Zulu Dawn Page #14

---

COGHILL & MELVILL ride up to PULLEINE.

PULLEINE:

Well fought, Gentlemen. It's time to save the Colours. Get to

Rorke '5 Drift. You must warn them. (To BUGLER BOY) The

Colours.

PULLEINE takes the Colours from the BUGLER BOY and hands them to

MELVILL.

PULLEINE:

Carry them to safety Mr. MelvilL

MELVILL:

Sir.

COGHILL and MELVILL take the Colours, spur through the ZULUS

and head to the gullies and ravines that lead to the river.

PULLEINE:

watches, moves back into his tent.

265.CLOSE UP of DURNFORD. He looks over his shoulder and then

back

to the ZULU before him. He makes a decision and moves away from

the front

line.

DURNFORD (To S.M. KAMBULA)

Sergeant! Sergeant! Take my horse. Up you go.

S.M. KAMBULA is helped up into the saddle.

DURNFORD:

Sergeant, you're to ride back to NataL When you see the Bishop

tell him (He pauses momentarily) that is, tell his daughter, I

was

obliged to remain here with my infantry. Now go. God go with

you.

63

S.M. KAMBULA

I leave God Jesus with you.

He leaves as CAMERA closes in on DURNFORD'S face.

266.SMITH'S guns, at full gallop, sweep through the camp.

267.VARIOUS SHOTS of the battle. The battlefield is covered

with dead

ZULU and REDCOAT bodies.

268.BLOOMFIELD'S AMMUNITION WAGON.

Some of the ZULUS have picked up burning brands from the

cooking fires and

are setting the wagons on fire.

BLOOMFIELD & BOY-PULLEN jump down from their wagon, taking

some cases of ammunition with them.

Move it!

I'm trying.

BLOOMFIELD:

BOY-PULLEN

They are only ten yards away when there is a massive explosion.

The wagon

has burst into flames and the ammunition continues to explode.

269.CLOSE UP of BLOOMFIELD. He is lying face down on the ground

in a

state of shock. He slowly turns his head and we see the bloody

corpse of

BOY-PULLEN. BLOOMFIELD'S face grimaces as he is stabbed in the

back

by an unseen assailant. His face falls into the dirt.

270.INT. PULLEINE'SH.Q.TENT. DAY.

PULLEINE is sitting inside his tent. He is writing a letter to

his wife. There is a

pistol on the table.

BAYELE enters the tent. PULLEINE immediately picks up his

pistol and

aims at BAYELE. There is a moment's hesitation from both.

PULLEINE:

drops his pistol to one side inviting BAYELE to kill him.

BAYELE seizes

the moment and with one forward fatal thrust, stabs PULLEINE in

the heart.

PULLEINE slumps onto the desk as BAYELE leaves without remorse.

271.LONG PAN SHOT of MELVILL & COGHILL as they take the Colours

out of the camp.

272.VEREKER is nearby as a ZULU leaps out, bringing MELVILL &

his horse

to the ground.

64

VEREKER shoots the ZULU.

MELVILL gets up, hands the Colours to COGHILL and gets back up

onto

his horse.

MELVILL (To COGHILL, indicating the Colours)

Give them to me. (COGHILL does so) Come on. Come on!

They spur onward, COGHILL using his t)istol as they do so.

273.MOVING SHOT. A gun carriage charges over the slope. As it

does so,

the rear gunner is shot and the gun itself becomes disengaged

from the rest

of the carriage tumbling down the slope.

274.GUN CARRIAGE IN FOREGROUND. VEREKER, COGHILL &

MELVILL ride over this obstacle (SLOW MOTION) the Colours

aloft.

275.EXT. BATTLEFIELD. ISANDHLWANA. DAY.

HIGH VIEW. DURNFORD'S South-East defence position. ZOOM forward

to show the first refugees behind from the camp breaking out on

the South,

crossing into the ravine; their line of exit the same as the

guns, defended by

DURNFORD' S troops.

276.CLOSE UP of DURNFORD. He loads his pistol and turning full

circle,

realizes that he and his troops are surrounded. Jumping up onto

an

ammunition wagon, he starts to target the approaching ZULUS,

now only

ten yards away. He uses all six shots, throws his pistol to one

side and picks up

a discarded assegai from the wagon. As he frantically tries to

batter a ZULU

warrior, another ZULU aims a rifle straight at him.

There is a single shot. DURNFORD, clasping the shoulder of his

disabled

left arm, falls off the ammuntion wagon and tumbles down the

ravine,

landing at the bottom with a painful thud. Out of breath, he

struggles to sit

upright, his back against the muddy bank of the ravine.

A ZULU appears at the top of the ravine. Standing on top of the

ammunition

wagon, he throws his assegai down at the body below. It finds

it's target,

piercing DURNFORD in the chest. Short of breath, he makes a vain

attempt at removing the weapon but his efforts are futile. He

draws his last

breath and dies.

277.EXT. FUGITIVE'S RAVINE. DAY.

COGHILL, MELVILL & VEREKER desperately fighting to control their

horses scrambling down the hazardous rocky terrain - quarry to

the

pursuing relentless ZULUS behind them. REDCOATS on foot are

overtaken and dispatched with stabbing assegais.

278.EXT. RIVER BANK OPPOSITE RORKE'S DRIFT.

65

COGHILL, MELVILL &VEREKER urge their horses onward, galloping

into

the river.

Several ZULUS remain on the bank, shooting rifles and throwing

assegais

into the water.

One ZULU jumps into the water and attempts to swim after them.

VEREKER is the first to reach the opposite bank. The other two

have

become separated from their horses. VEREKER'S is close by.

Scrambling

up the bank, VEREKER turns to COGHILL & MELVILL who are still

in the

water.

VEREKER:

For God's sake, hold them back! I'll get the horses.

COGHILL is the next to reach the bank. He turns back to MELVILL

who is

struggling in the water with the Colours.

COGHILL:

It's alright It's alright.

He helps MELVILL up onto the bank as VEREKER mounts his horse.

VEREKER rides off in pursuit of the other two horses.

There is a single rifle shot, which brings VEREKER'S horse to

the ground.

In the background we see a vast number of ZULUS engulf COGHILL

&

MELVILL. MELVILL attempts to fight with his sword but he is

overwhelmed.

There is an awful piercing scream and the two men disappear.

279.INTERCUT BETWEEN VEREKER & GROUP OF ZULUS.

VEREKER lies on the ground, his left leg trapped beneath the

body of his

horse. He sees the ZULUS take up the Colours as they run up to

the high

ground, revealing COGHILL & MELVILL' S dead bodies in the

FOREGROUND.

VEREKER is breathing uneasily. He watches with amazement as the

ZULUS:

hold the Colours aloft mockingly. Some ZULUS are wearing their

purloined

Redcoat uniforms, they whoop and wail exultantly.

VEREKER takes his time. He aims his rifle at the ZULU carrying

the

Colours.

The shot kills the ZULU and the Colours fall (SLOW MOTION)

down, down

into the river.

Relieved, VEREKER' S head falls to the sandy bank.

280.The Colours float into CLOSE UP.

66

281.EXT. PULLEINE'S CAMP. ISANDHLWANA. DUSK.

CHELMSFORD and his ESCORT ride into the camp. The air is full

of smoke

and the crackling of fire can still be heard. A dead soldier

who has been tied to a

post and disembowelled is CENTRE SCREEN.

The wind begins to howl as CAMERA follows CHELMSFORD into the

centre of the camp. He dismounts. Very slowly he removes his

helmet.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes