Zulu Dawn 1979
6.6 / 10
Zulu Dawn
In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.
In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 10 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Col. Anthony Durnford
... Lt. Vereker
... Colonel Pulleine
... QSM Bloomfield
... Lt. Melvill
... Lt. Coghill
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews03 Dec 2022 by CinemaSerf
Though certainly epic in cinematographic terms, this is a really meandering and over-cast depiction of the Zulu defeat of the British garrison at Isandlwana at the end of the 19th century. I'm assuming it was made as a precursor of - and to capitalise upon - the far superior "Zulu" (1964) but right from the get-go it's just wordy and ponderous and, well, lacklustre. Peter O'Toole does exude a certain arrogance in his role as the Commander of the army (Lord Chelmsford) but Burt Lancaster - and his distinctly ropey accent - as "Col. Durnford", features all too sparingly to offer much more than a casual dig at the incompetencies of his boss as the Zulu and the soldiers of the Queen square up. This cast list is impressive but none of the assembled stars of stage and screen are really used to any great effect. History tells us what happens next, and the colourful action scenes are well put together with enthusiastic efforts from the Zulu themselves delivering well staged combat scenes. Sadly, though, we have to wait far too long for these to rescue this from the doldrums of colourful but procedural cinema that offers us little to nourish either our interest in the characters or in the colonial and ambitious politics of the region that prevailed at the time. Underwhelming, sorry!
Release Date:
May 14, 1979 (Netherlands,South Africa,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 57`
MMPA Rating:
PG
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
Netherlands,South Africa,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Zulu Dawn
Though certainly epic in cinematographic terms, this is a really meandering and over-cast depiction of the Zulu defeat of the British garrison at Isandlwana at the end of the 19th century. I'm assuming it was made as a precursor of - and to capitalise upon - the far superior "Zulu" (1964) but right from the get-go it's just wordy and ponderous and, well, lacklustre. Peter O'Toole does exude a certain arrogance in his role as the Commander of the army (Lord Chelmsford) but Burt Lancaster - and his distinctly ropey accent - as "Col. Durnford", features all too sparingly to offer much more than a casual dig at the incompetencies of his boss as the Zulu and the soldiers of the Queen square up. This cast list is impressive but none of the assembled stars of stage and screen are really used to any great effect. History tells us what happens next, and the colourful action scenes are well put together with enthusiastic efforts from the Zulu themselves delivering well staged combat scenes. Sadly, though, we have to wait far too long for these to rescue this from the doldrums of colourful but procedural cinema that offers us little to nourish either our interest in the characters or in the colonial and ambitious politics of the region that prevailed at the time. Underwhelming, sorry!
Cast & Crew of
Zulu Dawn
Directors & Credit Writers
... Second Unit Director
... Director
... Second Unit Director
Cast
... Col. Anthony Durnford
... Lt. Vereker
... Colonel Pulleine
... QSM Bloomfield
... Lt. Melvill
... Lt. Coghill
... C.S.M. Williams
... Pte Williams
... Cpl. Storey
... Maj. Russell R.A.
... Lt. Raw
... Boy Pullen
... Cpl. Fields
... Sentry
... Maj. Smith R.A.
JB
Jan Bruyns... Elder Boer
SC
Sydney Chama... S.M. Kambula
... Trooper James
... Lord Chelmsford
... Col. Hamilton-Brown
Produced By
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