Name: Les papillons japonais
Genre: Short
Released: 1908-05-16
Duration: 4 min
Rating: 5.6

Maybe a better title might have been "The Japanese Magician"

It's not surprising that this short film was directed by Segundo de Chomón as it bears three of his trademarks---the copying of the style and tricks of Georges Méliès and Segundo's fascination with Asian characters (though they were actually French folks in stereotypically Japanese outfits and wigs) as well as butterflies. It is enjoyable but pales in comparison with his brilliant "Kiri-Kis"--a film you absolutely must see if you love early silent films.

In this film, a 'Japanese' man appears along with two 'Japanese' kids and a 'Japanese' lady. They dance about, he performs some nice magic (including some fire) and it has some innovative spinning umbrellas. Following this, you get to see some butterflies appear--but they are REALLY Lame, as you can see the stagehands dressed all in black (like magicians' hidden assistants) manipulating the fake butterflies. Then, he and two female assistants draw leaves and a caterpillar with chalk and then it becomes real (thanks to the director stopping the camera and inserting the prop caterpillar). Then, using a dissolve it becomes a cocoon and then a giant butterfly. A HUGE amount of the final portion consists of the insect vibrating its wings as colors appear (they were hand-painted on the film stock using stencils) and finally, it becomes a woman butterfly.

While some of the effects were quite nice for 1908, the execution was inconsistent. And, ultimately, the film seemed to drag a bit towards the end. Well done overall but not one of the director's best.

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

A Japanese magician and two boys bring to life a silkscreen of a woman. The woman then gets on a pedestal and the man wraps her in paper. He sets fire to the paper, and she disappears. He jumps in the fire and also disappears. Five women materialize with umbrellas. They disappear, and the umbrellas float up and disappear. The magician and the woman reappear. They tear up paper, tossing into the air the pieces which turn into butterflies. Two magician and two women then draw a silk worm on a screen. From Moving Picture World: "The animal takes life and starts spinning its cocoon and is soon hidden in its silken prison. The cocoon being now fully in view, it suddenly splits open and a beautiful butterfly takes its flight. After having fluttered for a while the magnificent insect comes back to earth and then undergoes a number of changes, presenting to the astonished eye of the spectator the most glorious display of colors, which blend from the darkest shades into the most delicate hues. This marvelous color dream over the butterfly transforms itself once more and a charming young woman makes one soon forget the beauties of the previous wonder by eclipsing it with a most graceful and fascinating Loie Fuller dance. This feat at an end the woman disappears as by enchantment, and the last scene shows a thousand butterflies rising towards heaven."

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

Primetime Creative Arts Emmys: Photos We Love

A Ride Through Prague in an Open Tram (1908)

Julienne Mathieu in Modern Sculptors (1908)

Japanese Butterflies

Photos1

User reviews3

More like this

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed