History Film / Zulu

* OnlySaneMan: Durnford and Lieutenant Hardford, in different ways. Naturally, Chelmsford despises the former for no readily given reason (and historically blamed the man for the outcome of the battle). Hardford is one of the few who actually gives a damn about the lives of the native soldiers and troops. His attempts to warn Chelmsford about the slaughter is ignored.

** Creaselock scolds Lieutenant Harford for being alarmed when he passes on the message of troops being overrun.

* UpperClassTwit: Lord Chelmsford, and most of his officers. They all laugh at the OnlySaneMan at the luncheon, who calls them out on eating while the troops go hungry (and Chelmsford's reaction is to sneer at the man for being "poorly behaved" ''and'' Irish.)

* AnachronismStew: Due to either a lack of Martini-Henry rifles or .570 blanks, a decent chunk of the weapons wielded by British forces in the film are actually anachronistic Lee-Enfield Mark Is with the telltale magazine removed, as well as Webley Mk. VI revolvers, not introduced until 1915. This is due to a lack of functional Beaumont-Adams revolvers used in the actual battle.

* DontShootTheMessenger: Cetshwayo's son demands he kill the messenger relaying the British Empire's view of the Zulus. Cetshwayo does not.

* AnachronismStew: Due to either a lack of Martini-Henry rifles or .455 blanks, a decent chunk of the weapons wielded by British forces in the film are actually anachronistic Lee-Enfield Mark Is with the telltale magazine removed, as well as Webley Mk. VI revolvers, not introduced until 1915. This is due to a lack of functional Beaumont-Adams revolvers used in the actual battle.

* NippleAndDimed: The first TV screenings this film cheerfully screened it in its entirety, including the mass wedding sequence near the start where several hundred Zulu warriors dance their way into wedlock with a line of several hundred very exuberantly bouncy Zulu maidens. On the elsewhere mentioned [[NationalGeographicNudity African tribeswomen]] principle, this protracted scene of southern African pulchritude was always left in, regardless of the time of day of screening, throughout the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's. Yet in the early 2000's, all this abruptly changed and British TV adopted a strictly censored version with all the bouncy toplessness left out. There was no clear reason given for this change of mind on the part of the broadcasters, and it was noticeable that later graphic scenes depicting mass slaughter of Zulu warriors under concentrated British riflepower were left in.

* BecomingTheMask: during the "Men of Harlech" scene you see dozens of weary demoralized soldiers who enlisted because no one else was poor enough for the job, [[TakeALevelInBadass converting themselves]] into the {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s that they were singing of. If you look closely at the Zulus you can see how many are obviously youngsters out for the first time. They are becoming a mask too.
* BloodlessCarnage: As a practical matter, 1960s special effects wouldn't have been up to the challenge of faking hundreds of bayonettings and large-caliber bullet wounds on bare-chested Zulu extras.

** Otto Wit wasn't a pacifist (he helped the British soldiers plan their defense) or a drunk, and he only left so as to alert his family at his farm a little while away (he also wasn't a widower or had an adult daughter)

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Boer character makes a few DeadpanSnarker remarks about the British and Boers fighting on the same side ''for now'', united against a common enemy. But he suggests after the war with the Zulus, things may well be different. In RealLife, the first Boer War happened a little over a year later. This was a direct consequence of the hamfisted way the British prosecusted the Zulu War, followed by a botched peace settlement and the British administration seeking to grab what it could after the collapse of the Zulu Empire. This alienated the Boers of the Transvaal and drove them into open revolt. And ''[[UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar twenty]]'' years after the Zulu War...

* Foreshadowing: The Boer character makes a few DeadpanSnarker remarks about the British and Boers fighting on the same side ''for now'', united against a common enemy. But he suggests after the war with the Zulus, things may well be different. In RealLife, the first Boer War happened a little over a year later. This was a direct consequence of the hamfisted way the British prosecusted the Zulu War, followed by a botched peace settlement and the British administration seeking to grab what it could after the collapse of the Zulu Empire. This alienated the Boers of the Transvaal and drove them into open revolt. And ''[[UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar twenty]]'' years after the Zulu War...

** The cavalrymen were essentially yelled at as cowards by the soldiers as they've fled. Historically accurate here, in fact, in real life, the defenders took potshots at the fleeing cavalry men and killed one of them!

Followed fifteen years later by a prequel, ''Zulu Dawn'', about the disastrous Battle of Isandlwana that took place earlier the same day. It starred Creator/BurtLancaster, Creator/PeterOToole, and Creator/BobHoskins.

* AnachronismStew: Due to either a lack of Martini-Henry rifles or .455 blanks, a decent chunk of the weapons wielded by British forces in the film are actually anachronistic Lee-Enfield Mark Is with the telltale magazine removed.
** The British officers also use Webley Mk. VI revolvers, not introduced until 1915. This is due to a lack of functional Beaumont-Adams revolvers used in the actual battle.

** It should be noted that historically the cavalry actually fought in the opening stages of the battle before being forced to withdraw due to a lack of ammunition for their carbines.
** The cavalry unit was also mostly made up of black riders rather than white farmers as depicted in the film.

* DeadpanSnarker: Bromhead, very much so.
-->'''Chard:''' Don't worry, Miss Witt. The Army doesn't like more than one disaster in a day.
-->'''Bromhead:''' Looks bad in the newspapers and upsets civilians at their breakfasts.

-->'''Bromhead:''' We've dropped at least sixty!
-->'''Adendorff:''' That leaves only 3,940.

* DirtyCoward: Private Henry Hook is portrayed as this until he has a change of heart and becomes a hero, saving the lives of at least a dozen patients in the hospital.
** The cavalrymen were essentially yelled at as cowards by the soldiers as they've fled.
** Historically accurate here, in fact, in real life, the defenders took potshots at the fleeing cavalry men and killed one of them!

* LoveableRogue: Private Hook. (The real Hook was a churchgoing teetotaler, and his elderly daughters were ''not'' happy at the way the film portrayed their father.)
** The "Private Hook" fictional character was shown performing the actions of several of the real life historical convict soldiers.

* OneSteveLimit: Discussed by some of the soldiers. The Welsh have a rather limited range of names, so soldiers with similar names [[YouAreNumberSix go by their serial numbers]] to avoid confusion.

* RealityEnsues: The Zulus are pragmatic enough to take rifles and ammunition off of the British dead at Isandlwana, and take them to Rorke's Drift. What started out as a battle of guns against spears turns into a fight of guns against ''other guns''. After the initial surprise (because the defenders weren't expecting the Zulus to have looted rifles), reality sets in and it isn't as decisive: just because the Zulus know how to fire and reload rifles doesn't ''instantly'' make them expert marksmen, that takes prolonged training. One of the British officers notes that the Zulus thankfully aren't great shots (they've never had any experience firing rifles before. A historian of the war notes that without training, the Zulus did not understand how to align or calibrate the rifle sights, did not realise what they were for, and simply pointed at the target and fired - most bullets therefore went hopelessly wide). They also realize that the Zulu commander isn't going to have his few men with rifles fire at the ''same time'' that his main force charges in with spears, for fear of hitting his own men.

* WorthyOpponent: The Zulus appear to be massing again to wipe out the British, but it turns out they're saluting the British for their bravery before departing for good. This is [[ArtisticLicenseHistory a small fabrication]]: in real life the Zulus left because they weren't supposed to be there in the first place - Prince Dabulamanzi, the Zulu commander of the force, was King Cetshwayo's half-brother, and noted for his rashness and aggressive command behavior. In fact, the attack at Rorke's Drift was a direct violation of orders from the king, specifically that the Zulu forces were to act ''only'' in defense of Zululand, and under no circumstances to invade British-held territory. In reality, the Zulus had just disappeared by the dawn after the final attack, and only one more Zulu impi was briefly sighted by the men, retreating about an hour ahead of the British reinforcements.

* ZergRush: Again and again, the Zulus' chief tactic, though more by necessity than ignorance. Early in the film, Chard, Bromhead and Ardendorff discuss the Zulus' envelopment tactics, and decide that fortifying themselves within the mission negates the enemy's advantage. When the Zulu attempt to draw the British out from the defenses fails, Cesthawayo brings his riflemen into action, which has limited effect. Only then do the attackers resort to frontal assaults.

* SergeantRock: Colour-Sergeant Bourne. Corporal Allen, although not a sergeant, also qualifies.

Followed fifteen years later by a prequel, ''Zulu Dawn'', about the disastrous Battle of Isandlwana that took place earlier the same day. It starred Creator/BurtLancaster and Creator/PeterOToole.

* NotSoDifferent: The "Men of Harlech" scene emphasizing the [[ProudWarriorRace mutual warlikeness]] of the British and the Zulus.

* ProudWarriorRace: Both the British and the Zulus. More or less the whole point of the film.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Bromhead spends the first hour or so of the film being a snobby, entitled prick to Chard, giving him backhanded advice and willfully acting as unhelpful as possible. When the shared reality of their situation finally slaps him in the face, he proves himself a courageous, capable officer who comes to acknowledge Chard's abilities, and by the end of the film, the two of them are BashBrothers.

* SoldierVsWarrior: The British are shown firing controlled volleys where the Zulus advance in an individualistic way. A bit of a subversion though as a Boer tells the British in no uncertain terms that the Zulus are not a mere warband, but are themselves a regimented and disciplined force who fight with a well developed and effective tactical doctrine.

Followed fifteen years later by a prequel, ''Zulu Dawn'', about the disastrous Battle of Isandlwana that took place earlier the same day. It starred Burt Lancaster and Peter O'Toole.

** The black levies who are encouraged to leave by Otto Wit and the cavalry that come by to alert the soldiers of the coming Zulu army were in real life the same group: a company of Native (aka African)cavalry who arrived to help with the defense of Rorke's Drift, only to leave after the initial assault by the Zulus, much to the displeasure of the soldiers defending it (who fired upon them, killing one of the commanders, another one was later prosecuted for desertion).

** Their real life counterparts were even fired upon by the British soldiers as they left!

* RareGuns: Only a handful of the period-appropriate Martini-Henry rifles were available for the film. After two world wars and a lot of surplus floating about on the market after an upgrade in the British and South African forces, however, there were a ''lot'' of Mk IV Lee-Enfields available. If you look carefully, it is obvious the bulk of the British defenders are armed with an anachronistic weapon that only began in service forty or so years after Rorke's Drift. The actors had to pretend they were single-shot weapons and not magazine-fed repeaters.

* ScaryBlackMan: Zulus. ''Very'' much justified by RealLife.