Death of the "White Zulu"

It was brought to my attention yesterday that David Rattray had been murdered. Who was David Rattray I hear you ask. Well, those of you who been to see the film "Zulu" and then been hooked on the subject of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 will have come across the name by now. He was a great historian on the subject and built himself a lodge for his family in the Battlefields area of KwaZulu Natal, not far from Fugitive's Drift, from where he would take parties of tourists into the areas of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift and tell the stories of the battles. These tourist would be spellbound by his tales and, invariably, would be reduced to tears as the sun went down and the significance of what they had heard began to sink in.
His writings included the first accounts of these battles taken from the Zulu point of view.
I'm certain that those of us who have been involved with any research, however small, will miss the magnificent input and enthusiasm that David Rattray imparted. It is such a cruel ending to the life of this truly enigmatic family man who was, indeed, a great friend of Africa and the Zulu nation, as stated by Paul Boateng, the British High Commissioner in South Africa.

Influential Films

22nd January 1879. A tragic reference to Isandhlwana. The Zulu War was in progress and on this infamous day the British Army suffered a humiliating defeat when, out of a total garrison of 1762 men, all died in battle against the Zulus apart from fifty-five Europeans and three hundred and fifty African Auxiliaries.
Elated by the victory a force of about four thousand Zulus carried on down the track to take the mission station at Rorke's Drift. A small force of soldiers was at their mercy and fought so bravely for fifteen hours, non-stop, that the Zulus withdrew.
An epic film was made starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine called "Zulu" which dealt with the aftermath of Isandhlwana and the gave a graphic account of the Defence of Rorke's Drift. Through seeing the film, I developed an interest in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and I have studied literature and lectures on the subject and found the whole episode interesting ... but futile.

I would like to hear from other people about a favourite film that has influenced their life in some way. I look forward to reading some good comments.