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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

directed by Cy Endfield
U.S. 1964

No matter its shortcomings, it is difficult to discredit a film that pulls off an entire second half of nonstop, exciting action in a way that isn’t completely mind-numbing. Zulu’s scenes of war move with intelligence and grace, and its battle sequences are true sights to behold. It’s when the characters open their mouths and actually try to speak real dialogue that the movie deflates: The entire first half is a big, meandering mess of clichés and racial stereotypes. But those battle sequences—wow.

Zulu concerns the true, often referenced story of a British supply station that found itself under attack by Zulu warriors in 1870s in the scorching hot African terrain. The warriors’ number was 4000 strong, and they moved from one British post to the next, in an effort to rid their country of unwanted foreigners. The British encampment that finally held them off consisted of only 139 men, who knew that the warriors were coming when they discovered that a neighboring army encampment, consisting of around 1400 British soldiers, had been slaughtered by the tribesmen. Fearing the worst, the small encampment waited for the Zulu warriors to come, and when they finally did, the battle lasted for twelve hours before they fought to a standstill, and the African warriors eventually retreated.

That’s quite a story, and Zulu films half of it right. Fortunately, it’s the half that counts. When the Zulu warriors finally line the dry, sandy horizon as far as the eye can see and chant their death cries, it is a sight to behold. We sense the terror in this small handful of British officers, whose guns tremble at the sight of these angry warriors. Once the charge takes place and the battle ensues, the suspense, action, and gripping drama never lets ups, and it only releases when the fight finally comes to its standstill. By the end, we wipe our foreheads with the surviving Brits, and wonder as much as they do how on earth they managed to endure against the odds. Director Cy Endfield skillfully makes use of literally every spear thrown, every bullet shot, every order given, every drop of blood shed, and every ounce of sweat spilt. It’s sheer cinema, and it’s quite a ride.

Excerpt from danel_the_tinman at the Film as Art website located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Premiere - January 22nd, 1964 - U.K.

Reviews                      More Reviews                        DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Paramount - Region 2/4 - PAL vs. Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Paramount Region 0 Blu-ray

Big thanks to Roland Lataille for the MGM Screen Caps! Thanks Roland !

and to Ole of DVDBasen for the PAL Screen Caps!

and to Mark Wilson for all of the Goodtimes (and Laserdisc)  screen captures! 

(Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT vs. Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT)

(Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM LEFT vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM MIDDLE) vs. Paramount - Region 0 - Blu-ray - BOTTOM RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers

 

 

 

 

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Goodtimes

 

Bitrate:

Paramount R2/4

 

Bitrate:

Front Row

 

Bitrate:

MGM

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

Comments: NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Paramount Blu-ray - December 08': This disc is region 0 and will play on Blu-ray machines around the entire world without any region-locking encumbrances.

Unreal. This comparison may be one of the 'poster boys' for the Blu-ray format. Although the MGM DVD from 2003 was vastly ahead of the other standard definition transfers - the hi-def Blu-ray blows all of them right out of the water. Aside from the expected colors (see deep rich reds) and detail being abundantly superior this new Paramount disc shows incredible depth. It is framed in around 2.25:1 and is marginally cropped beside the MGM but aside from that the Blu-ray is ridiculously improved. The disc is approaching 40 Gig with the feature being over 35 Gig. The bitrate is 35.1 - almost 5 times that of the competent MGM DVD. Wow - this image quality is one of the most stunning of the year compounded by the fact the film is almost 45 years old. Any old fans of this classic should get the kids in front of their 60 inch TV stands to introduce them to this incredible film finally available on Blu-ray.

Audio sounds clean but is still only a 2.0 track (original?) and there are optional English or English (SDH) subtitles available.

Extras duplicate the Paramount PAL release from 2002 with the excellent commentary and extensive featurette (divided into sections) - playable on my Region 'A' machine.

Certainly this should receive some attention in our year-end poll. A highly memorable film looking, digitally, far better than ever before. Absolutely recommended!

- Gary W. Tooze

***

 

DVD comparisons: The Goodtimes Region 0 version of Zulu is cropped similarly to the Front Row Entertainment Region 0. The Goodtimes contrast has been boosted and the image is only slightly sharper than the very hazy Front Row DVD. Both are extremely poor and not worth owning even if given as a present.

The Paramount Region 2 - PAL is only slightly behind the new MGM Region 1 edition, but has a wonderful commentary and two "Making of" documentaries. It is slightly cropped, most noticeably on the left edge. The colors of the 2 editions are very similar with the PAL version being marginally saturated. For the film get the MGM, but if you are a big fan of the film then you may want to also own the Region 2/4 for the extensive extras. Anyway, it is nice to have options.

Previous: I don't think that Front Row Entertainment is in business any longer... well, at least the stated website URL on their DVD covers is no longer functioning.... and probably with good reason. The Front Row disc is pretty badly cropped almost exclusively on the sides. The MGM has a solid image, detailed with good colors and it adheres to the original aspect ratio. There really isn't much of a comparison to make, but I will state that the MGM Region 1 DVD is really bare bones with only a trailer as an extra. It has the original Mono soundtrack which is clear. Beside the Front Row disc the MGM looks stupendous, but I do see a shade of edge enhancement but it appears to be the best DVD in Region 1 for this film at the present time. 

- Gary W. Tooze

 

Distribution

Goodtimes R0 - NTSC

Region 0  - NTSC

Paramount 
Region 2/4 - PAL
Runtime 2:17:30 2:12:39 (4% PAL speedup)
Video

2.13:1 Cropped
Average Bitrate: 4.4 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

2.30:1 Slightly cropped 16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.68
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)(DD2.0 Surround), Italian (DD2.0 Stereo) French and Spanish (DD1.0 Mono)

English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)

Subtitles None English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, Greek, Croatian, Slovenian and none.
Features Release Information:
Studio: Gootimes

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen  - 2.13:1

Edition Details:
• none

DVD Release Date: ?
Keep Case

Chapters 18

Release Information:
Studio: Paramount (Australia)

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.30:1



Edition Details:

• 2 X Making of (25:47)(20:04)(Anamorphic WS), • Commentary with Sheldon Hall and Robert Porter (Subtitled in English, French, Italian and Spanish), • Theatrical Trailer (3:40) (Anamorphic WS), Teaser Trailer.

DVD Release Date: Dec 2002
Keep Case

Chapters 16

 

Distribution

Front Row Entertainment

Region 0  - NTSC

MGM 
Region 1 - NTSC
Paramount 
Region 0 - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:18:35 2:18:05 2:18:24.296
Video

2.12:1 Cropped
Average Bitrate: 4.16 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.84
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

2.25:1

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Feature: 35,302,712,064 bytes

Disc Size: 38,676,618,620 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Average Bitrate: 34.01 Mbps

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles None English, Spanish, French and none English, English (SDH) and none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Front Row Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen - 2.12:1

Edition Details:
• none

DVD Release Date: October 20, 1998
Keep Case

Chapters 10

Release Information:
Studio: M G M, Inc

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1



Edition Details:

• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
• Theatrical trailer
• Widescreen anamorphic format

DVD Release Date: May 20, 2003
Keep Case

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio: Paramount

 

Aspect Ratio: 2.25:1

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Feature: 35,302,712,064 bytes

Disc Size: 38,676,618,620 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Average Bitrate: 34.01 Mbps

Edition Details:

• Commentary with Robert Porter and film historian Sheldon Hall
“The Music of Zulu”
“Zulu: Remembering an Epic”
“The Making of Zulu: Role of Honor”
“The Making of Zulu:…Snappeth the Spear in Sunder”
Theatrical trailer

 

Blu-ray Release Date: November 3rd, 2008
Standard UK Blu-ray case (slightly thicker)

Chapters 15

 


DVD Menus

(Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

 


 

(Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

 


Screen Captures

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Paramount - Region 2/4 - PAL - 2nd

3) Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd

4) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th

5) Paramount (UK) - Region 0 - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


 

Criterion Laserdisc capture:

 

 


 

1) Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Paramount - Region 2/4 - PAL - 2nd

3) Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd

4) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th

5) Paramount (UK) - Region 0 - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


 

1) Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Paramount - Region 2/4 - PAL - 2nd

3) Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd

4) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th

5) Paramount (UK) - Region 0 - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


 

1) Goodtimes - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Paramount - Region 2/4 - PAL - 2nd

3) Front Row Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd

4) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th

5) Paramount (UK) - Region 0 - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray

 

DVD Box Covers

 

 

 

 


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Image:

Paramount Blu-ray

Sound:

-

Extras: Paramount / Paramount Blu-ray
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Gary Tooze