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Date	Original Topic
19th November 2002	New 'Zulu' DVD By Leigh Tarrant Just wanted to be the first to review the new DVD release of 'Zulu' 1964. Well,.....Good. Very Good in fact. A nice well presented box (Including a Michael Caine picture with a feather!) outer sleeve, then the usual standard DVD case inside. Think it would have been nice to go back to the original artwork for a change on this one, as know previous Video releases had ever ventured into. The extras are the main thing here....Nice to see it released in a new Stereo surround sound anamorphic 2:35 widescreen edition too. The picture is superb...The best I've seen actually, Makes the film look a bit younger...very sharp picture quality, and nice cutting sound. Looks far better than many cinema prints that were flying around in the early seventies. So the extras....Nice audio commentary by two individuals...although Rob (2nd unit director) doesn't always know the answers to the filming as fired at him by film historian Shelden, but none the less very interesting bits and pieces along the way....The 'Making of' is down as two parts, but are all of the same documentary, with intresting interviews with Lady Baker and James Booth amongst many others...Nice to see some rare black and white photos from the film which haven't been seen before.....also included is the original theatrical trailer for good measure. So whats missing....???? Well, It would have been nice to see some of the out takes that were shot but never used.....perhaps to it would have been nice to see some 'real' footage of the making of that I think was shot at the time, but has never seen the light of day, whatever happened to that footage??? Also it would have been nice to get a little comment from Michael Caine somewhere along the way.... Perhaps too even a little isolated score from John Barry wouldn't have gone a miss, Maybe too a stills gallery....But overall, A very worthy, and glorious job done by Paramount.....Now lets see it re-released in the cinema please...there's a whole new generation out there. Nine out of Ten. Oh yeah - Can't wait for the forthcoming book!!!
Date	Replies
19th November 2002	Mo Jones As the founder of the The 1879 Group nearly 5 years ago in Brecon Barracks and one of those whose interest stems from the film " Zulu " and I today received my copy of the new release and agree it is a well put together D V D for once on the subject. In one of the documentaries James Booth at last puts in a form of apology to why he played the part of Henry Hook like he did. It seems that the money men need a villian and it fell on Hooks part but in the doc James puts that right for the record. I had the great pleasure of phoning our Patron Mr Henry Bunting, Hooks Grandson to inform him of this and he basically said after nearly 40 years they have put the record straight at last. Anyway overall a good new release of a great film.
8th December 2002	Scott Plummer I must admit to being a little disappointed with the newly released Special Collectors Edition DVD of "Zulu". Having newly acquired a DVD player, one of my first disc purchases was the film "Zulu". On discovering this special edition (only just released last week in Australia ) I quickly upgraded my copy as I find the commentary tracks one of the most interesting advantages of DVD over video. I now almost wish I didn't bother parting with more money. Granted there is a major problem with a film made almost 40 years ago in that few of the participants are still with us, but I feel a better choice than Robert Porter ( 2nd Unit Director) for the commentary track should have been made. He seemed to know very little about key aspects of the filming, had limited contact with the actors, and is frequently unable to answer Sheldon Hall's questions. He also has a limited grasp of the history of the period making irritating errors and painful mispronunciations.In the end I found the commentary very irritating and it detracted from my enjoyment, rather than adding much to the film experience. It is a wonder why Sheldon Hall was not left to do much of the commentary with perhaps James Booth ( Pte Hook ) providing insights into the filming done in England, and Glynn Edwards ( Cpl Allen ) to describe the South African shoot. Both actors gave interesting and amusing insights in the separate "The Making of Zulu " documentary. The extra documentary was indeed of value ( with Bob Porter also participating, and repeating anecdotes made in the commentary ! ) but seemed a bit brief and lightweight. Often divergent stories were told highlighting how sometimes the memory had dimmed 40 years on. I had been hoping that this documentary would have had more substance. I seem to recall reading on the IMDB site some months ago that a 50 minute black and white film on the making of "Zulu " had been shot and I was hoping that this would appear on the DVD. I thought the "Black as Hell, Thick as Grass" doco might have been an appropriate addition but am pleased to read elsewhere on this website that exhortations are being made for this to be released on a separate DVD. Despite these whinges, it is great to see the film on DVD format with the improved picture quality and sound that this medium affords. I only wish the Special Collectors DVD delivered more than it promised ( with its higher price tag ! )
21st December 2002	Chris Evans Zulu appears to have been released on DVD by a number of different distribution companies, at least here in the US. I'd love to replace my substandard copy with one that has extras worthy of the name and a new transfer. Is the latest release available in Region 1? And what is the name of the distributor? (There was a recent release, but the distributor is Good Times - and they're not known for quality)