1964 / 138m - UK
War
1.0*/5.0*
Zulu poster

Watches

April 22, 2023

1.0*/5.0*

Hollywood kitsch, only from Britain. It also reminded me of the Chinese big-budget war flicks that are all the rage these days: films that show a nation's power, smarts, and resilience, even (or especially) when the odds are stacked against them. Not really my type of cinema, especially not when it's a classic film.

The British Army is facing a grand Zulu force in South Africa. The Brits are greatly outnumbered and the Zulu warriors are disciplined fighters. Two British generals have very different ideas on how to take on the enemy forces. A 12-hour-long battle follows, with a pretty predictable victor.

The music is quite tiring, the film is colorful but very kitsch, and the big battle is rather dull. The film is just way too schmaltzy for my taste and with no decent presentation to keep my mind occupied in the meantime, the runtime is indefensible. Not a film I enjoyed, even when my expectations were pretty low.