Zulu (British, 1964) Another all-time favorite. Cinematic treatment of the celebrated engagement at Rorke's Drift, 1879. A handful of British regulars defend a mud-building mission station against thousands of Zulu warriors. Despite the antiseptic combat choreography, the film is deeply moving, as their desperate situation forces ordinary men to show extraordinary courage. The scene in which the Zulu chants are met the Welsh soldiers singing "Men of Harlech" is one of the most memorable and stirring in any action film. "If it's a miracle, Colour Sergeant, it's a point four-five caliber, short-chamber, boxer-primed miracle." --Lt. Chard, in Zulu

Zulu Dawn (British, 1979) Very convincing treatment of Isandhlwana, where Cetshewayo crushed the center column of the British invasion of Zululand. More authentic than Zulu perhaps, but less emotionally engaging - it's hard to connect with the characters on the human level (but then, they are Victorians).

Patrick Wilson comments: "Highly recommended account of Isandhlawana with an excellent cast, including Bob Hoskins as a Color Sergeant to rival (and beat!) Nigel Green's in Zulu. Still tells the myth of the "unopenable" ammo boxes and makes Chelmsford the heavy, but the details are generally excellent and the battle and campaign are very well done."

Breaker Morant (1979) Perfidious Brits courtmartial loyal Aussie soldiers for political reasons during the Boer War. Marvelous, touching film deals in flashbacks with the problems of a mobile, cavalry frontier war for which the Empire was wholly unprepared. Australian (or did you guess?).

Untamed (1955) - Jerry Lannigan comments: A fairly notable cast on a Boer Trek deep into Zulu territory. The attack several hundred Zulu on a realistic looking Boer laager is worth a watch.

The Jackals (1967) - Ken Hafer comments: Deliberate but entertaining South African 'western.' Local tribesmen help out when loony, alcoholic old prospector Vincent Price and his semi-beautiful granddaughter are beset a gang of robbers.

The Hellions (1962) - Ron Strickland comments: An excellent South African 'western' about a band of pyschos heading into a backwater town defended a lone sergeant of the Natal Mounted Police and an Army ranker turned storekeeper (the actor who played Hook in Zulu).

Rhodes (1936)

The Naked Prey (1966) Patrick Wilson comments: "Captured hunter runs for his life from (Xohsa? Bantu?) warriors. Filmed on the bush veldt of South Africa, this is gritty stuff and as dangerous as it looks. Great snake-eating and slave raiding sequences!"

Books

The books on this list are primarily visual inspiration for figure painting and model-building, rather than textual history -- reflecting the interests of a gaming group whose members are all artists of one sort or another.

War on the Nile: Britain, Egypt and the Sudan, 1882-1898 Michael Barthorp, Blandford Press, 1984
Skoda Heavy Guns Michal Prasil, available from Schiffer Publishing of Pennsylvania
Young Winston's Wars
The Storming of Ghazni Afghanistan by BnC In the First Afghan War, the British Army that reached the mighty fortress of Ghazni had neglected to bring its siege artillery. They were nearly out of food & water, and surrounded by desert. Captain Peat, 2 subalterns, 3 sergeants, and 18 men dragged 300 pounds of gunpowder up to the gate that night and set it against the only gate the Afghans hadn't bricked up. Everyone then left, except Subaltern Durand, who stayed behind to light a 70 foot fuse. It failed to ignite. It failed a second time. Durand decided to just plunge his cigar into the powder himself, but tried that traditional third try. The fuse lit. Durand ran. The fuse burned. The gate blew apart, the storming party broke into Ghazni, and by dawn it was British. Was it Hollywood, or was it History? (It was history, 3AM, July 22, 1839.)

The Movies! Hollywood's Take on Colonialism

India
China and the Far East
Northern and Central Africa
Southern Africa