Underplayed Gems

The Magician and the Butterfly (1907)

The Magician and the Butterfly poster
Original title
Le Charmeur
Directed by
Segundo de Chomón
Genre
silent film
Country
France
Runtime
5 min
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A magician uses a butterfly to perform tricks. The insect transforms into a woman. The short film is about enchantment and visual illusion.

whimsicaldreamlikeplayfultheatricalinnocentfantasticalsilent-film magic

What happens

Le Charmeur est un film muet franco-espagnol de court métrage réalisé par Segundo de Chomón, sorti en 1907. Produit par Pathé frères, ce court métrage est un remake de La Chrysalide et le Papillon d'or de Georges Méliès — parfois aussi appelé « Le Brahmane et le Papillon » — sorti en 1901. On ne sait pas s'il s'agit d'un véritable remake autorisé ou d'un plagiat tant les deux histoires sont proches. Tourné six ans plus tard, le film de Segundo de Chomón est plus élaboré dans les décors et les costumes, mais il semble bien être une copie pure et simple du film de Méliès. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.