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Thomas Reiter
Amazing Story, Production,
What I liked best was the ambivalent nature of all of the main characters, not the two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs typically encountered in movies (and series). Shaka, while certainly a great leader, warrior, and king, is also certainly an utterly ruthless, blood-stained tyrant; this production does an amazing job of illustrating these and other facets of the man. As other reviewers note, Henry Cele was just amazing in this role.
The English characters were also portrayed well; the leader, Lt. Farewell, is depicted as a well-intentioned rogue seeking ivory, but ultimately his relationship with Shaka changes him. Normally he might not be a very sympathetic character, but compared to the British colonial officials in Capetown, he is practically a paragon of wisdom and virtue. The Scottish doctor meanwhile attempts with rather limited success to school Shaka in the tenents of the Christian faith–Shaka has a way of turning all of the doctor’s earnest efforts completely backwards.
Finally, a comment about the large portion of the series devoted to Shaka’s birth and childhood–it is Shakespeare and Greek tragedy rolled into one–prophecies, witchcraft, parricide, regicide, vengeance, love, war, etc. Very very interesting.
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|Roberto Frangie
Quite rewarding!,
Indeed the prophecy shaped the event and Shaka was the ruthless founder of southern Africa’s Zulu Empire… In less than a decade, the paramount chieftain of the Zulu clan revolutionized the techniques of tribal warfare and fashioned an efficient and terrifying fighting force that devastated the entire region…
Set against the emergence of British power in Africa during the early 19th Century, the film provides some valuable insights into comparative cultures…
Shaka (Henry Cele) is a man of considerable height, thin, with athletic body and white teeth who can read and write… He is a great warrior, tactically, strategically and physically… He rearms his army with a long-bladed, short-shafted stabbing spear, which forced them to fight at close quarters… He goes for extermination, incorporating the remnants of the clans he smashed into the Zulu, making it increase with numbers and power..
The Mini-Series begins with a letter to the British king (George IV) regarding the Zulus’ potential threat to the Cape Colony… In an attempt to intimidate Shaka into an alliance with the British empire, the Secretary of War sends a delegation to inner African to meet with the fearful warrior…
We see :
– The meeting of Nandi, an orphaned princess of the neighboring Langeni clan and Senzangakona, the chief of the then small Zulu tribe… They are instantly attracted to each other… Nandi becomes pregnant, at the same time as Kona’s wife, but the marriage did not last… Their marriage violated Zulu custom, and the stigma of this extended to the child…
– The couple separated when Shaka was six, and Nandi took her son back to the Langeni, where he passed a fatherless boyhood among a people who despised his mother and made him the butt of endless cruel pranks… He grew up to be bitter and angry, hating his tormentors… The Langeni drove Nandi out, and she finally found shelter with the Dletsheni, a subclan of the powerful Mtetwa…
– Shaka ruled with an iron hand from the beginning, distributing instant death for the slightest opposition…
– While en route to Shaka’s capital, the crew’s doctor saves a girl who is in a coma and nearly buried alive by her tribe… Impressed by both the deed and their horses, Shaka agrees to meet with the crew… And so begins the clash of two cultures, two different worlds…
– Shaka, seriously wounded for saving an unknown warrior (King Dingiswayo), is nursed to health by a beautiful Mtwetwa girl…
– Shaka, believing in total annihilation, joins the Mtwetwa army and creates a dangerous weapon for the African warfare…
– Shaka grants Port Natal, with its ivory rights, to the British crew after he is saved by the crew’s doctor from an assassination attempt…
– Shaka’s mighty army saving the British delegation in a battle against thousands of Ndwandwe warriors… To test the alliance and allegiance of the British delegation, Shaka orders them into battle alone against the Ndwandwe warriors…
– With his mother’s death Shaka becomes openly psychotic… Thousands are killed in the initial paroxysm of his grief…
– Shaka rules by the sheer force of his personality, building, by scores of daily executions, a fear so profound that he could afford to ignore it…
Set against the spectacular panorama of the Zulu tribal homelands, and with graphic violence and frequent nudity, “Shaka Zulu” is a tremendous epic Mini-Series, chronicling the rise and fall of one of the most famous South Africans who has already passed into legend…
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|K. Harris
Africa’s Warrior King Returns To DVD In This Re-release Of 1986’s Controversial Miniseries,
DVD Details: If you own the prior DVD release and are only interested to know if this is a noteworthy upgrade, I’m not sure it’s worth a reinvestment. While the picture is cleaned up with this remaster, it doesn’t make a huge difference overall. Also, there are no audio option choices and the soundtrack can still feel a bit thin at times. No new special features are included either. The interviews with William C. Faure, Dudu Mkhize and Henry Cele are carried over. In short, if you already own–I wouldn’t bother with this as an upgrade. If you don’t own it, I do recommend it.
Sadly, I am old enough to remember when the epic 10-part miniseries “Shaka Zulu” debuted on American television in the mid-eighties. At the time, TV miniseries were a prominent and successful genre on network stations and many of them combined historical themes with personal stories to become rating blockbusters. This presentation from the South African Broadcasting Company (it is filmed entirely in South Africa) was picked up by cable affiliates to capitalize on that current interest. Like many entertainment programs with a basis in history, “Shaka Zulu” has been criticized through the years for playing fast and loose with the facts and for being largely speculative in detailing the more intimate moments of the story. That may well be and is certainly not uncommon for this type of programming, but I never expect a precise historical lesson when watching fictionalized entertainment. What the show did, and quite successfully, was to introduce a completely new world to viewers. This was my first exposure to the Shaka Zulu legend and I found the miniseries refreshingly different. So I jumped at the chance to pick up this newly remastered 4 DVD set.
“Shaka Zulu” tells the story of a nineteenth century African King who came to power through a combination of cunning and aggression. After uniting the warring tribes of his nation into a spectacular force, he then turned against Colonial rule in a stunning show of strength. It’s nice to see the production shot from Shaka Zulu’s perspective (as opposed to the British) and the story is characterized by a brutality that was uncommon at the time of its premiere. It is a terrific biography told over 8 hours and 40 minutes, but it is not always a perfect one. The pacing of the show can fluctuate wildly. Some moments are incredibly intense and unforgettable, other segments lull. There are elements of soap opera intrigue dropped into the story to personalize the characters that sometimes seem at odds with the rawness (and grandness) of the rest of the tale. Exiled as a boy, fighting in a ravaged land, and ascending to the top of the political spectrum in the ultimate act of defiance–sometimes there is almost too much going on to keep track of. Other times (including the first episode), you wish that more would be happening. Yet despite some of these minor issues, I heartily recommend “Shaka Zulu” to fans of historical fiction.
Perhaps the strongest selling point of this interpretation is the bold and fearless leading performance by Henry Cele. Cele is so strong and so magnetic, it is hard to tear your eyes away from him. His role has many layers, and Cele can be both charming and horrifying in equal proportion. The cast also includes some familiar faces in Christopher Lee, Edward Fox, and Trevor Howard. But despite the recognition factor and the uniformly good performances across the board, this really is Cele’s piece to carry and he does so quite ably. Again, I won’t contend that “Shaka Zulu” is a perfect presentation. Some of the authenticity factor is lost, as well, with an English soundtrack. It does, however, look great. The locations, staging, and other technical aspects are noteworthy. And I really think this stands as an interesting counterpoint to what American networks were producing at the time. Bold, riveting, and sometimes unpleasant, “Shaka Zulu” (despite a few issues) is still a relevant and entertaining look at a fascinating historical personage. KGHarris, 11/12.
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