1879 in South Africa and 1500 British troops are killed by the Zulus. Knowing this, 139 infantrymen stand to fight at Rorke’s Drift against an approaching 4000 Zulu.

This really is an unbelievable film, brilliantly photographed to capture the intensity of close up combat with a backdrop of stunning scenery. Since it was shot in 1964 it might have been tempting for it to play up the jingoistic heroism or portray the Zulu as savages but it does neither. The closing scenes as Lt. John Chard (Baker) and Lt. Gonville Bromhead (Caine) survey with nausea the “butchery” displays the film’s stance on war, while the Zulu are portrayed as principled and capable warriors.

I saw this film as a barely 11 year-old when the entire all-boys school was taken to the cinema. With the early scenes of hundreds of bare chested Zulu women the cinema became rather “boisterous” so the headmaster had the film stopped till we behaved. Being 11 I couldn’t quite see the issue. Nowadays eleven year-olds would be comparing to Jordan. Times change.

The special edition DVD has some interesting extras including commentary on the difficulties and solutions to working in apartheid South Africa but strangely has no contribution from Caine or modern Zulus which would have been interesting.