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Zulu: The Limited Edition Series
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Twilight Time Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (29th January 2014). |
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The Film
 One of my favorite things to do when reviewing a film is to check out the trivia section on the film's IMBD listing to glean any interesting tidbits about the film and its production. Usually there's a minimal amount of information, but sometimes you a get a film like "Zulu" which not only had an interesting production history but contains a lot of interesting trivia about its making. For example did you know that this was Michael Caine's first major film role? Did you know that the film was shot in South Africa and featured a cast of 700 real zulu warriors? Did you know that the film was banned in South Africa for fear that it might incite an uprising among the native population? And that's just the tip of the iceberg, "Zulu" is not only an interesting film, but it also has a rich and intriguing production history. "Zulu" tells the story of the battle of Rorke's Drift which pits a tiny force of some 150 British colonials against a massive power of 4,000 Zulu warriors, a film of honor and valor in the face of outrageous odds. Lieutenant John Chard (Stanley Baker) of the Royal Engineers assumes command of the force as they prepare to take on an invasion force and with Lt. Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine), who finds himself put off by having to be subordinate to an engineer, must find a way to stay alive and continue to fight. "Zulu" is as much a film about boy's own adventure as it is a potent anti-war statement. Written and directed by blacklisted screenwriter Cy Endfield, Endfield was named a communist in 1951 by the House of un-American Activity, unable to get work in Hollywood, he moved to Britain and made several films under various pseudonyms. In the 60's he was hired by actor/producer Stanley Baker to write and direct "Zulu". Baker easily raised the financing with producer Joseph E. Levine whom liked Baker so much he would back any project Baker wanted. In 1963, official production would begin in South Africa. The 25 day film shoot was quick and on a tight budget, but it's easy to see that they managed to get more than their money's worth onscreen. The first impression to "Zulu" is its sheer scale, this is an epic in every sense of the word from the super-wide cinematography by the respected and dependable Stephen Dade, to the intricate production design by Ernest Archer (who would go on to lend his talents on "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), five James Bond Films as well as "Superman" (1978) and "Superman II" (1980) among many other classic films) and the hundreds of extras that fill the screen. For an independently produced British film with a budget a fraction of what Hollywood epics are given "Zulu" does a fine job of looking like a huge budget studio film (The budget for "Zulu" was $3.5 million, for comparison "The Fall of the Roman Empire" also released in 1964 cost $20 million). With all the grandeur of the film, it's also surprisingly contained. Juxtaposing the vast South African landscape and the massive Zulu invasion force with the infinitely smaller British force in their cramped and confined missionary station of Rorke's Drift. All to highlighting the David and Goliath style story. One of the most impressive aspects of this film are the hundreds of extras that made up the Zulu warriors, they were actual Zulus recruited in South Africa for the production. Interestingly enough the extras have never seen a motion picture before so Stanley Bakerr arranged for a screening of a movie to show them and give them an idea of what it was they were making. The casting of Zulus did pose some challenges for the production, primarily from an equality standpoint, South Africa at the time of filming was enforcing strict apartheid and the Zulus, by law could not be paid equivalent rates to their white counterparts. To get around this unfairness, director Endfield decided to gift all the livestock and animals the production bought for the film to the Zulus. A gesture that was worth far more than the standard rates the white counterparts were getting. It's nice to hear that these people were not taken advantage of and essentially taken care of during the filming, the result is an intimidating prescience onscreen, for sheer mass alone, the Zulu's appear unbeatable. The filmmakers managed to display the outrageous odds extremely well pitting the viewer in the middle of this melee. Performances from the ensemble are strong, but overtly "British", the acting takes on a stage prescience. This was the style back then, it was very much in fashion to be theatrical in epic films. It very much feels like a film from a bygone era. I suppose the "Method" style of acting popularized by Marlon Brando and James Dean in the 50's hadn't quite reached mainstream England yet (after all the British kitchen sink dramas which featured method performances were only really starting to hit their stride in the very end of the 50's and early 60's and were still very much small underground productions). In saying that, it was nice to see a very young and green Michael Caine make his feature film debut (after more than a decade working in television). He certainly comes across as an adept performer with untold potential, and his sixty-four year career is a testament to that. It's been years since I'd seen "Zulu" and I was excited to revisit it on Blu-ray, it's incredible that a film which is now 50 years old still holds up as a terrific adventure, easily one of Cy Endfield's finest films and a picture that would launch Caine's cinematic career, highly recommended.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 high definition 1080p 24/fps and mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression codec. This transfer was created by MGM/UA and licensed by Twilight Time for this release, this transfer is not the same as the one used for the Paramount UK release. For a film that's 50 years old, I was impressed with this HD image. The overall image is clean, hardly any dirt, scratches, or print damage to be found (that's not to say that there was none, a few pop up here and there). The film looks sharp throughout the majority, there are a few soft shots. Color is nice and vibrant, especially the rich reds of the British officer's uniforms. Skin tones look mostly pastel with black levels being well rendered. Detail looks terrific, from the vast backgrounds right down to the little details of the uniforms and the beadwork on the Zulu's - the HD format is well suited for films of this scale.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mixed at 48kHz/24-bit as well as an English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono track also mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The audio has been restored for this release, gone are usual plagues for a film of this age - pops, hiss, crackle, etc. It's a clean track with clear dialogue. The majority of the audio, as expected is front focused, however the stereo does offer some decent spacing, mostly during the battle scenes and with the film's majestic score. Optional subtitles are featured in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
Twilight Time has released this film with an audio commentary, an isolated score, the film's theatrical trailer, a bonus trailer, catalogue, and booklet. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is the feature-length audio commentary with film historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman. One of my all time favorite commentary tracks appears on the film "Double Indemnity" and the participants are both Dobbs and Redman, these guys are incredibly knowledgable about films and speak passionately about them, so it's a nice surprise to have these two appear on the commentary for "Zulu". These two cover practically everything you could ever want to know about the film, the filmmakers and cast. They provide a plethora of information for fans and casual fans who normally may not take the time to listen to an audio commentary would easily be won over by these two. John Barry's complete isolated music score track is presented here, watch the entire film with the score taking center stage. The film's original theatrical trailer (1080p) is next and runs for 2 minutes 37 seconds. The disc also features a bonus trailer (1080p) for "MGM's 90th Anniversary" which feature clips from their most iconic films and runs for 2 minutes 6 seconds. Distributor Twilight Time has included a catalogue consisting of 24 pages that shows off their collection of films on Blu-ray, all titles are limited to 3,000 copies only and a few of them are already sold out. Rounding out the supplements is an 8-page liner notes booklet.
Packaging
Packaged in a standard eco Blu-ray keep case, this edition is limited to 3,000 copies only.
Overall
Available to purchase exclusively only at Screen Archives Entertainment. Like Twilight Time on Facebook by going here.
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