Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer (1904)

Original title

Le Thaumaturge chinois

Directed by

Georges Méliès

Genre

fantasy film, comedy film, silent film

Country

France

Runtime

3 min

Rating

4.9 of 10 from 28 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A Chinese conjurer performs a series of magical tricks using stage illusions and quick cuts. The film shows him making objects appear and disappear with rapid movements.

fast-pacedwhimsicalplayfulsurreallightheartedartificialenergeticnostalgic

What happens

Le Thaumaturge chinois, sold in the United States as Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer and in Britain as The Chinese Juggler, is a 1904 French silent trick film by Georges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 578–580 in its catalogues. Méliès plays the conjurer of the title; his tricks are worked using substitution splices and dissolves. The motion in the film is noticeably fast, even at silent-film speeds such as 16 frames per second; Méliès may have had his camera operator deliberately undercrank the camera to create a stylized effect. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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