Review of Shaka Zulu: The Citadel

I wish to make clear that this SHAKA ZULU, unlike my series from 1985-7, was intended to be primarily fiction. As many writers have done before me, I took characters from a previous film/series or novel and used them to portray a story that reflects the outrages of the slave trade. I know, of course, that Shaka was never taken into slavery (though many of his warriors were held captive near Zanzibar). This device was used by Coppola in APOCALYPSE NOW which is not a faithful rendering of Joseph Conrad or THE CROWN which is not a faithful rendering of Elisabeth II. And many others. In this case, I used a literary license with my own work. And I was asked to take Hasselhof by the German distributors as a condition of receiving their funding. I believe, nevertheless, that David did a good job, though no amount of talent on his part could make up for the negative attributes of his public persona. But Karen was wonderful and I prayed that she could make up for this casting shortfall. By wanting this series/film to be historically accurate people do not see the forest for the trees.