The film depicts the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January, 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. I'll never forget one night when I was in bed almost asleep when suddenly I heard a haunting and frightening chant: ZULU! ZULU! ZULU! It turned out my parents were watching the movie on TV and I heard the chanting of the Zulu warriors before they attacked the British.
It's almost unbelieveable that the few British soldiers were able to hold off the Zulu warriors for as long as they did, but it was because of their use of the redoubt system when the British formed into three ranks, shooting volley after volley into the stunned Zulus, who eventually withdrew after massive casualties.
Apparently, there were many historical inaccuracies in the film regarding characters, the regiment, weaponry, the Zulus, and the ending. However, in 2004, the magazine Total Film named "Zulu" the 37th greatest British films of all time and it was voted eighth in the British TV programme The One Hundred Greatest War Films. Take a look at this short section of the film and tell me you wouldn't have been scared sh**less had you been one of those soldiers!