Usyk vs an African Zulu from Zululand for the WBO world cruiserweight title Saturday 17 Dec. Usyk is a 16 to 1 favorite.
Terrific movie featuring the actual Zulu nation - "Zulu", 1964.
That movie was rather anti-white, certainly anti-English and anti-Christian. It was directed and co-written by an American Jew,
Cy Endfield, who also wrote
Zulu Dawn, which was very anti-white.
In reality most of the British soldiers were English, but in the movie they were made out to be Welsh. And the movie was anti-Christian in it's DISHONEST portrayal of the Witts and failure to include the brave padre George Smith.
From wiki:
The regiment
- The 24th Regiment of Foot is described as a Welsh regiment: in fact, although it was based in Brecon in South Wales, its designation was the '24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot'. It did not become the South Wales Borderers until 1881. Of the soldiers present, 49 were English, 32 Welsh, 16 Irish and 22 others of indeterminate nationality.
- The song "Men of Harlech" features prominently as the regimental song; it did not become so until later. At the time of the battle, the regimental song was "The Warwickshire Lad". There was no "battlefield singing contest" between the British and the Zulus.
The Witts
There are several inconsistencies with the historical record concerning the Swedish missionaries, the Witts.
In the film, Witt is depicted as a middle-aged widower, a pacifist and drunkard, who has an adult daughter called Margareta. In reality, Otto Witt was aged 30 and had a wife, Elin, and two infant children. Witt's family were 30 kilometres (19 mi) away at the time of the battle. On the morning of the battle, Otto Witt, with the chaplain, George Smith and Surgeon-Major James Henry Reynolds had ascended Shiyane, the large hill near the station, and noticed the approach of the Zulu force across the Buffalo River.
Far from being a pacifist, Witt had co-operated closely with the army and negotiated a lease to put Rorke's Drift at Lord Chelmsford's disposal. Witt made it clear that he did not oppose British intervention against Cetshwayo.
He had stayed at Rorke's Drift because he wished "to take part in the defence of my own house and at the same time in the defence of an important place for the whole colony, yet my thoughts went to my wife and to my children, who were at a short distance from there, and did not know anything of what was going on". He therefore left on horseback to join his family shortly before the battle.
The men of the regiment[edit]
- Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead: Chard had received his commission in April 1868, making Bromhead the junior officer and second-in-command at the Drift even though he was an infantryman and Chard was an engineer. In the film, it is stated that Bromhead received his commission only three months after Chard when, in fact, it was a full three years after Chard.
- Surgeon Reynolds: During the Battle of Rorke's Drift, Reynolds went around the barricades, distributing ammunition and tending to the wounded there, something that is not shown in the film. During the closing voiceover, he is also incorrectly referred to as "Surgeon-Major, Army Hospital Corps"; Reynolds was of the Army Medical Department, and was not promoted to the rank of Surgeon-Major until after the action at Rorke's Drift. The pacifism apparent in Magee's portrayal is also somewhat anachronistic and not based on the historical Surgeon Reynolds.
- Private Henry Hook VC is depicted as a rogue with a penchant for alcohol; in fact he was a model soldier who later became a sergeant; he was also a teetotaller. While the film has him in the hospital "malingering, under arrest", he had actually been assigned there specifically to guard the building. The filmmakers felt that the story needed an anti-hero who redeems himself in the course of events, but the film's presentation of Hook caused his daughter to walk out of the film premiere in disgust.
- Conversely, Corporal William Allen is depicted as a model soldier; in fact, he had recently been demoted from sergeant for drunkenness.
- Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne (1854–1945) is depicted as a big, hardened, middle-aged veteran; in fact, he was of modest stature and, aged 24, the youngest colour sergeant in the British Army.[18] He was called "The Kid" by his men.[19] Colour Sergeant Bourne would not have worn medals on his duty uniform. Moreover, Green's costume has the chevrons on the wrong arm. After the battle Bourne was offered a commission but turned it down because he lacked the money necessary to serve as a commissioned officer; he did accept a commission in 1890. He was the last British survivor of the Battle and died as a full Colonel.
- The role of Padre George Smith ("Ammunition" Smith) is completely ignored.
- Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess was only 22, significantly younger than the actor who portrayed him.
- The detachment of cavalry from "Durnford's Horse" who ride up to the mission station were members of the Natal Native Contingent, mainly composed of black riders (rather than the local white farmers depicted in the film), who had survived the Battle of Isandlwana and had ridden to Rorke's Drift to warn and aid the garrison there. They were present during the opening action with the Zulus, but then rode off as they had very little ammunition for their cavalry carbines. Captain Stephenson is depicted at their head; in reality he was leading the NNC infantry, who had already deserted.
- The uniforms of the Natal Native Contingent are inaccurate: NNC troops were not issued with European-style clothes. Only their European officers wore (makeshift) uniforms. The rank and file wore traditional tribal garb topped by a red rag worn around the forehead (as correctly depicted in the prequel Zulu Dawn). The story of their desertion is true. However, as Witt had already left, he was not responsible for their departure. They left of their own accord, with Captain Stephenson and his European NCOs.[22] These deserters were fired-at as they left and one of their NCOs, Corporal Anderson, was killed. Stephenson was later convicted of desertion at a court-martial and dismissed from the army.
Ending
The ending of the film is somewhat fictitious. There was no Zulu attack at dawn on 23 January 1879, which in the film led to the singing of "Men of Harlech". There was only sparse fighting with a few remaining Zulus.
Around 8:00 am, another force appeared, the defenders abandoned their breakfast and manned their positions again. The approaching troops were the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford's relief column.
The Zulus did not sing a song saluting fellow warriors, and they did not depart peacefully. They departed at the approach of the British relief column.
