Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5427 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-27
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Zulu
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
Cy Endfield co-wrote the epic prequel Zulu Dawn 15 years after his enormously popular Zulu. Set in 1879, this film depicts the catastrophic Battle of Isandhlwana, which remains the worst defeat of the British army by natives, with the British contingent outnumbered 16-to-1 by the Zulu tribesmen. The film's opinion of events is made immediately clear in its title sequence: ebullient African village life presided over by King Cetshwayo is contrasted with aristocratic artifice under the arrogant eye of General Lord Chelmsford (Peter O'Toole). Chelmsford is at the heart of all that goes wrong, initiating the catastrophic battle with an ultimatum made seemingly for the sake of giving his troops something to do. His detached manner leads to one mistake after another, and this is wryly illustrated in a moment when neither he nor his officers can be bothered to pronounce the name of the land they're in. That it's a beautiful land nonetheless is made clear by the superb cinematography, which drinks in the massive open spaces that shrink the British army to a line of red ants. Splendidly stiff-upper-lipped support comes from a heroic Burt Lancaster and a fluffy, yet gruff, Bob Hoskins. Although the story is less focused and inevitably more diffuse than the concentrated events of Rorke's Drift which followed soon after, Zulu Dawn is an unflinchingly honest depiction of British Imperial diplomacy. --Paul Tonks

The New York Times
Sweeping Battle...Top-Flight Cast... An Eye-Catching Film.

Customer Reviews

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 films are British made and together make a nice balanced commentary on England's shortcomings and successes in the Zulu War.

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 this movie so that it can be enjoyed on DVD as well.