"How about a Zulu movie from the Zulu side?" Topic

When it comes to history, and in particular, military history…Hollywood always seems to be concerned w/ how the "White Guy" saw it (Shogun, Zulu, The Last Samurai, and on and on).

Now I'm not against any of these movies in particular, but wouldn't it be refreshing for a change to see a movie from the (insert "traditional" terms: native, colonials, barbarians, etc..) view rather than the traditional White Guy in the foreigners land tale?

I think, in particular, this would be a great story from a young Zulu Warriors perspective if his story was told from right before the British invasion through to the last battle at Ulundi.

While I loved both the Zulu flicks (especially "Zulu"), I would much rather see the conflict thought the eyes of the real underdog (and victims), the Zulus, not the Brits!

The movie would be interesting (to me!) if it was told w/ a FoG of war feel to it. The Zulus are unsure of the Brits intentions or desires. The Zulu don't want the war but are unwilling to submit to the British demands. The size and composition of the British forces are largely unknown until contact.

The same could be said of other places and periods as well. I suppose I will NEVER see Hollywood make a historically correct Samurai movie that doesnt have a White guy in it….but I digress.

On to the poll. Would you support (pay cash to see in a theater) a well made movie that follows a Zulu warrior in his experiences through the short but bloody Anglo-Zulu War?

1) Yes, because the concept interests me!
2) Yes, because I'd see any Zulu War themed movie!
3) No, the perspective of the film does not interest me.
4) No, not a fan of this period/ theater.
5) No for other reasons (not a film/ history/ war buf, etc…)

Thanks for any input. Maybe we can convince Rudy Nelson and Ian Knight to hash out a script for us!

0) Yes, if it was a good movie with solid plot, excellent character development, and a cast of competent actors well directed.

The Shaka Zulu mini-series should fill your bill.

I don't think you will find Ceteswayo [sp] a very interesting guy in any event. I don't think history has preserved much about his subordinates -- not that I have seen anyway.

mjc

This is the one

Shaka Zulu [1986]
……This story documents the great warrior who revolutionised the tactics of warfare and created the great Zulu Nation. Originally aired on TV as a 10 part mini-series, this release recaptures the power and glory of the reign of Africa's most influential military genius and warrior and contains footage never before seen on television.This is the true epic drama of tribal Africa during the 19th century and Shaka, the mighty Zulu leader.
link

I tink it would be difficult to do well (ie, not putting on 21st Century [Western] views into the mouth of a 19th C Zulu). But if it had half-decent production values then yes, I'd go and see it.

Now, a film about one of the New Zealand Wars from the Maori point of view might actually be easier to do, and surely there's a director out there who might be able to get the finance…

I've seen Shaka guys, thanks for the suggestion. But I'm much more interested in the Zulu view of the British invasion, not the inter-tribal war.

"Now, a film about one of the New Zealand Wars from the Maori point of view might actually be easier to do, and surely there's a director out there who might be able to get the finance…"

Peter Jackson?

I think Shaka Zulu a mini series from the late 80s? did that already.
VR
James Mattes

I'd be interested, with the same caveats as Lentulus.

@Advocate, Utu and The River Queen go pretty far in filling that bill.

Any group can get a film made, they just have to come up with the millions it takes. A good historical movie, made with decent actors, a good script, the needed extras, CGI and all the extras will cost 50-100 million.

A small western with a couple of characters, a few dozen extras and a pre-built set will run about 20 million and that only if the 'name' actors are willing to work below scale.

Dan

Shaka Zulu mini-series was/is da bomb. BTW, I caught this S. African (I think) movie the other night on Comcast. The opening scene has mercs (one is the main character) in Angola in the '80s. Fast-fwd 10-yrs now in S. Africa, the main character now a lawyer ends up defending an African kid accused of chopping up a small child because he thought it was a demon. Pretty good – can't recall the name right now (again, slaving away at work). Dean

I think the difficulty of making a film like that is that most people who would be interested in seeing it know a good bit about the British forces involved or at least have an idea about the two films, which gives them some concept of what happened.

So some mystery of it is lost because you are coming to an audience that has something of an understanding of the enemy. It is like portraying the loneliness and sense of bewilderment that combat veterans sometimes feel upon coming home. The world looks like the world to most of the audience so showing us the world is tough to make look weird. The world didn't change as much as they did.

the same thing would be true for this. Much of the audience wwould be somewhat familiar with the british, rifles and a european military organization so portraying them as a mysterious thing would be difficult if not impossible.

That is not to say that I wouldn't like to see a zulu war movie focusing on one of the zulu commanders, or even the zulu soldiers, I think it would be great. In fact, the more zulu war movies the better. At this point I'd take one from a bovine point of view, honestly.

But it would be nice to have good characters, character development, a plot, and other elements that would make it interesting rather than a total load of bull kaka.

Well said PS!

No problems with it at all, we have seen War films from the German perspective etc. But how much make up will Mel Gibson require?

Tally Ho!

Well I wnet out with a Zulu girl for a while in Doncaster and she and her family all loved the original Zulu and Zulu Dawn…But a film from the Zulu point of view would be good especially if they did Rorkes Drift accurately…

Any Zulu War movie would be good to see, IMHO. The concern I'd have with the way you lay out your preferred premise and POV is that it might turn into a one-sided, extremely politically correct spin on the evils of European imperialism (which is not to say European imperialism didn't come complete with a bunch of evils).

Uesugi, are you "in the industry"? You're here in Los Angeles, so I figure it's certainly possible. You've been tearing up these boards with "historical movie" posts so I had to ask!

From time to time a historical military project makes it through the many layers of opposition and resistance which must be overcome for any movie or TV show to actually reach an audience. I think it's a little difficult for anyone who hasn't seen the process at very close range to understand just how stacked the odds are against success, even with the most obviously commercial subject matter, let alone if the story focuses on something different.

But all that being said, it's not impossible -- not even for an Anglo-Zulu War movie focused on characters from the Zulu side (witness Hollywood studio movies such as "The Beast" and "Apocalypto" and the previously mentioned New Zealand film "Utu"). You just have to have the right script at the right time and the right place with the right elements attached -- which is kind of like having all the planets of the Solar System lined up for a giant system-wide eclipse! Every now and then it does happen.

By the way, my own big problem with "The Last Samurai" isn't the white guy at the center -- after all, it was a big Hollywood studio movie. My big problem was the American war the script chose to use as the American military hero's personal reference point for the war he was recruited to fight in Japan. Using the Indian Wars as the American version of reactionary Samurai vs. Meiji modern army during the Satsuma Rebellion was INSANE to me. The accurate American version would have been out own AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. After all, both sides in the Satsuma Rebellion were products of the exact same civilization (if the movie was about the Meiji wiping out the Ainu it would have been different). The South saw themselves, at least in part, as fighting to defend the values of a heroic -- almost to the point of legendary -- historical past, just like the Samurai rebels. But if the script had done that it wouldn't have involved Tom Cruise's awful memories of massacring Native Americans, plus it might have made the Japanese and their political and military problems too much like our own.

Sorry to rant so far off your topic! Back to Zululand: get that movie made and I'm there, dude!

I do live in LaLa land but I'm not in THAT industry. Like anyone living in LA I do know people in the industry and could always get the right script into the right hands ;-)

Wife is an actress, best friend is a movie editor, second best friend is an emmy winning writer, and another friend is a movie director who is trying to get a project up and running about Admiral Nelson. So there you go!

Well, you're married to the industry, can't get much closer than that!

Zulu Dawn made a half hearted effort to do so. I recall that there were two young Zulu warriors that got some extra camera time and you sort of got their perspective on things, but not on a grand tactical scale.

Apocalypto does a great job in telling a story from an indigenous pov. IMO anyway – not being very knowledgeable about pre-Columbian society personally.

So it seems it can be done.