Zulu (1964)

Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Cy Endfield
Written By: Cy Endfield, John Prebble
Starring: Michael Caine, Richard Burton, Jack Hawkins, Stanley Baker, Patrick Magee, James Booth, Nigel Green, Simon Sabela, Ulla Jacobsson, Gert Van den Bergh, Gary Bond
Country: UK
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Zulu belongs to 37 collections
1. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)
2. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 38 stars)
3. Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (public: Ross - 36 stars)
4. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
5. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)
6. 24 hour (or less) timeframe (collaborative: moderated by djross - 24 stars)
7. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
8. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 17 stars)
9. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
10. Based on true events (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 12 stars)
11. Epic Battles (collaborative: moderated by doctor7 - 9 stars)
12. Epic (collaborative - 8 stars)
13. Africa (collaborative: moderated by td888 - 8 stars)
14. The Bfi 100 (collaborative: moderated by nexus - 8 stars)
15. Available on YouTube (collaborative: moderated by utube-cinema - 5 stars)
16. Art of Manliness 100 Must See Movies for Men (collaborative - 5 stars)
17. Revolutionary Films (public: ABUNCHOFCATS - 5 stars)
18. 19th century period film (collaborative: moderated by djross - 4 stars)
19. TimeOut Magazine's 100 best British films (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)
20. British Classic Films with good ratings (pre-70s) (collaborative: moderated by 90sCoffee - 3 stars)
21. Available on Tubitv (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx - 2 stars)
22. Good right wing films (collaborative: moderated by DavidB - 1 star)
23. Duology (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 1 star)
24. Djross YouTube movies to see (public: djross - 1 star)
25. John Barry (composer) (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer)
26. Siege (collaborative: moderated by td888)
27. Memorable Dance Scene or Musical Perfomance in a Non-Musical Film (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
28. One Word Titled Films (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
29. Historical Fiction (collaborative: moderated by Daria)
30. Friendly Fire Podcast subject films (collaborative: moderated by jimmyjazz)
31. Andy Owns (collaborative: moderated by andycarhart)
32. To see (public: nyg500)
33. New & sealed (public: majikat)
34. Barry Norman's top 49 British films (public: juandr)
35. Films Dunstan Owns (public: Dunstan-xxx)
36. Films I have watched 3 or more times (public: Dunstan-xxx)
37. 1960s Mile High Club (public: Dunstan-xxx)
Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
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doctor7 | 85 83rd |
Great acting, not perfect (but close) historical accuracy and a intriguing story make this film well worth seeing. Sadly I don't think that two specific aspects of the film have aged well: the fight scenes and the sound effects. A lot of the fighting is obviously fake compared to what we're used to nowadays and it's coupled with a lot of generic death screams. It really took me out of it. However, everything else about the film was surperb so it more than made up for it.
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4 | okidude | 5 96th |
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Strong characterizations dominate this movie! Although the historical subject may be unknown to many, stellar performances from nearly all cast members propel this movie to the top. Michael Cain portrays the officer you love to hate, creating the perfect foil for Stanley Baker's character. My personal favorite....Nigel Green as 'Colour Sergeant Bourne'
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AstralArtist | 98 98th |
The quintessential British action film of the 60s, also notable for being Michael Caine's film debut. John Barry's awesome score gives an almost otherworldly quality to this excellent, based on fact battle film. First rate acting from all involved, particularly Nigel Green as (historically fictional) Color Sargeant Bourne & James Booth as (historically real) Private Hook. Lush scenery, brilliant color, & narration by Richard Burton. Ripping.
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TheDiceman | 75 89th |
Great film.
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Okkervil | 80 83rd |
Atmospheric and well shot, with a brilliant musical score and good performances all round. It's starting to look a little dated nowadays, but not to its detriment. 'Zulu' remains one of the most enjoyable war movies ever made.
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willofgaia | 80 43rd |
Interesting film, not about the actual battle, but about the politics and build-up to the battle. An interesting watch just for that.
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Cerebrus | 70 61st |
The first half is admitting a little boring, but the battle which takes up half the film is amazing.
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Stain | 100 95th |
Yowza! Based on a real incident in which about a hundred British soldiers in 19th-century Africa held off 4000 Zulus in battle. Great dialogue, memorable characters, terrific score by John Barry, and thrilling combat sequences. If anyone is tempted to read this review as a hurrah for imperialism, kindly allow me to point out that the Zulus were *also* an imperial power; they just had a much lower level of technology than the British
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martryn | 85 86th |
Honestly one of the best war movies of all time! And certainly a different take on war films due to it's setting. A definite "must-see" for fans of the genre.
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luc | 72 80th |
Long movie, the last hour was amazingly good with plenty of action.
Those Zulu-boys were really stupid the way they attacted those British soldiers. After all a good British movie.
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Beer94 | 72 78th |
Great acting, great music, great story. It's beginning to look rather dated nowadays though. It can't be helped though.
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Rolad | 94 74th |
An amazing achievement of scope and intensity. One of the most entertaining war films ever made.
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fra paolo | 94 95th |
Not entirely politically correct, but not entirely politically incorrect, either.
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1 | hank | 80 66th |
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Awesome war movie. Wonderful acting and story.
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DaeSanye | 7 74th |
Good movie with a very young Michael Caine... looking at the fight scenes I must confess it hasn't aged well...
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Ytadel | 7 83rd |
Well this movie would not get made today for many reasons lol. Definitely a good war film though; interested & sympathetic depictions of both sides, builds up a good sense of harrowing dread, battle commences at the right point dramatically an hour in, lotsa action, John Barry score, etc. Kinda hard to focus on the stodgy middle age English actors early on when every other scene has topless African babes in it though, it’s like trying to take a history exam with a boner
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theshmo | 97 98th |
A great film showing a battle known to few. If you are interested in the British Army and are a fan of Michael Caine you will love this film.
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1 | owen1218 | 55 22nd |
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Colonial propaganda film.
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Big Lemons | 86 76th |
One of the pillars of the combat film genre.
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ktappe | 91 74th |
Interesting story, historical accuracy, and accomplished actors add up to a movie well worth seeing if this genre interests you.
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KasperL | 40 20th |
Poorly made and sloooow.
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Adalon | 65 66th |
Lets face it you always watch it when its on TV
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1 | johndehav | 95 95th |
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"One thousand British soldiers have been massacred. While I stood here talking peace, a war has started." and with that we have Zulu, a great movie of epic proportions. It excellently captures war and the feelings of the men involved. With great cinematography and music with outstanding acting and great dialogue this movie deserves all the accolades it gets. It is does not try to preach one way or another it merely tells the story of how 100 british men fought against 4000 zulu warriors.
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omgfridge | 7 65th |
Michael Caine + War = Good results. Worth watching.
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Piglet | 75 79th |
Depicts the Zulu's as savages, and the British as saints, but aside from that a very good film.
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Henrik | 85 90th |
Forget all about the accusations of 'racism', 'savage depictions' and 'colonial point-of-view'. Similar to Starship Troopers, minus the satire, the 'heroes' are in actuality the villains (or at least misplaced braves) in this anti-colonial, anti-war epic. Spectacular but intimate, with a hypocritical missionary as the (easter egg) main baddie. The intense build-up, leading up to the assault, is brilliantly executed.
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billkerwin | 89 80th |
The acting is uniformly excellent, yet the real stars here are the Zulu warriors--beautiful, dignified, magnificent.
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1 | newbiepsych | 92 85th |
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British classic.
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brightpoint | 81 87th |
Based on the true story of a small number of British Soldiers in Rorke's Drift defending a garrison against a horde of Zulu's with a kamikaze death wish who don't believe in kevlar bullet proof vests as protection.Fine performances from Baker and Caine keeps this moving along at a reasonable pace.Without a doubt the highlight is the last battle towards the end with the gallant Brits singing 'Men of Harlech' whilst exhausted with uplifting vigour with the Zulu's chanting their own war cries.
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DesertPunk | 82 78th |
Men of Harlech, stop your dreaming!
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Ag0stoMesmer | 4 91st |
Not just great action but interesting class and race elements.
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SullaLion | 85 60th |
There is something in the pacing and dialogue of classical movies that is often not seen in modern cinema. I've often thought this was due to the dumbing down of modern culture, despite access to online resources, and perhaps also an increasing lack of attention and patience. This was Michael Caine's first film role and he was brilliant. It was overall well cast, great sets, costumes, music, and more. I look forward to watching it again in the near future.
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Average Percentile 64.59% from 781 Ratings | ![]() |