Movie Review: Zulu (Blu-ray, Twilight Time)

Reviewed by: Mike Heenan

Years ago, at the height of my 35mm collecting I got an unused dye transfer Technicolor trailer for Zulu.  Never having seen it before but knowing Michael Caine was in the film, I was excited to see it projected and when I finally did, I was hooked.  The colors simply just popped off the screen.  The film content itself looked very interesting as I’m a big fan of older epic films, but I never managed to see it until receiving Twilight Time’s amazing Blu-Ray release.

The film is a true life account of a regiment of British troops led by Stanley Baker and Michael Caine who are stationed in Africa at a missionary depot.  They are warned by traveling missionaries that a large group of Zulu warriors, having achieved mighty success earlier on against another regiment, are headed their way.  The regiment fortifies the mission and Stanley Baker pleads with no luck to traveling Boer horsemen to stay and fight with them.  In the vast distance appears 4,000 Zulu warriors, ready to battle against the 150-something troops.  The warriors initially attack with rifles.  The British are surprised at this and guess the warriors must have claimed the weapons from the earlier defeated regiment. The battle rages on in droves and the British manage to maintain their hold on the depot.

Movie Review: The Island (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

Peter Benchley's always seemed to have a hankering for the horrors of the sea. It also helps that he was damn good at constructing a story that’s riveting to readers. Whether it's creatures with Jaws and The Beast or with diamond thieves in The Deep the scribe did superb work using the dangers of the ocean to his advantage. In The Island he takes pirates and does pretty much the same thing with some twists here and there. Michael Ritchie (The Bad News Bears, Fletch) did the honors of directing this horror/action hybrid film adaption that's now being released for the first time ever in a Blu-ray and DVD Combo pack from Scream Factory.

Michael Caine (The Hand, The Dark Knight) plays the role of reporter, Blair Maynard, who has been investigating the mysterious deaths of vacationers and fisherman out in the Caribbean. Maynard takes it upon himself to grab his son and go to the "mysterious" area and find out exactly what's going on. Of course, it's not that easy for Blair as his plane crash lands and he becomes stuck on an island that may just be the point of trouble.

Movie Review: Ashanti (1979)

by Peggy Christie
   
“Based on facts.” Those three words (along with based on a true story) fill me with dread. These days Hollywood takes a lot of liberties with "the truth" in order to sell a film and though the movie I'm reviewing did take place over 30 years ago, I have a feeling La-La- Land was just as guilty then of embellishments as it is now.

That said, however, the truth of slavery still existing in Africa in the 20th century was very real. Hell, it exists in the 21st century in many countries across the globe. What surprised me is that people thought it all went away after the US Civil War.