great combat scenes in war movie history. The fighting is relentless (except for cuts
to the clueless nondoomed) for a good twenty minutes and the non-CGI combatants
make me nostalgic after recently seeing the last “Hobbit” movie. British tactics are reenacted, but no
allusion is made to the famed Zulu “buffalo horns” tactic. The chaos in the camp is realistic and the
deaths of the principals are mostly accurate.
Speaking of which, the movie has some finely acted deaths in general.
“Zulu
Dawn” is an underrated war movie. It is
unfairly overshadowed by “Zulu” and one must assume part of the reason is that
it is about a loss. In this respect it
reminds me of the relationship between “A Bridge Too Far” and “The Longest
Day”. In truth, it could be argued that
it is a better movie than “Zulu”. It is
more accurate, but does not have the charisma.
Watching the two in chronological order is a must for war movie
lovers. To understand the achievement,
try doing the same with “Gods and Generals” and “Gettysburg”. Prequels aren’t easy. “Zulu Dawn” definitely belongs on my 100 Best
list and is in the top ten movies covering battles.
GRADE = A
