Skip to content
Zulu

Poster from TMDB

EntityQ228867· pop 29· linked from 176 articles

1964 film directed by Cy Endfield

Film · TMDB

7.4

In 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, man-of-the-people Lt. Chard and snooty Lt. Bromhead are in charge of defending the isolated and vastly outnumbered Natal outpost of Rorke's Drift from tribal hordes.

Released: 1964-01-22138 minDir: Cy EndfieldAction, Drama, History, WarBudget: $1.7MBox office: $8.0MPart of: Zulu Collection

Cast

  • Stanley Baker as Lt. John Chard R.E.
  • Jack Hawkins as Rev. Otto Witt
  • Ulla Jacobsson as Margareta Witt
  • James Booth as Pte. Henry Hook
  • Michael Caine as Lt. Gonville Bromhead
  • Nigel Green as Colour Sgt. Frank Bourne

Themes

  • africa
  • south africa
  • british army
  • british empire
  • based on true story
  • mixed martial arts (mma)
  • attempted rape
  • zulu
  • tribal warfare
  • 19th century

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Ratings

IMDb

7.7/10

45,853 votes

Rotten Tomatoes

97%

Metacritic

77/100

Year
1964
Runtime
138 min
Genres
Drama, History, War
Rated
Approved
Awards
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award1 nomination total

via OMDb · IMDb

Key facts

Directed by
Cy Endfield
Screenplay by
John Prebble , Cy Endfield
Story by
John Prebble
Produced by
Stanley Baker , Cy Endfield
Starring
Stanley Baker Jack Hawkins Ulla Jacobsson James Booth Michael Caine
Narrated by
Richard Burton
Cinematography
Stephen Dade
Edited by
John Jympson
Music by
John Barry
Production company
Diamond Films
Distributed by
Paramount Pictures
Release date
22 January 1964 ( 1964-01-22 ) ( London )
Running time
139 minutes
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Budget
US$ 1,720,000. (666,554. GBP) or £653,439
Box office
$8 million (US)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
film
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Original language
English language
Director
Cy Endfield
Screenwriter
Cy Endfield
Composer
John Barry
Narrative location
South Africa
Filming location
South Africa
Duration
138
FilmAffinity ID
144739
Distribution format
video on demand
Image
Michael-caine-trailer.jpg
Show 7 more facts
publication date
1964-06-17
title
Zulu
assessment
Bechdel test
review score
77/100
Commons category
Zulu (1964 movie)
different from
Zulu
Sources (14)

via Wikidata · CC0

~26 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Zulu is a 1964 British epic historical drama film depicting the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift between a detachment of the British Army and the Zulu, in the Anglo-Zulu War. The film was directed and co-written by American screenwriter Cy Endfield. He had moved to the United Kingdom in 1951 for work after being blacklisted in Hollywood. It was produced by Stanley Baker and Endfield, with Joseph E. Levine as executive producer. The screenplay was by Endfield and historical writer John Prebble, based on Prebble's 1958 Lilliput article "Slaughter in the Sun".

The film stars Stanley Baker and introduces Michael Caine in his first major role, with a supporting cast that includes Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Nigel Green, Paul Daneman, Glynn Edwards, Ivor Emmanuel, and Patrick Magee. Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi (a future South African political leader) played Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, his great-grandfather. The opening and closing narration is spoken by Richard Burton.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Zulu” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (6)