Spanning ten fifty-minute episodes, Shaka Zulu certainly qualifies as epic. The scope of the story is ambitious, but at times oddly unfocused; it's as if the sheer length of the project distracted the filmmakers from making sure each episode was a tightly-focused, important part of the whole. As a result, the overall story is entertaining, but some parts of the saga are much more interesting than others.

The overall structure of the series is a set of nested flashbacks. The mini-series starts at the end of the Zulu empire, with the Zulu king humbly begging Queen Victoria for restoration of his sovereignty; this serves as a useful introduction to the political situation, as queen's advisors sum up the events of the Zulu wars and the importance of the now-dead Shaka. The story then moves backward in time to the point at which the British government charges Lieutenant Farewell (Edward Fox) with the task of finding the almost-legendary Shaka and coming to some sort of terms with him that would prevent a Zulu assault on the poorly-defended British colony of Cape Town. After Farewell and his men meet Shaka (Henry Cele), then at the height of his powers, the story flashes back further in time to recount the story of Shaka's life so that we can see, over the course of several episodes, how he became the person he is.

What I like most about Shaka Zulu is that it never bows to stereotype and never simplifies the story down to "good guys versus bad guys." In different hands, the story could have been trivialized either by making it "the good, civilized British against the brutal Zulus" or "the good native Zulus against the corrupt, colonizing British." Neither is the case in Shaka Zulu. The British government is clearly in favor of colonizing Africa through fair means or foul; some of the British feel that this is wrong, though they are outvoted by those who feel that British self-interest (and power) takes precedence over the less powerful native nations of Africa. But it's also abundantly clear that Shaka is far from a heroic leader of his people against European colonialism. His rise to power is shown to be a bloody, brutal story of merciless warfare and the quenching of his own personal thirst for revenge; and in the end, we can see that a "great leader" can destroy a nation as easily as he can create it.

What the Shaka flashbacks achieve, quite effectively, is to paint a portrait of the Zulu leader as a complex and often conflicted figure. He's an innovator and a leader... who is consumed by hatred and the desire for revenge, feelings that drive him on a destructive path to gain power for the sake of crushing his enemies and destroying anything that offends him. Shaka Zulu doesn't sugarcoat his personality, but it also doesn't set him up as a one-dimensional tyrant; in particular, Shaka's complicated relationship with his mother Nandi gives an essential humanizing touch to the character. Shaka Zulu does offer some interesting food for thought on the nature of leadership and the responsibilities of power; given Zulu society as it's presented in the early portions of the series, was it inevitable that someone like Shaka would eventually take over? Was the fall of the Zulu nation inevitable once it came up against Britain, or could Shaka have turned his country's destiny another way if he had so chosen?

Henry Cele does a very creditable job as in the title role, radiating the raw power of the warleader while also clearly portraying Shaka's keen and agile mind. The scenes in which Farewell and the others match wits with Shaka are some of the most entertaining, particularly when Dr. Fynn (Robert Powell) tries to direct Shaka toward the study of Christianity; Shaka's reasoned (and alarming, for Dr. Fynn) application of the story of Christ to his own situation is priceless. Edward Fox does his best to portray Lt. Farewell as a fully-developed character, but in this case, the series can be faulted for not being detailed enough, despite the length of the production. The concluding episodes appear to build on aspects of Farewell's character that are insufficiently supported by what we've seen of him in the story. It's worth noting that the listing of Christopher Lee as a co-star is hyperbole: he does appear in the film, but only very briefly at the beginning.

A few things hold Shaka Zulu back from being a really outstanding epic story. One is the unevenness of the narrative; while some of the episodes are well-paced and interesting all the way through, others have less to offer. In particular, there is too much reliance on spectacle; the frequent inclusion of lengthy dances and ceremonies at points where they're clearly only window dressing does tend to drag the pacing of the story down. Additionally, certain key plot elements are rather sketchily addressed, such as a crucial prophecy that's referred to throughout the series without ever having been introduced properly.

I also found the series' method of presentation of the various languages spoken by the characters to be rather jarring. When the Zulu characters talk amongst themselves, logically they ought to be speaking in Zulu, which could be represented either by actual Zulu with English subtitles, or by having all the dialogue be in English, with the implied idea that the film is "translating" for the viewers. However, Shaka Zulu takes the bizarre approach that the Zulu characters speak sometimes in English and sometimes in non-subtitled Zulu. It's confusing as well as irritating, as we see later when we witness the British characters talking with the Zulu characters. Are we supposed to assume that the British have learned Zulu, or that the Zulu have learned English? It may seem like a minor point to some viewers, but the lack of credibility on the language issue diminishes the overall believability of the series.

Filmed entirely on location in South Africa, Shaka Zulu offers an often-compelling look at a tumultuous period in African history, centering around the character of Shaka himself, who emerges as a complex figure teetering on the balance between leader and tyrant. While it's far from perfect, it is certainly ambitious, and does capture the epic sweep of Shaka's life and times.

Video

The image quality for Shaka Zulu is about average for a transfer of a television production of the 1980s. It's a bit blurry, and contrast occasionally suffers in darker scenes; there are also a few print flaws that appear on occasion. Well-lit scenes usually look good, and colors are satisfactory; on the whole it's an adequate if not exceptional transfer.

Audio

Shaka Zulu's soundtrack is an acceptable Dolby 2.0. The dialogue is adequately supported, though there are some instances in which it is less clear than it should be. The music track is both very "1980s" and very memorable; fortunately, it's also kept in a good balance with the remainder of the soundtrack. A dubbed French Dolby 2.0 track is also included.

Extras

The packaging for A&E's release of Shaka Zulu is innovative and extremely well-thought-out. Each of the four DVDs in the set is enclosed in its own ultra-thin plastic keepcase, so that all four individual cases fit in a glossy paper slipcase that's only about an inch wide. The mini-keepcases make it very convenient to manage the multiple discs of the set while providing a secure plastic spindle for each DVD.

The set is fairly light on special features. A nine-minute featurette offers interviews with cast and director William C. Faure about the making of Shaka Zulu. The "historical essay" is a text-only piece on the historical Shaka; I would much rather have had a more in-depth featurette on the making of the series. We also get a stills gallery of production photos and pre-production sketches for the series.

Final thoughts

I enjoyed watching Shaka Zulu, and found the story compelling enough to keep me going through all ten episodes, despite a few lulls in the pacing. It's certainly refreshing to watch a mini-series that takes on an episode in history that has gotten relatively little film treatment. Epic in scope, Shaka Zulu is recommended viewing for those who enjoy historically-based productions.