Symbol of Sacrifice

The battle scenes are generally shown in static [[Wide shot|wide-angle shots]]. The Zulu are portrayed from a distance as an "ant-like mass" to emphasise how much they outnumbered the British forces.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=42}} South African magazine ''[[Stage and Cinema]]'' reported in April 1918 that 25,000 extras were employed in the production.{{sfn|Tomaselli|2006|p=131}} According to Stone, who also played a soldier in the Rorke's Drift scenes, the Zulu extras were extremely enthusiastic during filming of the fight scenes. Although they had been supplied with rubber-tipped [[assegai]] for safety, they swung them instead as clubs against the actors portraying the British forces. Stone recalled that the British actors were forced to defend themselves by swinging their rifle butts and that blood was drawn on both sides in the clash.{{cite news |last1=Coan |first1=Stephen |title=Forgotten film |url=https://www.news24.com/witness/archive/forgotten-film-20150430 |access-date=12 January 2022 |work=Witness |date=3 October 2013}} Some 1,600 British uniforms were made for use in the film.{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=59}} The inclusion of the black love triangle storyline led to the first appearance of a witchdoctor in film.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=37}}

The battle scenes are generally shown in static [[Wide shot|wide-angle shots]]. The Zulu are portrayed from a distance as an "ant-like mass" to emphasise how much they outnumbered the British forces.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=42}} South African magazine ''[[Stage and Cinema]]'' reported in April 1918 that 25,000 extras were employed in the production.{{sfn|Tomaselli|2006|p=131}} According to Stone, who also played a soldier in the Rorke's Drift scenes, the Zulu extras were extremely enthusiastic during filming of the fight scenes. Although they had been supplied with rubber-tipped [[assegai]] for safety, they swung them instead as clubs against the actors portraying the British forces. Stone recalled that the British actors were forced to defend themselves by swinging their rifle butts and that blood was drawn on both sides in the clash.{{cite news |last1=Coan |first1=Stephen |title=Forgotten film |url=https://www.news24.com/witness/archive/forgotten-film-20150430 |access-date=12 January 2022 |work=Witness |date=3 October 2013}} Some 1,600 British uniforms were made for use in the film.{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=59}} The inclusion of the black love triangle storyline led to the first appearance of a witchdoctor in film.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=37}}

Some of the scenes featuring the Prince Imperial were shot within Natal. His flashback to Windsor Castle was filmed on a specially built set that measured {{convert|40|ft|m}} in width and {{convert|90|ft|m}} in length. This set alone cost £1,000 of the film's £20,000 budget.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=41}} The prince's funeral procession was shot on the site of the actual procession in [[Pietermaritzburg]]. The procession in the film features an elaborate military parade and vast crowds of civilians [[high-angle shot|shot from a high angle]] and in wide-shot.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=41}} Other sets included a reconstruction of the Zulu capital at [[Ulundi]] while 160 tents were made for depictions of British Army camps.{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=59}}

Some of the scenes featuring the Prince Imperial were shot within Natal. His flashback to Windsor Castle was filmed on a specially built set that measured {{convert|40|ft|m}} in width and {{convert|90|ft|m}} in length. This set alone cost £1,000 of the film's £20,000 budget.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=41}} The prince's funeral procession was shot on the site of the actual procession in [[Pietermaritzburg]]. The procession in the film features an elaborate military parade and vast crowds of civilians [[high-angle shot|shot from a high angle]] and in wide-shot.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=41}} Other sets included a reconstruction of the Zulu capital at [[Ulundi]] while 160 tents were made for depictions of [[British Army]] camps.{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=59}}

== Release and reception ==

== Release and reception ==

''Symbol of Sacrifice'' was first screened on 27 March 1918 at the [[Johannesburg City Hall|Town Hall]] and the Palladium Theatre in [[Johannesburg]]. The film enjoyed a record three-week run at the latter before being shown in theatres across South Africa.{{sfn|Bickford-Smith|2016|p=75}} Benefits screenings for pro-imperial charities were held at African Theatres Trust venues in the dominion.{{sfn|Parsons|2013|p=653}} The film was hugely popular with South African audiences.{{sfn|Knight|2008|pp=134-135}} The [[film reel|8-reel film]] ran to more than two hours in duration and was distributed by P. Davis & Sons.{{sfn|Richards|2015|p=168}}{{sfn|Raugh|2011|p=271}} It was AFP's most ambitious film to date and was regarded as particularly lavish for [[historical epic]]s of the time; it was advertised as "the world's biggest battle picture".{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=35}}{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=59}} During publicity for the film AFP put forward a man claiming to be named Jones and a [[Victoria Cross]]-winning veteran from Rorke's Drift. This cannot have been the case as both Victoria Cross winners from that battle by the name of Jones ([[Robert Jones (VC)|Robert Jones]] and [[William Jones (VC)|William Jones]]) were dead by 1918.{{sfn|Stossel|2015|p=99}}

''Symbol of Sacrifice'' was first screened on 27 March 1918 at the [[Johannesburg City Hall|Town Hall]] and the Palladium Theatre in [[Johannesburg]]. The film enjoyed a record three-week run at the latter before being shown in theatres across South Africa.{{sfn|Bickford-Smith|2016|p=75}} Benefits screenings for pro-imperial charities were held at African Theatres Trust venues in the dominion.{{sfn|Parsons|2013|p=653}} The film was hugely popular with South African audiences.{{sfn|Knight|2008|pp=134-135}} The [[film reel|8-reel film]] ran to more than two hours in duration and was distributed by P. Davis & Sons.{{sfn|Richards|2015|p=168}}{{sfn|Raugh|2011|p=271}} It was AFP's most ambitious film to date and was regarded as particularly lavish for [[historical epic]]s of the time; it was advertised as "the world's biggest battle picture".{{sfn|Maingard|2013|p=35}}{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=59}} During publicity for the film AFP put forward a man claiming to be named Jones and a [[Victoria Cross]]-winning veteran from Rorke's Drift. This cannot have been the case as both Victoria Cross winners from that battle by the name of Jones ([[Robert Jones (VC)|Robert Jones]] and [[William Jones (VC)|William Jones]]) were dead by 1918.{{sfn|Stossel|2015|p=99}}

Less than half of the film survives, partly because prints were cut up to allow sequences to be reused in new films.{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=60}} The South African [[National Film, Video and Sound Archive]] in [[Pretoria]] has only fragments remaining in its collection as the original [[Nitrocellulose#Film|Nitrocellulose film]] had degraded before it was transferred to more modern media. Most of the Isandlwana scenes were lost, though footage of the battles of Rorke's Drift, Hlobane and Ulundi remain. After ''Symbol of Sacrifice'' AFP focussed on documentaries and [[soap opera|continuing dramas]] until 1931 when it released {{ill|Sarie Marais (film)|lt=Sarie Marais|italic=y|af|Sarie Marais (1931)}}, about a Boer prisoner of war in the [[Second Boer War]], and {{ill|Moedertjie|af|italic=y}} about a Boer farm boy who migrates to a city and becomes involved in crime, some of the earliest films in the [[Afrikaans]] language. Their next epic historical drama was 1938's {{ill|Die Bou van ’n Nasie|af|italic=y}} a government-commissioned film about the history of South Africa.{{sfn|Maingard|2013|pp=35, 44-45}} It continued to make Afrikaans newsreels, shorts and feature films until 1959 when it was bought by the American [[Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation]].{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Howard |title=Fox Buys Concern in Johannesburg |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/02/archives/fox-buys-concern-in-johannesburg-film-company-in-africa-acquired.html |work=New York Times |date=2 July 1959}}

Less than half of the film survives, partly because prints were cut up to allow sequences to be reused in new films.{{sfn|Knight|2008|p=60}} The South African [[National Film, Video and Sound Archive]] in [[Pretoria]] has only fragments remaining in its collection as the original [[Nitrocellulose#Film|Nitrocellulose film]] had degraded before it was transferred to more modern media. Most of the Isandlwana scenes were lost, though footage of the battles of Rorke's Drift, Hlobane and Ulundi remain. After ''Symbol of Sacrifice'' AFP focussed on documentaries and [[soap opera|continuing dramas]] until 1931 when it released {{ill|Sarie Marais (film)|lt=Sarie Marais|italic=y|af|Sarie Marais (1931)}}, about a Boer [[prisoner of war]] in the [[Second Boer War]], and {{ill|Moedertjie|af|italic=y}} about a Boer farm boy who migrates to a city and becomes involved in crime, some of the earliest films in the [[Afrikaans]] language. Their next epic historical drama was 1938's {{ill|Die Bou van ’n Nasie|af|italic=y}} a government-commissioned film about the [[history of South Africa]].{{sfn|Maingard|2013|pp=35, 44-45}} It continued to make Afrikaans newsreels, shorts and feature films until 1959 when it was bought by the American [[Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation]].{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Howard |title=Fox Buys Concern in Johannesburg |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/02/archives/fox-buys-concern-in-johannesburg-film-company-in-africa-acquired.html |work=New York Times |date=2 July 1959}}

== Themes ==

== Themes ==