Wing Commander Movie Night: Zulu

No surprise this week: everyone in the club still loves Contact (and greatly misses a world that would've allowed such a story to be believable). This time around we decided to choose another war movie. We watched a LOT of war movies early on because they were things Chris Roberts or others specifically cited when talking about Wing Commander. Our options now are a little more obscure! We voted to go with the 1964 epic historical drama Zulu which tells the story of the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift. If we're being honest, we're getting The Dambusters vibes already! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Our most direct Wing Commander connection going into the movie is that Dr. Forstchen borrowed/quoted a famous exchange of dialogue from the movie in Wing Commander: Action Stations. In his version, it's Confederation fighter pilots at McAuliffe preparing to fly to their nearly certain doom covering the Concordia's escape:

Geoff sighed and nervously clicked his mike again. He suddenly realized that, though he had been tested before, here indeed might be the final and ultimate test. Part of him wanted to scream out that he deserved a rest, that he had played the hero, had done his bit, and now it was time for someone else, that it had to be time for someone else.

"Hey, leader, why us?" someone called sarcastically.

Hawkins chuckled sadly. "Because we're here, lads, because we're here."

The cynical exchange somehow braced Geoff. For that, after all, was indeed the logic and reason behind it all, because he was here it would always be his turn, and would continue to be his turn as long as he decided to place himself in harm's way.

Less directly, the Wing Commander IV novel mentions Captain Eisen's Zulu heritage and specifically what his ancestors must've looked like slaughtering Englishmen:

"Home, sweet home," Eisen replied. "Welcome aboard, Chris." He grinned again, a fierce warrior's grimace that showed Blair what Eisen's Zulu ancestors must have looked like while they were slaughtering Englishmen. "We sure as hell need you."

And here's what that looked like in the game! It's actually a rare case of being able to physically describe the character in the novelization because Eisen had already been cast in the previous game.

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Zulu is available for rent or purchase on the standard streaming services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on Blu-ray in 2009 and remains in print around the world. The current distributor currently streams it for free on YouTube. A copy is available for download on the Internet Archive. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!

How can I help pick future movie club movies?

The movie club movies are voted on each week by the Wing Commander Discord. The poll is typically posted 24 hours before each week's screening and the next movie is announced at the end. The choices for the poll come from a master pool of Wing Commander-related movies. If you would like to suggest a film for inclusion in that pool you can post it to this thread.