A well constructed portrait of men pulling together to overcome a seeminly overwhelming challenge. A group of British soldiers, a 100 or so, defend a small mission compound against 4,000 Zulu warriors, who are returning from having wiped out a British contingent of 1,500. Stanley Baker is excellent as Chard, the engineer sent to built a bridge and becomes a combat officer. Michael Caine, in his first major role, plays the professional soldier Bromehead. The interaction between the the two and all the supporting characters is well done. It is a movie I never get tired of watching.