Before leaving Hungary to work full-time in London with his brother Alexander, he (Zoltán) served in the Hungarian Army as a cavalry officer.

As a young man, Korda went to work with his brother Alexander in their native Hungary and in the United Kingdom for his London Films production company.

He gained wide respect for the adventure film Sanders of the River (1935), starring the American actor Paul Robeson and Leslie Banks.

Of his directorial efforts, 1939's The Four Feathers, starring Sir Ralph Richardson, is considered his greatest cinematic accomplishment.

The extended family's colorful history is the subject of a book by Zoltan's nephew Michael Korda,[3] Charmed Lives.

Poor health, brought on years earlier from a battle with tuberculosis, forced Zoltan Korda's retirement in 1955.