Could Zulu ever be remade?

[indolover]

I think Zulu is one of the all-time great war movies, but could it ever be remade?

Obviously using the same actors wouldn't work. Most are dead, whilst Sir Michael Caine is old. But with new actors, I don't see why it can't be pulled off. Moreover, production issues in South Africa (as existed in 1960s aparthied South Africa) wouldn't exist now. Maybe viewing things from the Zulus' standpoint would be better, and some subtitles when they sing their war chants.

 

[Greg Cox]

Sure, just make it a science fiction movie, and turn the Zulus into aliens.

Or zombies . . . .

 

[marillion]

I watch this every time it's on.. Love it..

I can certainly see this being re-made, but I do think more Zulu perspective would be included, and frankly, welcome.

I see Colin Ferrell in a role, perhaps as the bad-boy soldier role, who turns hero, but maybe as one of the Lts. in charge... Any one of the many Brit actors de jour would be good. Clive Owen, David Tennant, etc... I could even see Michael Caine cast as a General signing orders from afar..

Of course, Johnny Depp would have to fit in somewhere.

 

[Shazam!]

Sure, just make it a science fiction movie, and turn the Zulus into aliens.

Would you like to know more?

 

[DarKush]

Sure, just make it a science fiction movie, and turn the Zulus into aliens.

Or zombies . . . .

Why the Zulus got to be the aliens or zombies?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yknow I've never seen that movie. Netflix time!

But if PC considerations would nix a remake, the solution is easy. Make the Zulus the good guys. Weren't they pretty much the good guys anyway, fighting colonial oppressors and whatnot? At the very least, no worse than the colonial oppressors.

Of course, Johnny Depp would have to fit in somewhere.

Snarky and frequently drunk American journalist covering the war for the New York Herald-Tribune. A cross between Arthur Kennedy's role in Lawrence of Arabia and Hunter S. Thompson.

 

[Deckerd]

Don't you wave that bloody spear at me!

 

[timothy]

Sure, just make it a science fiction movie, and turn the Zulus into aliens.

Or zombies . . . .

Why the Zulus got to be the aliens or zombies?

no the british are the aliens and zombies.


no zulu is a great movie how about a remake of roots as a science fiction movie.

 

[DarKush]

Yknow I've never seen that movie. Netflix time!

But if PC considerations would nix a remake, the solution is easy. Make the Zulus the good guys. Weren't they pretty much the good guys anyway, fighting colonial oppressors and whatnot? At the very least, no worse than the colonial oppressors.

Of course, Johnny Depp would have to fit in somewhere.

Snarky and frequently drunk American journalist covering the war for the New York Herald-Tribune.

A lot of folks, though I think its generally from more conservative quarters like to complain about "PC" this or "PC" that, as if its such an imposition on them to actually consider and be considerate to another put of view or other groups of people not their own. I'm not saying that's you, just it saddens me at times to see all the fulmination about political correctness run amok, when it's just an excuse for them to be as rude, racist, bigoted, xenophobic, homophobic, and sexist as they want to be.

Personally I don't care if they remake this film or not. I do own a copy of it. I haven't watched it in years, and I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing. If they did, there's no need for "PC" concerns to nix it. Just be more sensitive and accurate in the potrayals on both sides. Or switch the point of view.

I don't think we should run from history or bury it, but be more honest in its depiction, and not give into the crying from some who want to paint history with a Eurocentric tint.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Can you envision Hollywood making a movie extolling a bunch of white guys with guns slaughtering a bunch of nonwhite guys with spears?

Hollywood is PC. They'd never remake it nowadays, at least not that way. There are whole lots of topics Hollywood is too chicken to touch.

I wouldn't mind watching a movie or TV show that gets slammed for being un-PC. I'd watch it and judge it on its own merits. I get sick of the cultural nannies telling us what we can or can't like, as if we're children and can't figure out if something is bullshit. Now we have SF city bureaucrats trying to tell NBC to cancel The Playboy Club. I'm sure NBC got a good laugh out of that one. Maybe the show is good, maybe it's bad, maybe it's sexist and maybe it's the opposite. I'll check it out and decide for myself.

 

[Greg Cox]

Now we have SF city bureaucrats trying to tell NBC to cancel The Playboy Club. I'm sure NBC got a good laugh out of that one. .

Why single out San Francisco? Last I heard, it the NBC affiliate in Utah that was actually refusing to air that show.

I could be wrong, but I don't believe Salt Lake City is exactly a bastion of political correctness . . . .

 

[DarKush]

So, movies like Rambo or Tears from the Sun don't count? Granted it was established that they were 'bad' people of color but I don't think most audiences shrank in revulsion. Or what about 300, where every 'bad' person was dark skinned, physically challenged, or possibly homosexual? They were killed with impunity. The upcoming movie Machine Gun Preacher probably won't be too shy about having Gerard Butler tear through African militias. And TV has quite its share of black, Latino 'thugs' and lowlifes and Arab terrorists, all generally arrested, beat up, or eliminated by a white savior. Hollywood isn't as PC as some people think it is. To me Hollywood continues to promulgate the society's ideas about race, etc. There are a lot of shows and movies that are 'un-PC': Family Guy, South Park, Jersey Shore, many of the rauch cinematic comedies like Hangover. It makes one wonder what exactly is "PC" anymore these days.

And for many I think it would take quite a leap to identify with Zulus on a level where they could be the good guys. It is far more easier to put them in the zombie, alien category because many people of color remain the "Other" in America's consciousness. So they are, in a sense, not as human as white Americans.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Sure, just make it a science fiction movie, and turn the Zulus into aliens.

Or zombies . . . .

Yeah, I was going to say it was remade as "Battle: Los Angeles"

I suppose the question is if a movie where white people kill African natives could be remade today. Same with Westerns where the villains are Native Americans.

I think a different take on the war, that gives both sides of the story might be feasible. The Zulu weren't exactly locals rising up from British rule, they were conquerors themselves, which complicates things. The political intrigues of the Zulu might be worth exploring, but I don't think Hollywood has the attention span for that.

 

[Goliath]

Sure, just make it a science fiction movie, and turn the Zulus into aliens.

Would you like to know more?

I saw what you did there, Rico.

I wouldn't be averse to a remake of Zulu. The Battle of Rorke's Drift is a pretty extraordinary story. It was more than just "white people killing Africans": it was in many ways a 19th-century Black Hawk Down.

What makes it even more extraordinary is that it came hard on the heels of one of the few indigenous victories over the forces of 19th-century colonialism, at the Battle of Isandhlwana. The Zulus wiped out an entire column of British troops and native auxiliaries: this battle has also been shown on film, in the movie Zulu Dawn.

The whole "epic last stand" aspect of the story makes it a natural for dramatization. But any modern remake would have to do justice to the morally dodgy situation the British were in. It would have to be handled very carefully, to avoid coming off as a celebration of imperialism. Showing more of the Zulu perspective would help, by making clear that what was a triumph for the British was a tragedy for the Zulus.

In the hands of a truly skilled filmmaker, it would make an effective examination of the ambivalent nature of the martial virtues. Should we admire soldiers who fight skillfully and bravely in a bad cause?