Film

Film in South Africa =

The film industry has a long history in South Africa and has been closely integrated with the history of the stage and media in the country.

The history

May 11, 1896: Demonstrated for the first time in Southern Africa in Johannesburg by Carl Hertz at the Empire Palace of Varieties. The films included scenes of Highland Dances, Street Scenes in London, a Trilby Dance, a Military Parade and the Soldier's Courtship.

July 9, 1896: The latest invention in photography, the Cinematographe, was demonstrated for the first time in Port Elizabeth at the Opera House by Carl Hertz. Advertising slogans promised "Every scene in motion reproduced as in real life" and "The most startling and scientific marvel of the age". The first series of pictures included "The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat". Legend had it that when the film was projected for the first time overseas, the audience fled from the room in terror because they were convinced the train would leave the screen. It was later determined that it was a promotional story spread by the Lumiere brothers to advertise the effectiveness and realism of their new invention. "A Game of Ecarte" was also shown and “the London street scenes thrown onto the sheet were realistic and gave a splendid idea of the life and bustle of the metropolis.” Once the novelty had passed the film could be viewed again. Mr Hertz generously invited the children of the Nazareth House to witness this new form of entertainment for free. Admission prices varied from 1 / 6 in the Gallery to 5/- in the Dress Circle.

Cinema buildings in South Africa

CAPE TOWN

Cape Town theatres at which films were shown include the Opera House, the Alhambra, which was regarded as South Africa’s finest Atmospheric style theatre, was designed in 1928 by architect P. Rogers Cooke. It opened in 1929 and was one of Cape Town’s major cinemas was closed in January 1972. It was demolished in 1974.

The Bijou Theatre was opened in 1941 and designed by architect William Hood Grant. It was situated at 178 Lower Main Road, Observatory. It was closed as a cinema circa 2002 and since then has been used as an art gallery and a venue for special events.

The Savoy, Coliseum, Van Riebeeck, Globe in Woodstock, Cinerama in Rondebosch, the Broadway,

The British Bioscope was located at 142-144 Caledon Street, District Six, Cape Town and opened circa 1920. The first talkie films were shown here in 1932. In later years it became the least sophisticated cinema in District Six. Along with the other cinemas in District Six, it closed and was demolished circa 1967, to comply with the then Government’s Group Area Act.

The Scala in Claremont,

The Premiere in Belleville was owned by Benny Abel.

The Regal Cinema was located at 144 Main Road, Wynberg, Cape Town and was the first cinema built in Wynberg. It was opened by African Theatres in the late 1920s.

The Alabama Cinema, previously known as the De Wicht Hall, was opened in the mid-1940s. It was located at the corner of Loop and Pepper Streets in central Cape Town. the Odeon theatre

DURBAN

The first bioscope or cinema for “non-white” audiences opened in 1909 in Durban, South Africa (Thelma Gutsche 1972).

EAST LONDON

Theatres in East London include the 20th Century,

GRAAFF-REINET

In Graaff-Reinet there were the Plaza and Gem Grotto

JOHANNESBURG

Johannesburg theatres at which films were shown include the Colloseum, the Eyethu cinema in Soweto,

KLERKSDORP

In Klerksdorp, there was the Leba, and the ?? run by Natie Abel, which when spelt backwards, gives the name of the bioscope. The same man ran the Elba in Orkney, a gold mining town situated in the Klerksdorp district of the North West Province.

KROONSTAD

The Scala in Kroonstad was owned by Maurice Abel.

PORT ELIZABETH The first "bioscope" structure in Port Elizabeth was located in a converted building at 32 Main Street and was known as the "Electric Theatre". It opened on February 28, 1910.

Apart from the Electric Theatre, some of the other Port Elizabeth theatres at which films were shown include the Russell Road Bioscope,

The The Balcony Café Picture Palace which was the first café bioscope at the corner of Constitution Hill and Main Street,

The Tivoli Theatre,

The Astra Theatre and Metro Theatre were in the same building in Jetty Street. The Astra, designed by Jones and McWilliams, was owned by Sam and Monte Richardson. It opened on January 1, 1935. The Metro Theatre was opened on October 26, 1931 with W A Grace in charge. It was located on the upper floor of the Drake Building with its entrance in Commerce Street. The entrance was later moved to Jetty Street. It was a very modern and comfortable venue with attractive decorations in eau-de-nil and silver with bas reliefs of jungle scenes around the screen. A bar and lounge were completed in March 1934. The building was demolished in 1971 to make way for the Settler's Freeway.

The Excelsior Bioscope was opened in 1912.

The Star Bioscope opened in the Odd-Fellows Hall in Russell Road in April 1912.

The Grand Theatre in Main Street opened on May 14, 1912. It was designed by Victor Jones and owned by the Grand Theatre Company. It could seat 1100 patrons. The first manager was T A Brewster. On September 2, the Grand Cafe was opened on the second floor with a view of Main Street. The final performance was on July 16, 1974, after which it was demolished.

The Embassy, located in Adderley Street, North End, opened on August 17, 1939. It closed in the latter half of the 1970s.

The New Royal Bioscope was located at 21 Main Street and closed in January 1939.

The Port Elizabeth Opera House,

The Savoy in Cape Road, later known as Cine 500, (not to be confused with the later Gilbert and Sullivan Society's Savoy Theatre),

The 20th Century in Strand Street,

The Avalon,

The Kine Park cinema complex in Rink Street,

The Popular in Main Street,

The Gaity in North End,

UITENHAGE

In Baird Street, Uitenhage, there was the Protea movie house. Also the Plaza and the 20th Century.

WORCESTER

In Worcester, there was the 20th Century, owned by ?? Abel.

Bio-Cafes

A Bio-Cafe was a combination film theatre/cafe and was set up "theatre-style" with a small shelf set up in front of each seat on which meals were served. They were popular for a brief period in the 1960s and 1970s. The films were run continually so patrons could enter the theatre at any time. This enabled one to come in halfway through the film and when it was finished, you could wait for it to start again. This way you could watch the entire film and leave at any time. It was an entertaining way to while away the time, for example, while waiting to catch a train. A waitress watched patrons enter and as soon as they sat down she would bring them something to drink and take an order. The Roxy Bio-Cafe was a popular venue in downtown Port Elizabeth. The Balcony Café Picture Palace, the first café bioscope in Port Elizabeth, was located at the corner of Constitution Hill and Main Street although it is unknown how it operated.

Drive-In Theatres

These once-popular venues were scattered all over the country. In Port Elizabeth, there were the Cape Road Drive-In, the Greenbushes Drive-In, and the Walmer Drive-In. Not too many of these drive-in theatres are left in South Africa.

In Randburg, the only drive-in left is the Velskoen Drive-in, just off Malibongwe Drive.

One of the most famous Drive-ins was the called the Top Star Drive-in built in the 1960s and situated on top of an old disused mine dump in Johannesburg. It had views of Johannesburg for miles around but unfortunately, it closed down in 2006.

A popular drive-in in Cape Town was the Goodwood Drive-In situated on Vanguard Drive, Epping, adjacent to the Cape Show Grounds. It opened in the mid-1960s and was Cape Town’s fourth drive-in cinema. It was also Cape Town’s largest when it opened. It closed in the mid-1990 and a casino complex now stands on the site.

Film Censorship

During the Apartheid regime, films depicting interracial couples were considered immoral and were banned and/or censored for content as were scenes depicting nudity among the European community by the ruling party - the James Bond films Live and Let Die and A View To A Kill had love scenes which were censored by the South African government. Some films were banned outright, but many were allowed to be screened only after being heavily cut.

Many films with Black actors were banned outright, such as the 1967 British drama film starring Sidney Poitier, To Sir - With Love, which deals with social and racial issues in an inner-city school.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and written by William Rose. Starring Spencer Tracy (in his final role), Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn. It depicted an interracial marriage in a positive light, which did not impress the South African censors.

Helga – Vom Werden des menschlichen Lebens also referred to simply as Helga, is a 1967 West German sex education documentary and the first film of the Helga trilogy, starring Ruth Gassmann as Helga. Its release in West Germany was followed by international releases in many countries but in South Africa, it could only be shown to segregated audiences. Men and women were not allowed to watch it together.

A Clockwork Orange, a 1971 film adapted, produced, and directed by director Stanley Kubrick and based on Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was considered to be one of the most violent films ever made. It fell foul of the country's censors and was banned for 13 years.

Joe Bullit, Produced in 1971 and released in 1973 in the Eyethu cinema in Soweto, it was banned by the Apartheid government after only two screenings. It was one of the first local films to feature an all African cast starring Ken Gampu and Abigail Kubeka. It is about a local soccer team that fell prey to a mysterious gangster. It was later unbanned by the Minister of Communication but never re-released.

The film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The film was shot in the United Kingdom and starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. The apartheid censors were shocked into banning it.

The Search for Sandra Laing A 1977 film directed by Anthony Thomas which relates the story of a young girl who was classified coloured, though her parents were white, and the effects this had on their family and their community.

Up in Smoke, (also referred to as Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke) is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Lou Adler which glorified the use of marijuana and which upset the FBP.

Pretty Baby, is a 1978 film directed by Louis Malle which caused significant controversy due to its depiction of child prostitution and the nude scenes of Brooke Shields, who was 12 years old at the time of filming. Fearing a moral panic, apartheid censors moved to block the release of the film.

Cruising, a 1980 movie directed by William Friedkin about a serial killer targeting gay people.

Monty Python's Life of Brian, a 1979 film directed by Terry Jones. The film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish-Roman man who is born on the same day as — and next door to — Jesus. He is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. Banned under the apartheid regime because of blasphemous content.

The Exorcist

Cry Freedom, a 1987 biography about Steve Biko starring Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton and Denzel Washington. Directed by Richard Attenborough. This never passed the apartheid censors. Ster-Kinekor released the movie and it was subsequently banned. The police arrived at night whilst the movie was showing and insisted on shutting it down. They then confiscated the movie. Only hours after Cry Freedom won its approval from the government censors and made its South African premiere, the authorities banned it as a threat to public safety. They seized the film reels from at least 30 theaters nationwide. 30 July 1988.

Mapantsula, a 1988 South African crime film directed by Oliver Schmitz and written by Schmitz and Thomas Mogotlane. is the story of Johannes 'Panic' Themba Mzolo (Mogotlane), a small-time thief, and is set against the backdrop of Apartheid. It was prohibited from release.

Biko: the Spirit Lives (1988), by Terrence Francis. the film describes Steve Biko’s leadership of the Black Consciousness Movement and the events leading up to his death.

The Cry of Reason: Beyers Naudé — an Afrikaner Speaks Out Released in 1988, the film is about one man’s journey from supporting apartheid, to his active opposition to it. Directed by Robert Bilheimer.

Songololo : Voices of Change is a 1990 film by Marianne Kaplan and Cari Green which focuses on Gcina Mhlope and Mzwakhe Mbuli and the ways in which culture and artistic performance contributed to their struggle against apartheid.

The Long Journey of Clement Zulu documents the reintegration into society and their old lives of Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, James Mange, and Clement Zulu after their release from Robben Island in 1991. Directed by by Liz Fish in 1992.

The Comrade King a film made in 1994 by Ben Horowitz. It is about King Sabata Dalindyebo’s life and his reburial by the Thembu nation.

Kids is a 1995 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine. The first banned film in the democratic era came from Hollywood. Kids tells the story of an unruly group of young teenagers who indulge in casual sex, violence and drugs – it was banned between 1995 – 1997.

Of Good Report, a 2013 South African romantic thriller film, directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka. The film starred Mothusi Magano and Petronella Tshuma in lead roles. The storyline is about young girls being abused by older men but was deemed ‘too graphic’ by the FBP. The character of a 16-year-old-girl has sex with a teacher, and this was enough to halt its 2013 release.

Inxeba… (sort of). The film was briefly classified by the FBP as an X18, up from its initial rating of 16LS. The X-rating meant that the movie could no longer be screened in local cinemas before the ban was overturned in court.

In 1996 The Film and Publication Board, or FPB, was established under the Film and Publications Act. This board was created as a content classification and regulation authority, operating under the Minister of Communications and they often ordered certain cuts to be made before the film was shown. The FPB's purpose was ostensibly to tackle issues of child pornography and child abuse, as well as to provide ratings to publicly consumed media such as movies, music and television programs. Under these directives, its mandate could be considered one of state censorship. Many South Africans would travel across the borders, for what were known as "dirty weekends", to countries such as Swaziland (now Eswatini), Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Bechuanaland (now Botswana) where they would be able to watch films (and buy books) that were banned in South Africa.

Talking about film in South Africa

There are a number of South African terms referring to Film

Bioscope

The “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector. In many parts of the world, certainly in throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories, it became synonymous with the terms “cinema” or "movie house". See James Burns "The African Bioscope – Movie House Culture in British Colonial Africa", Afrique & histoire 1/2006 (vol. 5), p. 65-80. Uniquely, in South Africa, this usage was kept alive till well into the 1970s.

See also the entry on the archival website The Bioscope.

A Bioscope show

A Bioscope show in turn was a fairground attraction consisting of a travelling cinema, using the apparatus called a Bioscope. The heyday of the Bioscope was from the late 1890s until World War I. Bioscope shows were fronted by the largest fairground organs, and these formed the entire public face of the show. A stage was usually in front of the organ, and dancing girls would entertain the crowds between film shows.

Films shown in the Bioscope were primitive, and the earliest of these were made by the showmen themselves. Later, films were commercially produced. Bioscope shows were integrated, in Britain at least, into the variety shows in the huge music halls which were built at the end of the 19th century. After the Music Hall Strike of 1907 in London, bioscope operators set up a trade union to represent them. There were about 70 operators in London at this point.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioscope_show

The term Bioscope in South Africa

Pronounced “bi-scope”, it was for long the most common South African term for “cinema”, both in the sense of the art form and more specifically as a name for the building. “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector, and became synonymous with “cinema” throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories. The Oxford English Dictionary narrowly defines it as “An earlier form of cinematograph retained in South Africa as the usual term for a cinema or a moving film”, though the term was widely used in Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

Its use in South Africa derives from the Bioscope show described above, and appears to be related to the Dutch usage (Bioskoop), which was taken over in Afrikaans, although a formal and distinctive Afrikaans term “Rolprent” (=“rolling picture”) was introduced by the Academy for Language and Science in 195**???. The term was widely and uniquely used up till about the mid to late 1970’s.

Other terms used for a film show in South Africa

Flic and Fliek

Since the 1970s bioscope was gradually replaced in popular parlance by "flics" (a name which derives from the "flickering" image on the screen) and later by the American "movies". To "go to flic" ["fliek" in Afrikaans], or to “go flic” or even simply "to flic" is still common though, also in Afrikaans.

Movies

By the 1990’s the term "movies" had also taken hold – in English and Afrikaans.

Cinema and Film

Since the 1930s the 1970s "cinema" or "film" (and "rolprent" or "film" in Afrikaans) were the preferred terms, as they still are today.

Sources

Port Elizabeth - A social chronicle to the end of 1945 by Margaret Harradine. 1994.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Film_censorship

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)

https://www.google.com/search?q=Helga+-+film&rlz=1C1OKWM_enZA962ZA962&ei=4TR6YtDpF9G_gQaM_ZzwBg&ved=0ahUKEwiQ3pDL09T3AhXRX8AKHYw-B24Q4dUDCA4&oq=Helga+-+film&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAwyBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHkoECEEYAEoECEYYAFAAWABghQ1oAHABeACAAeYCiAHmApIBAzMtMZgBAKABAqABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Up_in_Smoke

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cry_Freedom

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mapantsula

https://www.google.com/search?q=Pretty+Baby+-+film&rlz=1C1OKWM_enZA962ZA962&oq=Pretty+Baby+-+film&aqs=chrome..69i57.4625j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lifestyle/banned-films-list-south-africa/

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Of_Good_Report

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show

https://www.google.com/search?q=Monty+Python%27s+Life+of+Brian&rlz=1C1OKWM_enZA962ZA962&ei=_2h6Yrj8Es-agQb0tpa4DA&ved=0ahUKEwj494alhdX3AhVPTcAKHXSbBccQ4dUDCA4&oq=Monty+Python%27s+Life+of+Brian&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAwyBQguEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAESgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUABY5B5gi0xoAHABeACAAYQGiAHkDZIBBzMtMy42LTGYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/31579

http://blogs.uct.ac.za/memory/2019/05/unbanned-the-films-south-africans-were-not-allowed-to-see/

For more information

See also Bio-vaudeville

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The bioscope, cinema and film in South Africa

This encyclopaedia is primarily focused on the stage and live performances, hence film is only of peripheral interest. However, because of the integrated nature of the entertainment industry, a short summary of the key point follows.

Cinema buildings in South Africa

The first bioscope for “non-white” audiences opened in 1909 in Durban, South Africa (Thelma Gutsche 1972).

Talking about film in South Africa

The Bioscope

The “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector. In many parts of the world, certainly in throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories, it became synonymous with the terms “cinema” or "movie house". See James Burns "The African Bioscope – Movie House Culture in British Colonial Africa", Afrique & histoire 1/2006 (vol. 5), p. 65-80.

A Bioscope show in turn was a fairground attraction consisting of a travelling cinema, using the apparatus called a Bioscope. The heyday of the Bioscope was from the late 1890s until World War I. Bioscope shows were fronted by the largest fairground organs, and these formed the entire public face of the show . A stage was usually in front of the organ, and dancing girls would entertain the crowds between film shows.

Films shown in the Bioscope were primitive, and the earliest of these were made by the showmen themselves. Later, films were commercially produced. Bioscope shows were integrated, in Britain at least, into the Variety shows in the huge Music Halls which were built at the end of the nineteenth century. After the Music Hall Strike of 1907 in London, bioscope operators set up a trade union to represent them. There were about seventy operators in London at this point.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioscope_show

The term Bioscope in South Africa

Pronounced “bi-scope”, it was for long the most common South African term for “cinema”, both in the sense of the art form and more specifically as a name for the building. “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector, and became synonymous with “cinema” throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories. The Oxford English Dictionary narrowly defines it as “An earlier form of cinematograph retained in South Africa as the usual term for a cinema or a moving film”, though the term was widely used in Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

Its use in South Africa derives from the Bioscope show described above, and appears to be related to the Dutch usage (Bioskoop), which was taken over in Afrikaans, although a formal and distinctive Afrikaans term “Rolprent” (= “rolling picture”) was introduced by the Academy for Language and Science in 195**??? and is still used. The term bioscope was widely and uniquely used up till about the mid to late 1970’s.

Other terms used for a film show in South Africa

Since the 1970s bioscope was gradually replaced in popular parlance by a range of less other terms, e.g “the flic’s” and later by the American “movies”. To “go to flic” [“fliek” in Afrikaans], or to “go flic” or even simply "to flic" is still common though, also in Afrikaans. By the 1990’s the term "movies" had also taken hold – in English and Afrikaans, though in more formal writing “cinema” or “film” ("rolprent" in Afrikaans) are still preferred.

Return to

Return to The South African Context/General Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Theatre/Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Film /Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Media/Terminology and Thematic Entries

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