Zulu Dawn

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Starring: Burt Lancaster; Peter O'Toole; Sir John Mills; Bob Hoskins
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Type: DVD
Studio: Tango Entertainment
Release Date: 2005-09-27
Running Time: 113 minutes
A prequel to the war epic "Zulu", this dramatic story recounts the breathtaking defeat of British forces at the hands of a 25,000 strong and relentlessly determined Zulu army in 1870. The all-star cast, and extravagant production quality make Zulu Dawn a spectacular film with a guaranteed place in the list of Hollywood Greats.

Not "That" good
This DVD may well go in to the box with the other films I have purchased, and I will keep, but may never watch again. I had not seen the film before purchasing but I love the outstanding film "ZULU". So for that reason alone I ordered it. The film itself gets 3-stars. The transfer (from celluloid to DVD) gets a Zero. The quality of picture is poor - very poor. It is actually painful to watch on a big screen TV! Other reviews site how much of the original frame is lost. I don't know all the technical aspect but I don't doubt that they must be correct.
As I stated before, the movie itself gets only three stars. I believe the Producers and Directors must have watched the "original" Stanley Baker ZULU (battle at Rorke's Drift) and then left directly to shoot this film. It is a poor imitation. The movie even starts the same way with Zulu dance and song and a brutal death of a Zulu warrior on the King's whim. The missionary's not there but he shows up soon after. And believe me, there no comparison to any actor in this film to the job the young Michael Caine accomplished in the earlier film. Bob Haskins is a good actor but his role as a Sergeant pales in comparison to Nigel Green as the indefatigable "Colour Sergeant Bourne" -- a solider I felt I would follow anywhere after watching in the first film! Eventually the film gets "going" and the battle scenes that follow are good. As it was shot before CGI it is great to know that every person shown in the battle was really there on the set.
Comparing the two films is fair. This film was created in part to take advantage of the eventual success of the first film (which is of course about what happened "a day after" the events in this movie.) If one really wants to know about the disaster of Isandhlwana I might suggest a book rather than this film.

Classic Movie
While this great movie is not quite as good as Zulu its definetly worth getting for your collection.The movie itself boasts great location shots filmed in South Africa and is generally pretty accurate.Historians have only recently worked out exactly what happened on this day back in 1879,it seems the British and colonial lines were spaced out at least up to 2km from there camp and the gaps between the soldiers was wide probably 2-3 metres and the field they were on consisted of hight grass put this together with the fact that they were about to fight the Zulus who were highly disciplined and were there in the thousands,once there assault had started all it took was a lull in the firing lines possibly due to jammed cartridges and the Zulus soon found away through.
Ive been to Isandhlwana on a few ocassions and have walked the battlefield its quite errie.there is a scene in the movie where two officers flee across the buffalo river from a little beach that looks like the bahamas with the regimental colours and that little beach does exist and is just a few kms away from the battlefield,its amazing.
All in all a excellent movie that will keep you entertained for a couple of hours worth getting just for the scenery.Like some other reviewers have said the digital transfer could have been better,sound quality could have been improved,pictute a little grainy but you will get over this and enjoy a classic move.I would suggest you also get a copy of Zulu as one movie follows the other although they were made quite a few years apart with the prequel arriving 15 years after the original movie.Hope the review is of help.

Why Imperialism
A very good action, war story;this film has it all - glorius scenery,great musical sound track, deep look into the human condition. There are rousing battle scenes and tender moments of comraderie.It is an excellent look into the Victorian emperialistic world.

Victory by bare footed natives
Zulu Dawn is an excellent and historically accurate movie. It seems to have been actually filmed at Isandalwana, Natal where the action took place. Unfortunately, this movie should have come out before the excellent 'Zulu', simply because the massacre at Isandalwana occurred before the fight at Rourkes Drift depicted in Zulu.

It is also not quite as good of a film as is 'Zulu' which is a bit difficult to understand because this is clearly the better and more expensive production. In 'Zulu' the acting is decidedly uneven. In "Zulu Dawn" the acting is very good.

This is the story of the largest, or one of the largest, destruction of European troops at the hand of 'barefooted natives' in history. The British, because of supposed Zulu provocation, invade Zululand. The Zulu prepare for a fight. The British aren't worried--they have little respect for the fighting qualities of the Zulu--and split their force. One force, split off from Gen. Chemsford's [Peter O'Toole's] main force by several miles, chances on a few Zulu herders. At least they think it is just a few Zulu. Zulu Impis have concealed themselves in broken ground in front of the British camp.

The Zulu attack taking heavy casualties from the fast shooting English but things start to go wrong. The movie shows an overly officious ordinance NCO as being tardy in the distribution of ammunition. Other sources claim, however, that the rifles got gummed up and jammed by black powder residues. No matter. The English couldn't maintain their rate of fire and suddenly the Zulu were among them, stabbing with their lethal assegai's [in Zulu the name of the weapon is for the sound of the short spear being jerked from a wound]. Suddenly the entire English force is in disarray and the Zulu are among the tents. They run down and kill soldiers trying to flee.

I'm still not sure why this is not as good of a film as 'Zulu'. Maybe it's because it's a defeat.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Zulu Dawn
Great acting about a true event in African/British history. It was sad to see how being 'stiff' and following tradional and order defeated the British. Good movie.