Het Tovertoneel (a.k.a. Les Tulipes or El Iris Fantastico)

France|1907|Hand coloured and stencilled|5 min (Incomplete)|35mm|Silent
EYE Filmmuseum Collection
31.01.2020 (Fri) 19:35 BC

Screening with other coloured silent shorts and The Extraordinary Voyage

*Post-screening talk by Dr. Giovanna Fossati (In English)

Dir: Segundo de Chomón

Les Parisiennes was an American Mutoscope Company production in which a chorus line of young female dancers in charming light gowns performed the then popular cancan; The Six Sisters Dainef was a French production by Pathé Frères, with agile acrobats going all out in front of the backdrop of a classical-styled interior. Besides realistic narratives, early films branched into a variety of vignettes in which various editing techniques were widely used to create magical and vibrant scenes; Het Tovertoneel, also a production of Pathé Frères, was a prominent example of such a feast for the eyes: in the garden where the fairies frolicked, a giant and a rainbow-hued fountain coloured by hand and stencilling appeared. Filmed on location in Volendam, The Mills in Joy and Shadow told a tale of revenge as a tramp torched the miller’s wooden mill as he refused the tramp any alms. Dusk scenes tinted alternatively in crimson and purple added despair to this bleak tale.

Segundo de Chomón (1871–1929)
A director known for innovative special effects and animation techniques. He directed special effects for notable films, including Giovanni Pastrone’s Cabiria (1914) and Abel Gance’s Napoleon (1927).