Watch Shaka Zulu For Free

I wanted to but couldn't!

Admirable film.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I must say I was sorry when I got to the 10th and last episode of "Shaka Zulu". I totally agree with the review by njmollo, very good. The acting of Shaka by Henry Cele is really what made the movie as good as it was and I could not think of anyone else acting as Shaka after having seen Henry Cele as Shaka, it has to be the top casting and acting ever. I find it incredible disappointing that when I look up Shaka Zulu the first actors mentioned are the white English actors, not Henry Cele??? Not saying that the acting by the English was not good but certainly not superior to all the black actors who were very good, such a pleasure to watch as was the portrayal of the Zulu culture and lifestyle. Loved it.

As someone who is very interested in the Zulu nation and having read many books on this subject particularly The Washing of Spears by Donald R Morris- I was looking forward to watching the DVD box set. I had caught odd episode repeats on TV and wanted to view it properly. However, I was disappointed with it. The editing was appalling. SCenes suddenly ended as the screen went black and new scenes started without any natural chronology - I assume to fit in adverts on TV. Whole scenes of the tribal episodes had the use of the Zulu language without subtitles so there was no explanation of what was happening. Additionally, some of the local actors used had such thick accents they needed subtitles when speaking English and some of the acting was very stilted and wooden. Also the battle scenes although they had a cast of thousands looked artificial. Warriors were dying all over the place with a bit of tomato sauce and no real injury. Shaka saves a warrior who has a spear in his back, when he meets him later there is no scar. The fighting had no real explanation about who hey were fighting. One minute he is taken in by someone, then he is with someone else. The scenes with the usual stockpot of English actors who always turn in a decent performance were good as one would expect. I particularly liked Edward Fox who dropped his Edward 8th mannerisms for a change. Henry Cele looked majestic as Shaka so was well cast, but the scenes in his younger years were awful. Dudu Mkhize as Nandi, SHaka's mother gave the best performance in the whole series. It seemed neither a film nor a documentary but as it was apparently made in South Africa before the end of Apartheid at least it let the magnificent Zulus relive their history

This 9 hour mini-series is part soap-opera,part action-adventure epic.It is indeed a massive production and one can only marvel at the effort that has so obviously gone into re-creating the early 19th century in which the story is set.The film can basically be divided into 2 parts - the British/Zulu relationship and the birth and rise of Shaka.The British/Zulu relationship segments appear as bookends whereas the story of Shaka basically makes up the substantial middle.Performances,as usual in such TV productions,are mostly above average(though seeing the natives speak in English does jar a bit - the local dialect with subtitles would have been more appropriate).The political and social milieu of the times is well presented and no sides are taken.At the end of the day,however,one gets the distinct impression that the time taken to tell the story is much more than the substance in hand demands.

The Story is told based in the writings of Edward Fox's character, an adventurer named Francis George Farewell. Therefore, the more savage side of his nature is undubitably exaggerated.To the best of our knowledge the salient points are correct, even to Henry Cele sharing the same basic build as Shaka, both of them quite imposing. There is some European romanticism tossed in, but it should be must viewing for anyone who loves history. Pooh-poohed by some critics as preposterous (as was Ghost in the Darkness, also an essentially true story), it is no more amazing than Napoleon's rise from obscurity to absolute power. They parallel in so many ways, in fact, that Shaka is oft called the "Napoleon of Africa". Though many Zulus consider Napoleon the "Shaka of Europe"The production was fraught with controversy (it was filmed in South Africa before sanctions were lifted) but tries to convey a complex and fascinating story set in a tribal Africa steeped in mysticism with ideas about life and death that were very different from Europe. It manages to convey those ideas, and Shaka's formidible intellect, quite well. On top of that, it has as its star the perfect actor for the part.Highly recommended and worth the time it takes to view it.