Zulu

Was soll ich als Erstes hervorheben? Die Schauspieler*innen, an der Spitze mit dem ausgezeichneten Duo Stanley Baker und Michael Caine? Die perfekte Musik von John Barry? Die großartige Kamera und das digital restaurierte DVD-Bild, das wie neu aussieht? Die fesselnden und atemberaubenden Schlachtszenen, die vor allem dann vor Adrenalin strotzen, wenn sich die fast besiegten Briten in der Nähe vom durchbrochenen Wall für die Reihenschießen-Taktik entscheiden? Das Drehbuch, das jede Figur (außer dem Pastor) sympathisch darstellt und die Zulu nicht nur als brutale Affen, die von den Bäumen hinuntergeklettert sind, sondern auch als bemerkenswerte Strategen schildert? Tja… Wie man sieht, gibt es vieles, was ich nennen könnte. Keine von den 138 Minuten fand ich langweilig. Ein starker Film. (06.02.2012)

Zulu feels like a trip to the countryside to an old house of deceased grandparents, which has been abandoned for years in solitude and is waiting for someone to visit it. Open the door and you will discover preserved furnishings that smell musty and look somewhat quaintly old-fashioned. You wouldn't want to live in it, but it can be enchanting to lovers of antiques. Open the wardrobe and you see clothes long out of fashion. Zulu could once have seemed like an epic blockbuster, but today it can only evoke an indulgent smile. In a sense, it reminds me of old westerns or movies about Native Americans, where settlers traveling westward on the prairie fend off attacks from wild Comanches. The film pays homage to the peak of the colonial era in Victorian Britain when white men took their share of colonial conquests as a civilizing mission of European culture into the wilderness. It features not so much living characters as human types, and the behavior of the officers reminded me of one of Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns episodes, which satirized the stiff British army. The film can be criticized from today's perspective for many things, from choreography to pathos. However, those who appreciate beautifully colorful uniforms and a world that was simple and had a black-and-white dimension can still enjoy Zulu today. Overall impression: 40%. (06.06.2016)