BFI

Featuring Lord Kitchener, later the famous face on the 'Britons... wants YOU' World War I recruitment poster, this R.W. Paul film records the military hero's 1898 visit to the Guildhall for the presentation of the Freedom of the City of London. Sirdar was the title given to the British Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Army.

Instantly striking are the many different decorative uniforms on show, from the footmen, to the guards, to the policemen. While the guards' traditional costumes have not changed in over one hundred years, the police appear distinctively Victorian.

Interestingly, the film offers only a fleeting glimpse of Lord Kitchener himself - once as he enters (he's the man in the tall white-feathered hat) and again as he exits at the very end of the film. These images of Kitchener before and after the ceremony reveal that what seems like a single-shot film in fact manipulates time using subtle editing.

Christian Hayes

*This film is included in the BFI DVD compilation 'R.W. Paul: The Collected Films 1895-1908', with music by Stephen Horne and optional commentary by Ian Christie.

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