IDIOT REVIEWS

-- movie reviews from an idiot teenager --

RATING: Pre-MPAA.  Lots of intense battle scenes, slightly but not very bloody; also a little National Geographic-style native nuduity in the first scene; language.

DIRECTOR: Cy Endfield

WRITER: John Prebble

CAST: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Michael Caine, James Booth; narrated by Richard Burton

IMDB RATING: 7.9/10

AWARDS:
     BAFTA Awards
          Nominated: Best British Art Direction.

     It's an action flick.  Action flicks don't get awards.  Of course, in 1964, there were some strong films nominated for Best Picture (My Fair Lady, Dr. Strangelove, Becket), and maybe it's just me being a teenage guy, but I have to say this definitely deserved a Best Picture nomination over Mary Poppins.

Zulu

1964

* * * 1/2

            In 1879, a company of 139 British soldiers realizes that they're next after the Zulu tribe obliterates a much larger British force.  Soon, their small band will be surrounded and attacked by 4000 Zulu warriors.  Even with superior firepower and tactics, the odds are impossible, and worsened by the power struggle between two officers (Stanley Baker & Michael Caine).

            There are two ways to make a good action movie.  One, develop compelling characters around a good story, then add exciting action (like Die Hard).  A much more difficult way is to forget about character and just concentrate on pure adrenaline, testosterone, and intensity (Enter the Dragon comes to mind).  This one goes for the former, but it really achieves the latter.  The first half, developing the plot and characters, is awfully cliched. There are some interesting moments here and there, but the first half accomplishes two things: one, to set up the story, and second, to create a sense of dread about the coming onslaught.  Good acting and direction and unoriginal but decent writing make this an adequate intro, better than a lot of action flicks, but it ain't classic by any means whatsoever.

            Then there's the second half of the film.  The last seventy minutes of the movie is non-stop, desperate, life-and-death, edge-of-your-seat action as the British struggle to survive every moment.  It's a series of truly awesome, indescribable intensity and excitement.  The improvisational tactics are as powerful as the dramatic moments.  It all builds during a battle that seems to have no possible way out.

            However, after nearly an hour, there's a brief break as the soldiers find a brief moment of rest.  At this point, there's a sense of dread, not of immenent doom so much as the feeling that nothing could possibly top the last hour.

            Then, it tops it with a knockout of a climax.

            It then wraps up with a satisfying finale and Richard Burton's effective narration.

            Now, you may get the impression from my review that it lacks drama.  That's not true.  It has drama.  The drama, however, as well as the character development, happens in the actions, not in the dialogue.  It's a guy's flick.  A superbly edited, wonderfully directed, sweeping, truly awesome guy's flick anchored by one of Michael Caine's finest performances, some of the best battle scenes ever, and a good, powerfully told story.  Who needs witty dialogue?