Zulu Dawn [DVD] [1979]

Enjoyable film marred by a poor transfer
I'll leave it to others to comment on the film itself, but I do want to warn potential purchasers that the DVD transfer leaves a lot to be desired. The original film is 2.35:1; the DVD is 16:9 letter boxed (not anamorphic)so about a third of the film is missing and it is clearly obvious in quite a few scenes. The quality of the transfer itself, while not awful, is not particularly good either.

Soldiers of the Queen
If you get this video and the other epic relating to this same time (Zulu) you'll know all about the British and Zulu war in Africa. This film, Zulu Dawn, tells the story of the debacle at Islandhwana where spear-carrying Zulus badly mauled British rifles and effected the greatest defeat of so-called natives on British arms. It sticks pretty close to the actual history of the engagement. The action is the star, but big names appear throughout. John Mills, Peter O'Toole, Burt Lancaster. A first-rate job of filmaking if you like military action and stories of the Thin Red Line of Britain's heyday as a colonial power.
To get the full picture you might also want to get "Zulu", mentioned above, starring Stanley Baker and introducing a very young Michael Caine. This is more along the lines of Gunga Din and portrays the true heroism of the British (Welsh really) at Rorke's Drift, a subsidiry action to the events of Zulu Dawn. Again with considerable historical accuracy. Both...

I Love this Movie!
I highly recommend this movie to all war or history buffs.This movie is based on the true story of the Battle of Isandlwana in south Africa .The battle was fought on Jan. 22nd 1879 between the 24th regiment under the command of Lt.Gen. Lord Chelmsford and the Zulu nation under King Cetshwayo. To make a long story short, The Zulus crushed and wiped out the entire British regiment largely in part because they outnumbered the British 24,000 to about 1,500, but also due to British arrogance(Which is pointed out time and time again in this movie)and the lack of respect and where abouts of the enemy.An allstar cast including Peter O'toole and Burt Lancaster Star in this Classic. The only Bad thing about this movie is that it is no longer in print, which to me is a real travesty, considering all the garbage that was made that still is in print. In fact i had to buy this movie off an online auction. I hope that the Movie Company that made this Great film comes to it's senses and Redistributes...

Click to Editorial Reviews